[MD] dmb concludes...

[david buchanan]

Lucy (Marsha) said to dmb:
I have a copy of your thesis, but I haven't read it because the bibliography is 90% related to James with practically nothing devoted to Buddhism.


dmb says:
You have a copy? Where did you get it? I sure hope you paid for it. 

And why would you object to the bibliography? The point of the thesis is to prove Pirsig's claim that the MOQ is a form of James's pragmatism and radical empiricism. This common point of view adds up to philosophical mysticism, with Buddhism only serving as an example of this non-theistic mysticism.  "I conclude by making a case that James and Pirsig are offering an empirically based form of philosophical mysticism that is comparable to a non-theistic religion like Buddhism." I also wanted to show that one could, in fact, assert mysticism in an academic situation. Apparently, I got away with it. 




> > dmb says:
> > 
> > 1) There are only two people who've received a copy of my thesis, Pirsig and McWatt. Since McWatt says he hasn't read it and Pirsig doesn't participate in this forum, I wonder why you've posed the question here and addressed it to "one and all".
> > 
> > 2) Since successfully defending one's thesis is the most important requirement for graduating and I did graduate, doesn't your question fly in the face of common sense?  As is the case with every student, each of the thesis committee members had to read my thesis, grill me about it in person and then decide whether or not I get to graduate. If a student fails to make a convincing case for their thesis statement, they don't get a diploma, not even those who earned perfect scores up to that point.
> > 
> > 3) I don't believe that your question is sincere and if you were given an answer you'd just find a way to mock it or dismiss it. I believe you have no interest in any answer to your question and no capacity to understand it even if you were sincere. If you really wanted to know about the connections between pragmatic empiricism and Buddhism, I guess it would only be fitting to go take a look for yourself.