Hi Platt,
>[Platt] >> > Pirsig redefines science as the study of social and intellectual >> > patterns of >> > value? That's news to me. Can you cite a reference? > >[Steve quotes Pirsig] >> "... >> But if science is a study of stable patterns of value, then cultural >> anthropology becomes a supremely scientific field. A culture can be >> defined as a network of social patterns of value." > >[Platt] >Most consider anthropology, like psychology and economics, a science. >So, Pirsig's "If" clause sets up a straw man. Steve: True. I'm not sure there really is such a thing as on SOMer. People don't fully embrace SOM, they just live with a lot of contradictions. Platt: >Would Pirsig argue that >psychology is a supremely scientific field because it studies stable >patterns of intellectual values? I doubt it. > >Rather than argue for a new science I think Pirsig argues for a new >metaphysics. It's proponents of scientism who consider them one and the >same. Steve: Pirisg is not arguing for a new science. He is just recasting science in light of the MOQ as the study of stable patterns of value. I don't know that Sam Harris is looking for a new science either. I think his idea is that we should conisider what nearology, psychology, medicine, meditation etc. have to say about human happiness and sufferring rather than referring to 2000 year old books. He says we've learned something about ethics since then (like that slavery is wrong) and it is silly to be reading the Bible as the final word on ethical behavior. Platt: >Of course, we can always adopt new meanings for a word like science. After >all, Pirsig has liberated the word "morals" from human social behavior. >Should we call the MOQ "A Science of Morals?" Steve: Pirsig already did this when he said that it is scientifically moral for a doctor to kill a germ. Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed? You seem very irritated and I can't figure out why. I would think that you would welcome applying rationality to morals as Pirsig did. Regards, Steve Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
