Greetings, Jorge --
> Commenting on my Post on continuity of MOQ levels > (as opposed to discrete, not continuous) Steve writes: > > "I think this project of putting the levels on a > continuum is doomed from the start because the levels > to my thinking are categorical rather than scalar." > > Steve, if your thinking is correct and MOQ levels are > categorical, as opposed to scalar, why to call them > Levels in the first place? Your point is well taken. Why, indeed, call them "levels"? Intellection is not a level; it is a function of the human mind. Society is not a level; it is the organization of individuals with disparate values within a common culture. Biology is not a level; it is the intellectual pursuit of knowledge about the development and classification of organic life forms. Inorganic matter is not a level; it comprises the forces, elements, and processes of the physical world. To define or categorize different approaches to factual knowledge is basic to intellectual understanding and human progress. What you must understand, Jorge, is that the levels hierarchy is viewed as a "power struggle" by MOQ's author, and it is fundamental to his philosophy. Man has no significance in this cosmic hierarchy: he is only an "abstracted pattern". The concept of individual freedom, like intellection, is considered a myth in this ontology, a throwback to S/O distinctions which Pirsig has supposedly overcome. The levels of this euphemistic hierarchy are not scalar, they are not even interactive; they are a tetrology of discrete powers or forces from which the "patterns" of existence are derived and by which all entities evolve from the lowest (inorganic) to the highest (intellectual) level. I have given up in my attempts to introduce a relational universe derived from a primary source to this forum. Such a concept goes against the grain of the MoQists who see it as a regression to Cartesian dualism with "theistic overtones". So, while I can sympathize with anyone with the temerity to question the rigidity of the levels hierarchy, I know that any such challenge will be viewed as unenlightened or "misinformed" and met with a barrage of "Pirsig says" quotes. This is not to discourage you as a newcomer to the DM, as there are a few individuals here who will be receptive to new ideas and even criticisms of the "official dogma". My caveat applies only to the MOQ fundamentals, and you may well gain (as I have) from discussions of related issues that are not seen as central to the levels hierarchy. In any case, your views are interesting, and I hope you enjoy your participation in this forum. Essentially yours, Ham 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/
