Hi Platt (DMB and Krimel mentioned) --
Krimel said to Ham:
The Big Bang can easily be conceived as an uncaused first cause that is
neither absolute nor undifferentiated. It is the instant of the birth of
spacetime. While the Big Bang is a "theory." It is supported by lots of
evidence. It does accord with the universe as it is currently understood.
It
does make verifiable predications about future states. It serves all of
the
functions of your "Essence" without the quasi-religious overtones.
[Platt]:
A wonderful description of the "Oops Theory" of being.
An uncaused first cause is something supernatural for sure.
But don't tell that to the priests of science.
[dmb]:
Yea, the "first cause" is more or less the God of the philosophers,
the God of the Deists. The Big Bang theory, however, is entirely
natural. That's exactly why religious people dislike it so much.
The only unknown, the only area about which there is no
overwhelming consensus, is what happened in the first fraction of
a second, a tiny fraction. ...
Other than that, how did you like the play, Mrs. Lincoln? Inasmuch as
everything in existence has to start somwhere, this "fraction of a second"
that is "the only unknown" becomes critical to all other theories about the
universe. Certainly it has been the cardinal issue in metaphysics
throughout history.
But, as you can clearly see, DMB and Krimel are not about to be seduced by
the "supernaturalism" of metaphysics. For them, the "real world" of
experience is inviolable, and all knowledge must be empirical -- based on
what Science says. I find it ironic that such closed minds remain on this
forum to interpret Pirsig's thesis for us. If they refuse to accept
anything but a textbook explanation of reality, how can they possibly pass
judgment on a metaphysics of Quality? Indeed, how can they appreciate Value
even as they experience it?
There's a significant difference between imaginative fantasy and intuitive
reasoning, and wisdom is not enhanced by limiting one's intellectual
perspective. If the legacy of the great philosophers is nothing but
meaningless "prattle", I should have thought that Pythagoras, Socrates,
Aristotle, Plotinus, Saint Augustine, Leibniz, Hume, Berkeley, Kant, Hegel,
Schopenhauer, Spinoza, Peirce, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, and Pirsig would be
passé by now. Seems they're still being read, however. (Must have
something to do with the power of witchcraft.)
Thanks for injecting a bit of "uncommon" sense, Platt. God knows we can
use it!
Best regards,
Ham
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