Hi Squonk -- [Ham, to Marsha]:
Unfortunately, you've been conned into believing that existence is the source and precedes essence, that the patterns are real but you are not, whereas in actuality the reverse is true. You create your reality patterns, they don't create you. To the extent that Pirsig has made Quality the primary reality and dismissed the essential Self, he is an existentialist. He has simply replaced the Being of existentialism with DQ.
[Squonk]:
In an extreme sense there may be something to be said for this: radical freedom of choice could suggest that we may choose what ever we wish to describe as our reality. However, this would also mean that essence is subject to the same radical freedom, which begs the question, how is it that essence remains stable in the face of radical freedom?
First, I don't regard individual autonomy or freedom as "radical", although it may be a radical concept for Pirsigians. Secondly, it isn't choosing whatever we wish to "describe" that determines our reality, but choosing whatever values we are drawn to. In my philosophy the Value of Essence is primary to existence and is converted to physical phenomena (things and events) by experience.
How an immutable Essence can give rise to difference and change is a leading metaphysical question on which I've expended considerable thought. The simplest way of explaining my Creation hypothesis is to use the "other side of the coin" analogy. Very briefly, since Essence IS absolutely, its potential to create is exclusion or "denial" of its wholeness, which is negation. (Nothingness = not-other; i.e., other side of the coin.) What is experienced is the appearance of "otherness" reduced (differentiated) by nothingness and constructed of essential Value. The mode of experience is sequential, so that we perceive existence as process in space/time. From the perspective of Essence, however, there is no other (Essence has negated it), nothing changes, and Value is constantly refreshed by the realization of its negated agents. (See the Creation section of my website for the detailed hypothesis.)
By the way Ham, i see you're published now.
Yes, 'Seizing the Essence' came out with the new year. Looks like you've at least taken a peek at my site. I anticipate many more questions.
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/
