Ham,
The MOQ starts with experience. Experience is reality.
Marsha
At 12:45 PM 9/24/2008, you wrote:
To all MoQers --
We each have our own view of reality, and you folks diligently
strive to fit it to Pirsig's hierarchy of levels and
patterns. Unfortunately, in making this accommodation, we all get
bogged down in sophisticated terms and paradigms that not only
attempt to do Pirsig "one better" but are incomprehensible to the
average participant. (I plead guilty to the same mistake.)
Noting the confusion, a few of us have moved toward presenting our
ideas with the fundamentals in mind. Recently I've been trying to
to this with Bo, Marsha, Ron, Joe. and some others here, with some
productive results. The worst that can happen with this approach is
that someone rejects the fundamental principle out of hand, which
aborts the discussion. When this happens, I simply accept the
inevitable and move on to the next person who shows some willingness
to explore an alternative view.
So, at the risk of being simplistic, I'd like to wind back the
"levels scheme" of reality and start afresh in the simplest and most
universal language. I suggest that you all consider existence as
"Being-Aware". You may disagree with this concept; but before you
do, let me try to show why it is as close to fundamental truth as
any philosophical postulate.
First, being and becoming are defined by most dictionaries as "the
state or quality of having or coming into existence." That makes it
fundamental by definition. We can't have existence without being,
and we can't exist without becoming. Does anyone here deny this fact?
Secondly, at least from the individual perspective, it is
inconceivable that you can know that anything exists without having
an awareness of it. "Awareness" is defined as the realization,
perception, or apprehension of what we know. Since we know that
being exists only because we are aware of it, each cognizant
individual is fundamentally a being-aware. Or, to put it another
way, being in existence takes the form of a sensible (cognizant,
knowing) agent or entity who becomes aware of being, the locus of
which is his/her self and its knowledge of a diversity of other beings.
Finally, whether your personal philosophy accepts the "metaphysical
reality" of this dualism or not, existence consists of at least one
cognizant subject (self) aware of an objective otherness
(being). However we may hypothesize Reality, and whatever we think
may have occurred before (or after) awareness, fundamentally
Existence = Being-Aware.
Now, because it establishes a fundamental precept, I would
appreciate your comments and/or objections to this analysis. It
seems to me that if we can accept Being-Aware as an irrefutable
principle of existence, we will have a universal platform on which
to construct a metaphysical theory of ultimate reality, whether it
is essentialism, existentialism, nihilism, idealism, or qualityism.
Respectfully yours,
Ham
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Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.........
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