DMB said ... "There are several commonly known phrases that suggest we're not very moral in this respect; "global warming", "peak oil", "nuclear war", "second-coming" and "strip malls"."
Excellent! You can detect the morality fo a culture by the archaeology of its language. Ian On Wed, May 27, 2009 at 9:00 PM, MarshaV <[email protected]> wrote: > At 02:24 PM 5/27/2009, you wrote: > >> Marsha quoted from Dr. McWatt's textbook, "An Introduction to Robert >> Pirsig's Metaphysics of Quality": >> >From 5.8.0. Differences Between the MOQ and Eastern Philosophy: >> >> "Despite keeping within Eastern understanding (by using Dynamic Quality) >> to incorporate the theory of evolution, Pirsig discards any notion of >> reincarnation or rebirth in the MOQ. This is probably due to his avoidance >> of supernatural explanations wherever possible. >> >> "For scientists, the mind of the Buddha and the Mind of God are usually >> the same, even though the Buddha was an atheist. I think it is extremely >> important to emphasize that the MOQ is pure empiricism. There is nothing >> supernatural in it." (Pirsig, 2000e) >> >> Instead of trying to achieve a better situation in your next life, the >> primary moral imperative in Pirsig's system is the effect your behavior will >> have on your descendants. This is probably the widest departure of the MOQ >> from the Indo-Chinese tradition." >> >> >> dmb says:Thanks, Marsha & Ant. >> If I'm reading this right, making the switch from re-incarnation to one's >> descendants removes supernaturalism from the picture but retains a moral >> stance about future lives. The moral imperative is still directed beyond the >> present but it remains earthbound. Putting this moral stance within the >> context of the theory of evolution, I think, alters the way we think about >> the nature of that process. The aim isn't just a matter of continued >> survival but a matter of assuming some responsibility for ensuring a better >> future. There is a dimension of betterness that is uniquely Pirsigian, I >> think, but most Pragmatist emphasize this idea. >> "MELIORISM: noun, Philosophy, the belief that the world can be made better >> by human effort, from Latin, melior = 'better' + ISM." >> There are several commonly known phrases that suggest we're not very moral >> in this respect; "global warming", "peak oil", "nuclear war", >> "second-coming" and "strip malls". >> I mean, this moral stance is not about the fate of your own soul or even >> the well-being of your own great, great, great, great, great, grandchildren. >> This is an unselfish imperative, no? Do unto your descendants seven >> generations from now as you would have your ancestors from seven generations >> ago do unto you. Okay, that's a pretty clumsy sentence but you get the >> picture. >> > > Hi Dave, > > I was really quite surprised, but later figured it was an aspect of > evolution, and hoped it wasn't for kin (ZAMM). I love the idea of > considering the seventh generation. That is using great intelligence. - > The statement also made me wonder how I think/feel about kin and > descendents, and how my attitude has changed. When I was mothering, I would > say my world was my children. Now that I am beyond the direct > responsibility, I look back at the experience and see it has changed into > the world as all children, all mothers and all children. If I think about > Iraq and Afghanistan, I think about the mothers and their children. It's > very painful. - I like your unselfish imperative. > > > Marsha > > > > > > > . > _____________ > > The self is a thought-flow of ever-changing, interrelated and > interconnected, inorganic, biological, social and intellectual, static > patterns of value responding to Dynamic Quality. > > . > . > > > > 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/ > 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/
