Hi Plat,
> Steve: > > Likewise there is a tendency for things to fall to the ground. > > Platt: > Tendency? Seems to me to be more like an inexorable law. Steve: It does seem like that, doesn't it? But we can also think of such "laws" as stable patterns of preference. Platt: > Things don't > "tend" to fall to the ground. They "do" fall. To say gravity is a tendency > is > like saying the sun has a tendency to be the sun. > Steve: Birds have a tendency to fly rather than falling to the ground like rocks. Steve: > > Any > > nonliving thing will do so, while certain animals actually manage to > > fly. Noting this fact, Pirsig says, "One could almost define life as > > the organized disobedience of the law of gravity." The "almost" should > > make it extremely clear that Pirsig is not suggesting a technical > > definition of life here. But life notably does oppose certain > > tendencies while, of course, following physical laws in doing so. > Platt: > What are the "physical laws" that create and maintain life? > Steve: I never said that there were such laws, but Pirsig said that inorgnaic patterns dynamically created biological patterns which dynamically created social patterns, etc. Steve: > > It > > needs to invent things like wings or airplanes to outwit natural laws > > and circumvent such tendencies as the inclination for objects to fall > > to the ground. Krimel will read "outwit" and "invent" and be very > > annoyed because someone could read these terms and think of an > > intelligence guiding evolution. But for those of us who already > > understand the unguided nature of evolution, why not be astounded by > > some of the clever solutions that evolution has yielded and use such > > terms to express our awe? > > Platt: > So evolution is the cause of of life? Well, what is the cause of evolution? > Steve: Evolution is the broad pattern of history. For Pirsig it is a broad cosmological concept, not just a scientific theory about biology. Platt: > And, how about an answer to Pirsig's question, "Why survive?" (Notice > that Pirsig did not invoke the "mu" cop out.) Steve: Why are you asking me this? If Pirsig already gave an answer, why not just say what it was. Do you think I disagree with his answer? Do you disagree with it? I can't tell what your general position is here other than you seem to disagree with everything I say. Best, Steve 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/
