[Steve]
What do you think about the need for an ironic approach to Pirsig's
metaphysics?
[Arlo]
I agree with the meaning, am not sure about the word "irony" (just
because of my own associations). I'd go with "mu-approach" or
"Tao-approach" or "Zen approach", but I suspect we'd mean the exact
same thing. I haven't been able to read/respond to many of the
recent posts, but this same sentiment was expressed by John recently
(sorry if i am unaware of the entire context).
[John had said]
The Metaphysic of Quality is a self contradicting label. Metaphysics
is about ultimate defining and Quality is undefinable. A better
label for a metaphysic is a Quality metaphysics, as opposed to a
metaphysics OF Quality.
[Arlo]
Personally I don't have trouble with self-contradiction, as this type
of paradox (as Godel has shown) is inherent in any and all
sufficiently meaningful symbolic systems. The starting point would
be, "okay, we know that have this limitation, so as we dance around
that, what analogies can we offer that provide meaning to us as well
as offer a pointer to that indefinable, unseeable Void". This is
precisely what I see the MOQ doing. This is what Einstein and
Poincare (and Hofstadter) offer as well.
For me, the issue of self-containment is equally an inherent paradox
in sufficiently meaningful symbolic systems. Hofstadter plays with
this theme at great length in GEB. In Pirsig's criticisms of
self-containing containers in S/O science, I think (for me) the
criticism is on its blindness to this inevitability. I don't think
the MOQ (or ANY symbolic system) is capable of escaping such paradox.
In fact, I'd argue that the myth that one can break free of
self-containment paradox is the S/O view that we can devise a
symbolic system capable of being outside the world it describes; the
very definition of Subject-Object reasoning.
So here, yes, I fully agree with your metaphor "like an eye trying to
see itself". I have Magritte's "The False Mirror" on the wall on my
office. It reminds me of this sentiment every day.
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