Hi Mary
Splendid Super(bowl) post
7 Feb.
> Hello Bo and Dave T.! I think we can agree on a few things. All humans
> everywhere, at every time since the beginning of our species have had
> roughly equivalent mental capacity. As individuals, we are not
> identical (I am no Einstein, for instance), but we all fall within a
> pretty well defined range in the same way you could say that my cat is
> just as smart as any other cat. Ok? I don't expect to get any
> argument about this.
Right, no argument.
> I was fascinated to learn about the Axial Age you mentioned, Dave.
> I'd never heard the term before, but after reading a little about it,
> could see that it fit perfectly with what I think Pirsig was trying to
> explain in Lila. Per Wiki, "German philosopher Karl Jaspers coined
> the term the axial age (Ger. Achsenzeit, "axistime") to describe the
> period from 800 BC to 200 BC, during which, according to Jaspers,
> similar revolutionary thinking appeared in China, India and the
> Occident." That's pretty unmistakably inclusive. I'll bet Pirsig's
> heard of it too.
Yes, a lot of thinkers have come to the conclusion that this time
represented some enormous cultural upheaval, but usually it ends up
with the feeble "democracy", philosophy, mathematics, academy" ..
and some more such. Pirsig's SOM (and this as the intellectual level of
his MOQ) is the most convincing and revolutionary interpretation.
> Here's where I expect to get a little bit of argument from one or the
> other of you, though frankly I'm not sure which. My take on it is
> that Pirsig wrote Lila with a completely Western (dare I narrow that
> even further to say American) audience in mind. Now I'm no rocket
> scientist, but know for a fact that I benefit from more formal
> education than the majority of Americans. This is true of many on
> this forum, and doesn't mean anything special other than to point out
> that if I've never heard of Indian or Chinese intellectual
> achievements, or the "Axial Age", then most other people in Pirsig's
> target audience probably haven't either.
No counter-argument from this end!
> Given that, if you're going to write a mass market book to explain a
> new metaphysics to Americans, would you cloud the issue with having to
> explain a bunch of stuff about Indian and Chinese achievements, or
> would you narrow the scope and just focus on the one place everybody
> in your audience has heard of to make your point? I'm willing to bet
> that even people who are illiterate have heard of the Greeks. I do
> not believe for a minute that Pirsig's intention is to slight other
> cultures, belittle their achievements, or imply that they are not
> "intellectual". I think he was simply trying to make his point in as
> clear and concise a way as possible for his target audience.
Agree!
> I think (and you guys can let me have it now) that the MoQ is
> basically a Buddhism wolf in Western sheep's clothing.
Agree!! (with two exclamations marks)
> You will get absolutely nowhere in the West talking about reincarnation
> or karma (blasphemy or New Age wool-gathering) OK? If you are going to
> offer Western Civilization some kind of alternative to our destructive
> materialistic monotheism, you better explain it in non-threatening
> terms. And, I think Pirsig decided to make a mass appeal because he
> anticipated the kind of reception he'd receive in the academic
> community. He came right out and said as much. It's there for us to
> see in Lila.
No reason to pick nits here even if monotheism ("semitism" in my
parlance) paired with Western Civilization) sound as bit odd. WC is
more a SOM-as-intellect pattern, while monotheism was/is the final
and most refined social pattern. And now that the "West is won" by
intellect it inevitable turns against the Muslim World and the two
clashes in the form of the Islam vs. West conflict.
Bodvar
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