Ok Arlo, Time to dig into my meal(s) On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 8:38 PM, ARLO J BENSINGER JR <[email protected]> wrote:
> [John] > Ok, now the pragmatic empiricist in me comes out and wonders if this is > really > true, or just an idea you have in your head. > > [Arlo] > Well, Pirsig continues to be in communicato with Ant, and his comments > about > DMB in the videos are inarguable. Not sure what part of this you think > ceases > to be true. > > Mainly the issue of "ongoing" as in "presently and eternally" I won't argue historically, I'm sure you're correct there. But for the other, I wonder what evidence you have other than evidently, wishful thinking. > > [Arlo] > Yeah, I'm not talking about sides in an academic battle, I'm talking about > academic activity. Ant, DMB, you, Matt, Steve.... all evidence a high > amount of > academic discourse. Why belittle that? > > Look, Platt's initial anti-intellectual yawnfest was about "mind numbing > academic precision", something YOU of all people have been involved in, and > not > only regarding Royce's comparison with Pirsig. Why run from that being an > "academic" (gasp! gasp!) activity? > > I think I understand your point and I need to be more clear. I do not disparage academic achievement nor academic activity. As you say, in my own way I relish and engage in it myself. It is upon it as an indicator of Quality, that I frown. Quality can't be defined academically. Nor can a degree or any social celebrity confer the status of "good" upon any piece of writing or thinking. Such things are evident to us independent of the status of the person writing them. Agree? Of course you do. DMB himself points out that you don't need any credentials to present a philosophical thesis. The Academy recognizes that what is good is prior to what is peer-reviewed. Just like the issues I raise with the image vs the word, it's not a case of one being good and one being bad. The Academic, classical approach to the MoQ is perfectly valid and perfectly acceptable. Is it the BEST? That to me remains an open question, and I'd take issue with any claims that Pirsig has endorsed just this one approach and there's nothing for anyone else to do buy genuflect when a doctor or a professor walks into the room. That's the point I want to make. That Academic striving is fine, but it's not the almighty controller of thought in the MoQ discuss. I actually did make this point clearly some while back in a post concerning the "high road" and the low. Yeah, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's always time to change the road your on. wisdom learned in high school. > [John] > He claims that I'm over my head here with all you high-falutin' educated > types, > so thus either your appeal to authority falls flat or your compliment does. > > [Arlo] > High-falutin'? Who are you, Yosemite John? I make ZERO appeals to > authority, I > simply say that the discourse you engage in is (again, hold your breath) > "academic"? If it isn't, what is it? What would be the impetus to integrate > Royce with Pirsig? > > Well I hope we cleared that up that no, I don't mind academic wranglin'. I sorta enjoy it son, I say. I sorta enjoy it. Darn tootin'. And my ironic use of "high falutin" was directed at the disparaging remarks dave makes about me being over my head. Which, don't get me wrong. I actually kinda enjoy his disparagement in a weirdly antagonistic way. Gets my juices up, it does. Motivates me to read more. That's a good thing! I'm not arguing for anybody's exclusion. But I'm totally arguing against any sort of blanket acceptance of anybody's thought, just because they have academic status conferred by a bunch of grumpy old farts deliberating around a table, OR even because Pirsig expressed enthusiasm once upon a time. That's what I term the appeal to authority and that's what I reject utterly. [John] > As for my ironic busting on myself. It's my forte. Haven't you ever seen > a > roadrunner cartoon? It's what coyote does, man. > > [Arlo] > Yeah, I'm all about Acme-brand self-depreciating talk. Just give yourself > more > credit, amigo. Whether or not DMB agrees with you, whether or not Pirsig > agrees > with you, you are walking an academic path... embrace it, love it. Don't > turncoat and start championing ignorance... or else I will personally fine > you > $10 everytime you post something other than "leftists are bad, mmkay"... > Agreed. On the condition that all fines go into the pub jar and are consumed in unison. John > > 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/md/archives.html
