dave, dmb says: > > You're suggesting that you might be a messiah? Really? Don't you think > that's just a bit grandiose?
How can I be grandiose and poor white trash at the same time? Wait a minute. Never mind. It's as common as dirt. Seen it all over the place, now that I think about it. Another david, one that used to live in a schoolbus on my property was sure that he was a shoo-in to replace Jerry when he died and left the Dead grateful. Now that I think about it. > Don't you think it's a bit over the top in the self-flattery department? I have no idea. How can I tell? Can a man be objective about himself? > I call it "renter's beige", by the way. It's the worst color in the world > and almost always badly applied, full of paint-boogers, roller marks and > unclean lines. It sounds like you have some experience. > John said: > You can't transcend static social patterns as long as you're striving to > uphold social standards. You have to be willing to pursue your dreams > independent of worrying about how others may judge you by outward > appearance. > > > dmb says: > > I think it's more like Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The most basic > biological needs have to be met even if you're Einstein. Every human > creature needs stuff like air, food, water, shelter, sleep and an iPod. > Related to that, but more socially oriented, you next need physical safety, > security from theft, health and a steady means of getting your basic > resources. If all that is pretty well in place, the need for family bonds, > friendship and sexual intimacy can be attended to and when those needs are > met you can start to think about the need for self-esteem, achievement, > respect among your peers and the like. This is the social level stuff. Only > when all of that have been secured, a person can work on the need for > self-actualization. As the label implies, this is thee goal in a person's > development because that's when you really do become your own person. The > social and biological level needs can't be skipped over or left behind, but > a self-actualized person, Maslow, says, is sp > ontaneous, moral, creative, lacks prejudice and accepts the facts. In > short, they can think critically, independently and outside the lines. This > maps onto Pirsig's hierarchy so well that I don't even have to spell it out, > right? > > "thee" goal in in a persons development dave? I'd say "thy" goal, evidently. But it sounds self-defeating to me. Methinks you oughta consult your Schopenhauer on making "your" goal, "self" actualization. I thinks you've painted yourself into a metaphysical corner on that one. Hope you like the color of your paint. A nice pastel, no doubt. > John said: > Protestants who .. got along well with the pragmatic Cherokee and > intermarried and had a lot to do with the American Character formation. > Those ties run deep and strong. Those are my people. We don't kiss ass > and we don't forget insults to our honor. We can keep a feud going a long > time. > > > dmb says: > > "Celebrity is to social patterns as sex is to biological patterns." > > That I agree with completely. > "The Pyramids were celebrity devices. That I'm not so sure about. There seems to be mysterious purposes interwoven with the pyramids. And if celebrity was the goal, I think it failed cuz I never heard the name of the guy they were supposed to celebrate. It's been forgotten for a long, long time by everybody. I could see the pyramids as described by many as a sort of repository of knowledge. A library of knowing, unshakable and eternal. A seed of intellectual understanding bequeathed to future generations, perhaps. > All the statues, the palaces, the robes, and jewels of social authority: > those are just celebrity devices. The feathers of the Indian headdress. > ..all the compliments and flattery of tea parties and cocktail parties are > celebrity enhancements. All the feuding and battling for prestige among > academics and scientists. All the offense at 'insults'. All the 'face' of > the Orient. Celebrity. Celebrity. High school. School was REALLY the place > for celebrity." (Jocks and Cheerleaders Magazine, page 257) > > High School never ends, in other words. I do agree that social patterns are ubiquitous and probably the main point of intellectual analysis. Its what we need intellect for - to create social patterns which foster intellectual and individual growth. I've been dinking around with the next Copleston Anotation. It's right along these lines. Time to send it out the door I guess, If I'm not just going over the top in the self flattery, that is. Or even if I am? What difference does it make? 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
