Arlo said to dmb:
I still am unclear, though, on how the term "negative quality" adds clarity or
meaning over the term "low quality". The "push" or "pull" aspect is simply one
of focus.
dmb says:
That's right. I don't think there is any important difference between
"negative" and "low". They're both interchangeable and they both just mean
"bad". I suppose that this would be comparable to the way we talk about
positive and negative freedom. Negative freedom is ending oppression or
removing constraints. Like relieving pain, it is better than not. But positive
freedom is more active, so to speak. It's about the actual expression and
exercise of freedom toward some positive goal. Gordon Lightfoot thinks it's a
sin to get feeling better when you're feeling no pain. Unless he was just
talking about substance abuse, I disagree.
I agree that "there is not a single case of "pushed" that cannot be restated or
recontextualized as a "pull". I'd even agree that talking about Quality in the
"negative" adds nothing important to the notion that Quality is the impetus
towards betterness. It just reminds us that "better" is a relational term. It
was John, I think, who reasoned that since the MOQ is a monism that says
Quality the source and substance of everything, then the MOQ says the whole
universe is entirely Good. I think he also said he believes it even though it
can't be proven. That's where I got the idea to dispute the "Hey-it's-all-good"
attitude and that's why I mentioned the suffering and stuckness that
(hopefully) leads to growth and expansion.
I think that framing the examples in terms of movement away from "negative
quality" out of a "low quality" situation prevents us from adopting an
unrealistically optimistic attitude.
Remember the way Pirsig cringes at the power of positive thinking and his
mockery of Aristotelian laughter? "Just change your mind and you'll be happy",
as if it were crazy to ever feel bad about anything. "When you're losing all
your highs and lows," Glenn Frey wants to know, "ain't it funny how the feeling
goes away?"
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