Hello everyone On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 10:25 AM, david buchanan <[email protected]> wrote: > > Calling all MOQers: > > My thesis advisor is teaching an introductory philosophy this fall, the theme > and title of which will be "the meaning of life". He has invited me to teach > one of the classes on Pirsig's work, as a kind of guest lecturer.
Dan: Pretty awesome, Dave. Congratulations! dmb: > He asked me to select a passage or section to be included on the syllabus as > a reading assignment for the students. I picked chapter 16 and 17 of ZAMM. > (This is the part with the classroom scenes wherein Phaedrus is trying to get > his students to realize that they know what Quality is even though it can't > be defined.) Dan: Yes, these are good chapters. I'd stress the mountain-climbing allegory myself, as I have in some of my own writings. Teaching seems such a tricky business. I should think the (Quality) teacher must tread a very thin line between guidance and allowance. And the narrator seems to know that too. >dmb: > To help the students see what to look for and think about when they read the > assignment, the syllabus will provide a few clues and thematic questions. The > clues for the ZAMM reading will go like this: "Robert Pirsig says that > definitions are the foundation of reason, that we can't reason without them, > and yet he refuses to define the central term in his argument. Despite the > fact that you can't say exactly what it is, "Quality" is the goal of every > creative person and without it life would hardly be worth living, he says. > What is Pirsig saying about the relationship between creative intelligence > and getting an "A" in life? What does he say about following the rules and > seeing for yourself?" Dan: Yes, dogmatic inflexibility is something to focus upon. Art and creativity follow no set patterns even though the artist must be aware and master those patterns. I think you could look at my exchange with Mark is an example. Mark doesn't understand creativity. He thinks there must be some motive behind art... be it money, fame, whatever. He is locked into what I see as some kind of weird mindset but to him it seems perfectly normal. Maybe it is the result of his education/indoctrination... something a teacher of Quality must be aware of and guard against. >dmb: > Why am I telling you this? Because I'm shamelessly fishing for ideas. (Maybe > I should have gone fishing before picking the passage and writing the clues.) > These two chapters present the MOQ's basic distinction between defined > quality (static rules and principles and concepts) and undefined Quality but > this is the first, concrete phase of his journey. He's not yet getting > metaphysical or mystical. It's just about good writing and that's a good > thing because we're talking about a basic, introductory course. On the other > hand, the writing lesson is a kind of metaphor for life in general. It's > about NOT being a slave to the rules. It's about NOT imitating or parroting. > It's about the dull conformist with the thick-lensed glasses who learns to > see for herself. It's about being soulful and sensitive and caring. It's > about NOT being a square. > > Can you imagine how a student new to philosophy will react to these chapters > without reading the rest of the book? Dan: The good students will be impressed enough to read the whole book without being told. The average students will wonder about what RMP is on about but won't bother doing any further reading unless told to do so. The poor students will probably laugh at the assignment and do just enough to get by. But they're the ones to watch for their creative energy. dmb: What's a reasonable expectation in terms of their comprehension level? Dan: I would expect them to sit back and be told what to do. They've been told what to do their whole lives. They know their places by now. They have to be shown that they know better... that they know what Quality is, even if they don't know that they know. They will be looking to their instructor (you) for instruction. To properly teach Quality, though, you as the instructor will have to let them figure things out for themselves, even if you are tempted to jump in and guide them. They have many years of indoctrination (education) to overcome. As for their comprehension, I think the better students will look to impress you with their knowledge. The average students will try very hard but fail to really "get" what RMP is saying. And the poor students won't give a damn. It is those students to pay attention to, though. dmb: What sorts of questions will they ask? Dan: If we already know what Quality is, why are we here? Isn't it your job to be telling us? dmb: What questions does the passage raise for you? Dan: Why the first phase of the journey is the happiest. I understand that it is the creative energy that drives us forward in the beginning. But why is it so hard to sustain that happiness and energy over the long haul? Is it the self-doubt that invariably creeps into our thoughts and dreams, telling us that we're making a mistake? Why are so few people actively engaged in creativity? Why do they go to work each day, doing the same job, with the same tired attitude, until they are so tired and worn out that they can't do it any more. Does the evil that destroys creativity live in the university? Or is it more sinister? Does it live in our hearts and our heads? Why do our family and friends frown on us striking out into something new and uncertain? The analogy about the hostility that Jesus or Moses would have faced today comes to mind... how their mental stability would have been questioned... and seems pertinent to a student just starting to discover what they want to do with their lives and how best to do it. dmb: What's your favorite point or moment in those chapters? Dan: I like the ego-goal aspect that he talks about towards the end of chapter 17. I recall having some discussions with John about this some time ago and feeling rather frustrated that he didn't seem to see things the way I did. dmb: How would you answer the thematic questions and clues. What is Pirsig saying about the relationship between creative intelligence and getting an "A" in life? Dan: You have to have a goal in life to work towards... getting an "A". Yet to have a goal entails knowing the path so well that all creative energy is lost. dmb: What does he say about following the rules and seeing for yourself?" Dan: The better a student follows the instructor's instructions, the better grade they get. But they lose sight of their own individual nature and creativity. dmb: Would you give different clues or pick a different passage, which doesn't even have to be from ZAMM by the way. Dan: To me, ZMM is the more powerful of the two books. I think it is a good choice for a course called "The Meaning of Life." Chapter 29 is so good! How he talks about loneliness and how paradoxical it is to find it most where there are the most people. Psychic distance, and how it isn't technology that creates this so much as it is the objectivity it breeds. Like the welder who welded his chain guard... the man seemed unsure whether the narrator was being honest with him about the work he'd done. The man didn't realize that people notice things like that. To him, it was just a job. Might be something a student just entering life might be interested in exploring... dmb: I had considered the part of Lila where he says that the intellectual search for the meaning of life is really just a recent fad and is not something the intellect is equipped to do, but I thought the classroom scenes and the questioning of the whole university grading system would be something that undergrads could relate to on a personal level. You know, because it's about their present situation as students who have to write papers. Dan: This seems like the right decision, yes. The way you put it though makes it all seem so unappealing... >dmb: > Or maybe I should have picked all those "dirty" passages in Lila and hired an > over-perfumed prostitute to join me as a visual aid. Darn! I think it might > be too late to switch at this point. Dan: That, or you could really surprise them and cross-dress one day... teach the class in drag. I bet that'd get their attentions. And give them something really good to write their papers about too! Good luck, and best wishes, Dan 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
