Hi Michael, Thank you for the question. In both ZMM and Lila, Pirsig states that by trying to wrap MoQ with words, Quality only becomes more hidden (my specific words there by the way, not his). Therefore, the standard Subject/Object Metaphysics does not work very well, and he has to resort to analogies which may seem simple on the surface, but are actually quite profound at the next level down. I am sure that Pirsig's intent was even at a level below that. So, yes, if you look for Quality using the tools of the Church of Reason, you will find the Church of Reason. There is a saying: "When a pickpocket meets a Saint, all he sees are pockets".
I believe that this is why Pirsig refers to "spiritual rationalism". That would be a rationalism that could well be very very different from our standard logic. As I said, he tries to explain the through analogy. The problems with analogies are that the pictures that form in one's head are highly personal. Really the only way to grasp MoQ would be to spend time with Pirsig as a master-apprentice sort of thing. As long as it takes, maybe years if one is stubbornly clutching at a world that is familiar. Remember that Pirsig pretty much lost his mind and had to go through electroshock therapy, not a great way to end up. This is why it is always recommended that one seek enlightenment with a teacher. Not only is it faster, but also one will not need to be charged up through electrodes. Pirsig admits that he does not see things the same way as his alter ego Phaedrus. He views the world in a classical way (with the left brain), whereas Phaedrus probably had a balanced amount of right and left depending on the situation. This is why I try to promote the Yin Yang approach (which Pirsig also uses) as an analogy. A proper balance is required to see the world in a new way (I will speak to this in another post in the future once I figure out how to express it in an understandable way). Currently the West is highly partisan towards the classical approach. Pirsig states that it all started shortly before the birth of Christ, but my research suggests that it is way more complicated than that. Hope to hear more from you. Mark On Sat, Jul 9, 2011 at 12:37 PM, Michael R. Brown <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello all - > > I've been on the list before, then left, now returned. > > I've been reading Bob Pirsig's writing regularly since the mid-1980s, and > remain deeply intrigued by him - first as a literary artisan (for which he's > not received enough credit) and then as a philosopher. I do think that he > has lit on some insights of huge importance, and expressed them in the way > they needed to be expressed. > > But here's something that I have been unable to resolve, so I throw it out > here for what it's worth. > > Almost every discussion of Pirsig, the totality of his thought, and the MOQ > (all three of which are separate) that I've seen eventually resemble the > Church of Reason intellectualizing criticized so adeptly in ZAMM. > > And what I have not yet seen, ever, is an expression of passionate emotion. > There's obviously passionate emotion in ZAMM, and I've always been grateful > that RP touches sexuality in L - so where's the expression of this passion > in those who have been influenced by him? Am I missing it? What's the > subjective importance of this writer to those who love him? > > [ For those who are interested in RP's possible literary children, I worked > in a commentary and tribute to the closing of ZAMM - which I think one of > the most moving things I've ever read - in my last book, a memoir that > closes on the opposite shore of the great Bridge that our protagonists are > approaching as the book ends. ] > > > MRB > 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 > 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
