DmB: Wouldn't it be fun to add a little fantasy sequence wherein Phaedrus takes the place of the Sophist in Plato's dialogue and he turns the tables on Socrates, wherein he gives different answers, better answers and exposes Socrates as a bully and a liar. This would happen in his imagination as he's sitting at that large, cracked, wooden table at the University of Chicago.
Ron: In "Sophist" it is the visitor, from Elea who is the "bully" actually. Socrates asks this visitor if the Eleans treat the philosopher, the statesmen and the sophist as being a single sort of person or as having disticnt intellectual capacities. The Visitor explains that it is the latter and they engage in the use of the method of "collection and division" in the definition of each. The idea being to explore the meaning of the term in as many relational ways as possible, the what-it-is and what-it-is-not of it all through the traditional series of question and answer. I think the closest dialog of the type Pirsig mentions, a dialog between the Sophist and the Philosopher in a showdown would have to be "Protagoras" in which the debate was whether or not the good can be taught which concludes in a draw. I think "Paedrus" would have added a great deal to the dialog because Socrates begins to criticize Protagoras's conception of the good in a rhetorical move to undermine the arguement. If one can't say what it is, how can one teach it? Enter "Pheadrus" or Pirsig with his 1961 paper to Edith on teaching quality in writing. Here's a guy who not only says the good can be taught he has a few ideas as to how. A great companion read to this section of the book. .. 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
