Ham said to Ant --
...As for the "basics" of reality, ... perhaps the most fundamental is: The
"common good" originates with the individual self. Or, as Ayn Rand put it, "No
man can think for another." Social conventions such as morality "have value"
only to the extent that this value is realized by individuals. Ant, I'm
sorry but not entirely surprised that my concept of reality doesn't square with
yours. I defer to Horse and the other charter members here to decide whether
the basic tenets of Essentialism are in conflict with the MoQ.
dmb says:
I'm not a charter member but I think your Essentialism is in conflict with the
MOQ in all kinds of ways, including your Randian conception of the individual.
I have explained this and showed you the evidence for it, this was what was put
before your eyes almost five years ago, you incorrigible crank.
“The word ‘I’ like the word ‘self’ is one of the trickiest words in any
metaphysics. Sometimes it is an object, a human body; sometimes it is a
subject, a human mind. I believe there are number of philosophic systems,
notably Ayn Rand’s ‘Objectivism,’ that call the ‘I’ or ‘individual’ the central
reality. Buddhists say it is an illusion. So do scientists. The MOQ says it is
a collection of static patterns capable of apprehending Dynamic Quality. I
think that if you identify the ‘I’ with the intellect and nothing else you are
taking an unusual position that may need some defending.” --- Robert Pirsig in
Lila's Child, annotation 130
“It’s important to remember that both science and Eastern religions regard ‘the
individual’ as an empty concept. It is literally a figure of speech. If you
start assigning a concrete reality to it, you will find yourself in a
philosophic quandary.” -- Robert Pirsig in Lila's Child, annotation 77
I think you don't realize it, Ham, but your view is wildly at odds with
Pirsig's. You've always been polite and yet the substance of your view is
really quite offensive and your obliviousness to this conflict makes you
inadvertently obnoxious, like the Klansman who shows up in black-face and yet
doesn't understand why he's unwelcome at the NAACP. You know what I mean?
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