dmb said to djh: Your claim is contradictory nonsense. According to Pirsig and the English language, degeneracy is not good.
djh replied to dmb: Anything static is mystically degenerate - but that mystic degeneracy is statically good. dmb says: Think about it for just a minute, David. If everything is degenerate, then the word cannot be used to distinguish anything from anything else. If everything is degenerate, then the idea is completely useless in settling any dispute or resolving any conflict of values. [Ron] Quite right Dmb, It renders the term meaningless. What is not seen is the flip flop in context needed to operate a working idea of contradictory meaning. Djh is asserting a Hegalian dialectictical model. But lets gain a little context of what is actually being claimed by those asserting the idea that static quality is mysically degenerate. I think it ties in nicely with what we discussing in regard to Zeno and how ancient thinkers arrived at the idea that appearences are false and illusionary, they are degenerate and secondary from the mystical "one" and as you correctly state, this conflicts with Pirsigs assertions about experience being the source of all meaning. It could be said that this is the distinguishing characteristic between the decided monist , the rationalist and the pluralist, the empricist temperment. The problem is that the explanation seeks to explain the good by dialectical anti-thesis by the degenerate, some things are less degenerate than others. I think the consequences are far reaching and conclude to a very different way of thinking about experience. BUT the assertion that this supports the idea that contradiction lies as the center peice of the MoQ and therefore if this assertion conflicts and contradicts the remainder of Pirsigs works it some how is justified as supportive of their claims as a consistancy with Pirsigs assertions. DOing this throws all accountability for anything said out the window as consistancy and clarity in meaning are abandoned for a call to purity and blind faith. In short by claiming that all static quality is degenerate they are doing exactly what the early neoplatonist christians did. Ironic huh? ..the very buggers these folk hate with a passion.. ... .... 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
