Ant,
Ant McWatt comments: > > > John, > > To add to what both DMB and Arlo have said to you, I will also remind you > of one of my favorite phrases of Pirsig's found right at the beginning of > ZMM in Chapter 1: > > "In this Chautauqua I would like not to cut any new channels of > consciousness but simply dig deeper into old ones that have become silted > in with the debris of thoughts grown stale and platitudes too often > repeated. 'What's new?' is an interesting and broadening eternal question, > but one which, if pursued exclusively, results only in an endless parade of > trivia and fashion, the silt of tomorrow. I would like, instead, to be > concerned with the question 'What is best?,' a question which cuts deeply > rather than broadly, a question whose answers tend to move the silt > downstream." > > Now, the latter paragraph should apply to ANY philosophy discussion group > worthy of that name but - especially with the above quote in mind - with > the one devoted to Pirsig's work. DMB and Arlo obviously take > philosophical discussion very seriously AND SO DO I - most of the time > anyway... (I know we're not perfect in this regard). > > Judging from your recent contributions on this discussion group, I know > you like flitting from one philosophical issue to another like a butterfly > on speed or a young kid in a large candy shop. Unfortunately, MOQ Discuss > (like any other philosophy discussion group that wants to cut deeply into > an issue) just can't work that way whatever interesting thoughts might > quickly pass ANY one's mind during the day. That's not why MOQ Discuss was > established for, way back when (in 1998) and this remains the case today. > Facebook (or a similar social internet network) might be OK for just > passing the day with such brief observations and comments but not here. > Jc: If you're accusing me of being a bit scatter-brained, mea culpa. I kinda am. But it's been real hectic around my place for the last month or so, what with getting ready for the wedding of the century and all... I really haven't had time to delve as deeply as I should. As for dmb and his sock puppet... when and if I hear an actual argumentative point I'll deal with it. But its mainly just virulence and vitriol from that quarter and whats there to say when somebody just hates me? The more well-thought out my arguments, the more he hates. There's no cure for hate. Ant: > However, IF you'd like to discuss Pirsig's work on a deeper level, I will > respond to you seriously but (certainly speaking for myself), if I want to > discuss 'what's new' in our world today, then I will go down my local bar > or pick-up the phone to an old mate. As the old proverb says: "Horses for > Courses"! > So, if you want to discuss Pirsig's work with me (or anyone else for that > matter) here, try to think of the FOREMOST burning issue with Pirsig's work > over the next day or two and start from there. And try to just stick to > this one issue until we reach some sort of agreement or simply, as often > happens in philosophy, we just agree to disagree! If you want to bring in > Royce (or any other writer/philosopher) to help explain this issue, that's > fine with me too but personally I don't have the time or inclination to be > distracted by trivia on any philosophy discussion group and, of course, > this Board. > > Best (sincere) wishes, > > Ant > > > P.S. I'm meeting-up with a fellow MOQ academic that I have never met > before in his country on Friday so I won't get the chance to look at MOQ > Discuss (or any thing else on the internet actually!) for the next few days > afterwards. I'll be back home by next Thursday though. A > > That sounds exciting and I wish you good conversation. I hope to hear back anything new that you learn. As far as the one issue that I'd like to discuss more deeply, it's the independence/dependence of the levels. I'll stick to that for now. Leaving art undefined is fine with me. That is, that idea gives me peace of mind. I appreciate your admonition and patience, John 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
