Hi David B., Kevin and Group:
Thanks David for a splendid explanation of mysticism. I agree with you
that the mystic experience is outside of static patterns and doesn't fit into
any static level, including the new one Kevin proposes.
Kevin, you argue that the practice of mysticism, being a lifestyle with
definite actions and reflections, is static and thus could qualify as a level.
That argument doesn't wash because one could say that the practice of
professional golf with its lifestyle of definite actions and reflections could
qualify as an MoQ level as it too seeks to engender a mystical
experience�the "zone of perfection" that many athletes have described
with awe and wonder. (The search for the perfect shot keeps weekend
hackers returning again and again.)
What bothers me the most, however, about your proposal (as I
understand it) is that it would put the practice of mysticism at the top of
Pirsig's moral hierarchy, making it a "better" lifestyle than engaging in
social and intellectual pursuits.
Should we put mystic practices like sitting around in a teepee smoking
peyote on a higher moral plane than working in a laboratory to find a
cure for cancer? I don't think so.
Your proposal seems like an open invitation to every crackpot religious
sect to proclaim itself morally superior to intellect and society, thus giving
it permission to dominate. Well, we've seen that happen in the Western
world during the Dark Ages, and currently all you have to do is look at
what's happening in Kosovo to see the results of a society dominated by
mystic-based religious fervor.
Anyone can claim to be a mystic and have a direct phone line to the
Almighty. Therein lies the problem. To elevate any such claimant to the
highest moral level would, to say the least, reverse Pirsig's evolutionary
moral direction, while any attempt to set up criteria whereby some
mystics or mystic practices would be approved and others denied would
be a hopeless task from the start.
As David rightfully points out, �the mystical insight is the best way to
perceive DQ itself. But it is the static social and intellectual patterns that
organize DQ in such a way as to make it intelligible.� And that, in turn,
makes us survivable�the reason why the intellectual level occupies the
moral high ground in Pirsig�s metaphysical classification.
Platt
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