ROGER EXPLORES ART AND DQ WITH JAMIE
Jamie,
You have asked quite a few questions, and I enjoy responding. However,
rather than do the cut and pace, I have just taken two or three quotes and I
tried to wrap answers to later questions within the broader context of my
explanations. If I missed anything, just ask me to clarify.
You asked if Pirsig uses the terms Quality and Experience synonymously.
Basically, the answer is yes. Quality is an event. It is the present, the
here and now, the preintellectual reality, the non intellectual awareness,
the continuing stimulus... (terms taken at random from pages221 to 225 ZMM).
It is Pure Experience. It is Dynamic Quality.
Jamie:
>dynamic experience = pre-intellectual experience = present =
>romantic understanding
>
>so the experience of the "groovie" would be an experience of the
>present. does it have to be a "new" experience to be a dynamic
>experience? or is any experience both dynamic experience
>(pre-intellectual experience/recognition) and, later, static experience
>(intellectual experience/recognition)?
I would recommend staying away from your term Romantic Understanding if
possible. If you must stick with the Romantic/Classical division, my
suggestion would be to at least change your terms to "Romantic Awareness"and
"Classical Understanding". The awareness vs understanding distinction
implies the immediacy and pre-intellectual nature of Dynamic Quality as
opposed to the past, less real intellectual constructs of reality we call
static quality.
Jamie:
>it is the repetition of the experience of the new song that "causes" the
>song to lose its dynamic experience and change into a static
>experience-- the formerly unknown experience now matched with prior
>analogues, becoming an analogue itself.
Sticking with your song analogy, DQ is the immediate awareness of the notes
and melody. It is fresh and immediate. Sq is your post-experiential
constructs...... The song is in F sharp, it has piano and woodwinds, it is
fast paced, it is composed by.... (BTW the act of thinking these is
experience itself too...but of an inherently different quality of experience
than the original experience of hearing the song.).
I strongly believe all experience is Dynamic. The problem with repeated
listening to a song is that we filter out and no longer attend to the
immediate experience. Our attention is selective, and we redirect it
elsewhere. This is actually good, because this refocusing of experience is
the pursuit of DQ itself. Regardless how good a song is, eventually we have
absorbed this experience and we are changed. The experience which creates the
song also changes us. But eventually, we are done changing... The song has
minimal impact and our attention wisely shifts to new songs or experiences
(and hence new growth). Sometimes of course, we can hear the same song for
the thousandth time, but all the sudden we can find a new flash of hidden
brilliance arise from what we thought was old and familiar..... DQ again
emerges!
A squad member named Walter has an interesting thought experiment that
involves an alzheimers victim. Theoretically, they could hear a song every
day, and always find it fresh and exciting. They would fail to latch onto a
changed state. Thinking about this scenario brings clarity to DQ and sq and
the need for balance and growth..
Putting all this together, I would suggest that there are two ways to pursue
DQ. First, we can always pursue fresh new experience. As a listener, we
could seek new songs and explore new genres. As a musician or composer, we
could expand our art in new directions. Second, we can attend more toward our
current experience. Really listen. When playing, play with total focus.
Find the quality within. The pursuit of DQ in our everyday life is the
message of Lila. Unfortunately, most people have built static filters as
thick as a mountain around themselves. Their life is a stream of stale
patterns that are rarely cherished.
As for your question on how the MOQ views artists, I think the artist (or
scientist) is one who can attend to experience. They can find DQ in the
routine and convey it to others. They are intuitively familiar with the form
and structure of the mythos (the accumulated patterns of society and thought)
and are able to light a fire of experience.
One final angle on the MOQ and art. Over time, Art progresses and evolves
dynamically. Artists find yesterday's quality to be static and routine. They
step out dynamically to new unexplored horizons. This process continues
indefinitely. The problem is that they eventually risk losing their
audience. Only those as steeped in the art as themselves can follow the
advance. To the layman, the new art can appear chaotic. I find examples of
this in modern painting, sculpture, poetry, writing, 20th century atonal
music, bebop's extension into free jazz, etc.
Roger
PS -- For a great summary of the MOQ, read Anthony McWatt's PHD thesis on the
MOQ in the forum. It is extremely enlightening.
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