Jon here. I was formerly a poster under the screen name of "Cntryforce".
These trends are interesting. Why does everyone start posting at once, and
why does everyone stop posting at once? Coincidence, or...?
Where has everyone gone? What happened to Dennis and Struan?
I can only speak for myself. There are times when Pirsig's work interests me
a great deal. Then I become interested in something else, and several weeks
may go by before the nagging tug of RP's philosophy compels me to analyze his
works once again.
Lately the aspect of LILA that I've been pondering is the portion where
Pirsig explains that the intellectual level didn't take precedence until
1911. Hmm. If he is correct, then it seems logical to assume we haven't yet
seen the lasting ramifications of this event. Ninety years isn't much data.
But there may be enough clues to piece together some kind of preview. The
future looks not so great.
I've had some troubling debates with a few scientists recently. One in
particular, whom Pirsig would almost certainly label a logical positivist. A
type of person who absolutely refuses to believe that there is *any* aspect
of reality that can't be detected by science. If science can't prove it's
real, then it's not real. Period.
This is a disturbing attitude that I see reflected in society. Record numbers
of people are rejecting religion. Science to many people, whether they
understand science or not, is becoming a kind of God. Science, they think, is
real. God is not real. Only science is real.
I have no problem with atheists, or anyone who wants to reject religion. It's
the attitudes of these people I find frightening. To them, the only stuff
that is real is stuff that can be proven to exist. Everything else is
fantasy. Human invention. Needless. Such as God. God, they say, is simply not
real. Why? His existence can't be proven. Fine. But here's where things get
complicated...
What about Good? No, not God. Add an "o". Good. G-o-o-d.
Does Good exist? Can Good be proven to exist? No, the logical positivists
will answer. It's just a human invention (such as science, I would add).
So, Good does not exist. Good, of course, is synonymous with Quality. So
Quality doesn't exist either. And you can cross Morals and Morality off the
list of things that really exist. All pesky human fantasies. Human beings
don't even exist, if you want to know the truth. We're just carbon and
chemicals and electrons. No, we're not even that. We're just molecules.
See the disastrous results of subject-object metaphysics at work? It's
getting to the point where we don't even view ourselves as humans anymore. We
shouldn't think of ourselves this way. A brain, liver, lungs, intestines; all
parts that add up to a whole human. We get off track when we start thinking
of ourselves as what we can be broken down into, such as electrons and
molecules. Throw a brain on a sidewalk and it's not very useful. We are
losing touch with our very humanity.
And what's more disturbing than anything else, is that many of the scientists
of the world think there's absolutely nothing wrong with losing touch with
our humanity. To many of them, humanity just gets in the way with all its
pesky biological and emotional needs. One day we will "free ourselves" from
our humanity, they say. Does this bother anyone else? I personally love
humanity, despite its violent history. I certainly never want to free myself
from my humanity. But this seems to be one of the ultimate goals of science,
does it not?
Science seems to be slowly turning us all into passive observers. After all,
nothing serves science better than passive observers. We are a long way from
becoming total slaves to science, but we are getting there. Generation after
generation becomes conditioned to observing by watching thousands of hours of
television and staring into computer screens every day. Anyone ever see
"Metropolis"? I think it may actually offer a more accurate prediction of the
eventual future than "1984". Big Brother is a red herring.
Customer parking only.
If I had to pick three words to describe the near future of American society,
those would be the words. Customer parking only. If I had to pick one word,
it would be:
Consolidation.
I just wish more people would see this one simple fact. When people are
comfortable, they don't realize there's a problem. So they don't attempt to
make any real changes. Pirsig is right about everything being an analogy. If
you are comfortable in the position you are currently in, chances are you
will not change positions. Same with modern day society.
We are becoming complacent, willing supplicants to the "reality" of science.
There is more to life than what can be proven. But this is a society that is
slowly, generation after generation, draining our capacity for wonder away.
What good is wonder in a universe where everything can be "explained" and
"proven" by holy science?
It's good to be back.
Jon
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