Quoting Ron Kulp <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
[Platt] > The key for me is Pirisg's claim that each level is a moral system. > That, I submit, is an astonishing claim, especially in this day and age > when morals are declared to be exclusively the province of man and are > thus arbitrary. > > [Ron] > Platt, I think people get hung up on the word "moral" just as they do > with "wrong". Admittedly, > myself included. It caused me to think what exactly does moral mean? > And what is trying to be stated > by choosing that word and words like "triumph over" evoking > preconceptual ideals of SOM. > As you desribe it, it is an astonishing claim given how we formally > defined moral but > I feel Pirsig is also redefining the term to mean much more and asking > us to drop the preconception > Those terms formally meant in lieu of a broader more accurate picture. Pirsig defines what he means by "moral" in several places. This is from the Copleston Annotations: "Ferrier's first move is to look for the absolute starting-point of metaphysics in a proposition which states the one invariable and essential feature in all knowledge, and which cannot be denied without contradiction. For the MOQ this is, 'Some things are better than others.' Every infant knows this before he learns his first word." Once you see where Pirsig is coming from, it's not hard to see how morality (some things are better than others) underpins each of the independent levels. Example: It's better to evolve to homo sapiens than remain swamp scum. Platt ------------------------------------------------- This mail sent through IMP: http://horde.org/imp/ 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.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
