[Marsha] If everything is betterness, and there is nothing that is not betterness, then there is no meaning to betterness, for there is no way of distinguishing a difference between betterness and nonbetterness.
[Arlo] I answer this by saying the same thing about "Quality". If everything is "Quality", and there is nothing that is not "Quality", then there is no meaning to "Quality", for there is no way of distinguishing a difference between "Quality" and "non-Quality". This is simply reposing a semantic trap akin to those Zeno made famous. [Marsha] It seems that the text CAN be interpreted differently. [Arlo] Sure, you can interpret Quality to mean "little, green leprechauns" if you want. So? [Arlo had quoted ZMM] "But some things are better than others, that is, they have more quality... Obviously some things are better than others...but what's the "betterness"? ... What the hell is Quality? What is it?" (ZMM). [Marsha] It's ambiguous. [Arlo] Ambiguous? Like this? "... everything, is an ethical activity...this definition of 'betterness' - this beginning response to Dynamic Quality - is an elementary unit of ethics upon which all right and wrong can be based" (LILA). Or this "Because Quality is morality. Make no mistake about it. They're identical" (LILA) [Marsha] For you? Good for you! But as far as you creating MoQ dogma, NO WAY Jose. Not for me. [Arlo] MOQ dogma? Once again, this is simply your problem of conflating the socio-intellectual value humans perceive with all uses of "betterness". Pirsig did not have that problem, and indeed showed how Quality, "betterness", is the dynamic, evolutionary force behind all things. "When inorganic patterns of reality create life the Metaphysics of Quality postulates that they've done so because it's "better"..." That's not ambiguous, nor interpretative. You can (and do) disagree with Pirsig, and that is your call. But positing an "amoral Quality" (which is an oxymoron) is simply trying to say "I believe in the MOQ" while embracing the same old S/O dualist perspectives Pirsig fought against. 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/
