Hello Lilasquad,
" That's the whole thing: to obtain static and
dynamic Quality simultaneously. [...] "
An everlasting balancing of old and new,
conservative and progressive, reactionary and
revolutionary, familar and alien: the static and
the dynamic quality.
Well, how can we say, where the static ends up,
and where the dynamic quality begins? The dividing
line between them, can it ever be sharp?
In mathematical meaning: No matter, what shape it
has and what lenght, a line has no thickness, it
has no area on it's own. So let us imagine we are
moving through the lands of static quality,
heading towards it's border, of which we know it
is there. We know there is unknown land outside
there; that's what our people call 'dynamic
quality'- land. In case, we find it, we can claim
it to be our's!
So let us imagine you are just walking,
absent-minded near the borderline. You are not
heading for 'dynamic quality'-land, nor would you
mind to get there. Maybe you are a kind of
pathfinder for your people and you are considered
to know the outer zones of 'static-quality'-land.
One the one hand side not many people do come
across this part of the country, one the other
hand side the maps that exists are considered to
be vague. So you haven't come across any other
wanderer for a long time. ' Oh that strangley
shaped huge rock overthere! Is it the one you saw
last week, Hmm...! ' You are walking on,
absent-minded again. And again: ' Wow! that
enormous oak-tree overthere'; you can't remember
it. You stop walking, some sort of hunter instinct
takes hold of you now. You are slowly turning your
head around, so that you are finally looking
straight backwards, the direction you came from.
Now you are sure about this: you have never been
here before!
But where did you come across that very line? You
can't say! You are not alarmed actually, but your
mind and your senses are now ready for the NEW,
the unexpected.
The Land we come from, the land of static quality,
we do know well. Some of us do good in that,
knowing even the outer areas, some of us stick to
the center of it, cultivating it. We never would
have a problem in describing static quality. In
interviewing a large enough number of people about
their beliefs, their knowlegde, in letting them
describe of how they see the world, what they like
and dislike, we would get a more or less detailed
picture of what we call in the pirsigian sense
static quality. Is there any dynamic quality in
there? In my opinion there cannot! Once we declare
anything as (acknowlegded) part of this world,
it's nothing but SQ. The things we call
unhesitatingly part of our world, no matter where
it belongs to in the pirsigian sense - inorganic,
biological, social, intellectual - I believe must
be static quality. Any item describing our world,
once has been dynamic quality for a short period
of time.
In a kind of metamorphosis, DQ shifts to SQ. First
DQ, then SQ. DQ all around in that wide land,
always near the cutting egde of our metaphorical
train of SQ speeding along that railtrack. In that
way everything that IS the world for us grows
bigger everyday, which does not mean it is not
there, before we discover it. Just like Pirsig
says - ' dynamic quality is knocking on our door,
saying 'hey, here I am and if you are willing to
see me, please let me in' ' ( sorry for giving no
exact quotation). And it seems to say further on
'....and if not, well then, I'll have another try
in hundred years or so'.
DQ comes way everyday to many people. But in case
it is really this very DQ, we are talking about,
we have no name for it in that moment. We might
have a strange feeling. positive or negative, that
there is something, something NEW, like that new
piece of music Pirsig talks about, a sudden
impulse maybe.
In my opinion, there cannot be a real coexistence
between DQ and SQ. SQ is eating DQ. SQ is
absorbing DQ. It is a kind of metamorphosis: A
small piece of DQ dies and gets a small piece of
new SQ, which fits into the complete volume of SQ,
representing mans scientific, cultural and social
world. Sometimes it substitutes another one,
sometimes it is just an addition to our knowlegde.
So there is nothing outside those both: DQ or SQ,
nothing else! No Zone between them, only a
dividing line.
So how can we help ourselves in discovering DQ,
prefferingly positive DQ? Firsteval, we have to be
like our pathfinder with his hunterinstinct, like
mentioned above.
Knowing it well our land of static quality, which
means in the sense of SOM to be good in, at least
one scientific discipline ( but not necessarely
studied or educated).
Knowing how to read the maps - in SOM being
capable, of using analytical and logical
instruments, so we can deal upon our knowlegde
craftfully.
Being brave! Willing to explore the outer regions
of our static land, leaving the warm home and
heading for the unexpected - in the sense of SOM,
we must be willing to loosen the ties of our
scientific knowledge, that could mean for example,
to have a closer look to our basical assumptions!
We may not ask: ' Have we reason to doubt
asumption xy?, but instead, we may ask: ' Do we
really have no reason do doubt assumption xy?
Creating ourselves conditions, to be capable of a
'snifflingly thinking', 'hearingly thinking',
'watchingly thinking'. Giving again more space to
our instincts. Everybody has them! ( Some of us
more, and some of us less) Remember Rogers
suggestions about rituals - those splendid 'open-
for- DQ- rituals'.
And be aware of a special kind of people: there
are dusenberrys and brujos everywhere! They are
not always nice these people. They do not know of
each other in general! Some of them seem to be
mad, some of them are mad, but they all tend to
give impulse to their environment, sometimes with
useful effect. They are ADD! (
Attention-Deficit-Disorder).
I hope my essay is not to narrative ( but isn't
Pirsig narrative himself?) and still clear enough.
Of course I'm ready for Clarification of my
writings, if needed.
Awaiting an even more vital discussion, greetings
to the LilaSquad and the new Day
JoVo
MOQ.org - http://www.moq.org
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