LS Re: Quality?


Platt Holden (pholden@worldnet.att.net)
Sat, 30 Aug 1997 19:27:34 +0100


In Jason Gaedtke's thought provoking letter he asked:

"How can MOQ be interpreted in such a way that it becomes useful and
practical in making our everyday value judgments?"

One way I use MOQ is to help me analyze an individual's value system so I
can better understand his basic philosophical assumptions. For example,
from Jason's letter I compiled the following list of his likes and
dislikes:

Positive Values Negative Values

maturity egotism
cooperation bickering
collaboration harsh criticism
mutual growth defending strongly held positions
active listening ideas carved in Stone
evolution sacred scripture
potential for growth philosophology
enhanced awareness ambiguity
usefulness convolution
practicality easy outs
refinements hard and fast systems
subtlety highly structured
rational debate begging the question

>From this I conclude that Jason comes down on the side of evolutionism,
rationalism, relativism and pragmatism. The only one of these assumptions
Pirsig agrees with is evolutionism. He is critical of pure rationalism
(subject/object thinking), relativism (all assumptions are equally worthy)
and pragmatism (a static social pattern retarding the evolution of truth
and Dynamic Quality).

Now you can argue with my conclusions about Jason's assumptions (and he
probably would) and about my interpretation of how Pirsig might view them.
But that's not my point.

My point is that I find useful and practical the intellectual framework MOQ
provides that helps me uncover the assumptions, often hidden, in
philosophical discussions as well as "everyday" interactions with family,
friends and associates, thus "enhancing" my "awareness" of what's really
going on. If I make a mistake, the other party is usually quick to correct
me, sometimes justifiably, sometimes not.

As for deciding which assumptions are true, I like Pirsig's art gallery
analogy in Chapter B,"... simply to enjoy and keep those that are of
value."

Platt

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