lenchom@uwwvax.uww.edu
Mon, 26 Jan 1998 18:21:29 +0100
Diana (and LS),
The definition of DQ/SQ was worked out as a demonstrator, on the
board with my students (freshman composition) at the spur of the
moment. Their assignment: "write an expository essay (500 words)
which shows how some incident, condition, or process is revealingly
understood as the result of the interplay of Pirsig's 'static'
and 'dynamic' forces." One purpose was to extend and apply
Pirsig's terminology; thus, we set about working up a statement
on DQ/SQ.
You're right, Diana, to point out that these definitions do not
highlight the core equation DQ+SQ = Total Reality; it is not
inclusive, but rather defines through exemplars, and is therefore
incomplete. The moral dimensions of SQ/DQ, not reflected in these
definitions, were held in abeyance in order to be developed in a
subsequent paper, where students had to find and incident, process,
or condition which shows one pattern in conflict with another,
describe it, relate it to Pirsig's moral system, show how it was
resolved, and explain the moral evolution that resulted from
the resolution.
The definitions in the original "aside" were created in the spirit
of what Pirsig referred to as his first metaphysical phase in
his pursuit of Quality (ZAMM 189, Morrow ed.)--that "happy, fulfilling,
creative phase" where there is "no attempt at a rigid, systematic
definition." The Phase Two activity (systematic definition) which
the LS is engaged in now is certainly harder.
Diana, you said that the definitions in the aside represented the
most easily digestable part of Pirsig's program. This was my
intention, actually--that way we could have something to use as a starting
point for developing a sensibility that would appreciate the more
comprehensive significance of Pirsig's metaphysics.
In order to write directly on issues of morality in Pirsig's sense,
I had my students consider the following description of "What We Are,"
based upon which we can develop moral vignettes (still in the spirit
of Phase One).
What We Are
We are a CHEMICAL COMPOUND, a system of rules and principles unique
unto itself:
We can be heated, cooled, boiled, frozen, dehydrated, and then
freeze dried; we can be set on fire, exploded, vaporized, turned into
ash, calcified, and made radioactive. If we are dropped out of an
airplane, we will fall downward, accelerating until we hit the ground
with a splat. We can be crushed in a vice. We obey the laws of Physics.
We are a BIOLOGICAL ORGANISM, a system of rules and principles unique
unto itself:
We eat and breathe, sleep and salivate; we make sweat and snot and
cough up phlegm; we belch and burp, cry and sneeze; "w202 Banfart and fuck and
piss and shit and vomit" (LI; we mam); we make babies whichall cover
us squeeze out of our bodies " all covered with blood and placental
slime." We are a member of the only extant species (Sapiens) of the
genus "Homo."
We are a SOCIAL UNIT, a systme of rules and principles unique unto
itself:
We go to school; we occupy ourselves by gainful employment; we
might have to register for the draft, fight in wars, lay down our lives;
we obey the laws of the community, state, and country; we pay taxes;
and we pay money for all the things we care compelled to acquire (in
order to keep up): new clothes when old ones are serviceable, chemicals
to change our natural smells, cosmetics to change our appearance, new
VCR's, cell phones, radios, TVs, HIFI sets, CDs, computers, video games,
boats, cares, houses, microwaves, dishwashers, lawnmowers, fences,
satellite dishes, software, silverware, lazy-boys, waterbeds, candy,
coffee, read meat, house pets, vactations, books, baseball tickets, etc,
etc, etc. We are consumers, clients, caregivers; we have family
obligations and obligations to our friends; we want to be well-liked;
we are a member of society.
We are a THOUGHT PATTERN, system of rules and principles unique
unto itself:
We calculate, analyze, and rationalize; we have ideas about
things; we have a mind and a conscience; we make choices; we think;
we talk of our "spirit"; we create works of art and conduct scientific
experiments; we exhibit common sense; we can imagine hell and heaven.
The following moral vignettes illustrate how Pirsig's
Metaphysics of Quality enables us to evaluate the moral dimensions
of some representative cases.
Moral Vignettes
I
You are shoved into an oven which is then turned on. You begin to
get hot, in response to which your body begins to sweat.
DILEMMA: As a chemical system you are inclined to heat up, but as
a biological organism you work to cool down.
MORAL OUTCOME: Your sweat cools you off, and you do not roast.
II
As you are sitting in class, you find that you are uncomfortably
flatulent. The classroom is rather small and there are many other
students listening to the instructor's lecture. You know that if
you evacuate the gas, yhou will make everyone around you uncomfortable--
and maybe even angry; you will surely disrupt the class.
DILEMMA: As a biological organism you desire to pass gas, but as a
social unit you do not wish to disrupt the social setting.
MORAL OUTCOME: At the risk of becoming constipated, you stifle any
discharge.
III
As you read Lila on a Friday evening after school, learning about
the sources of behavior, the origin of culture, and the nature of
morality and reality, you are paid a surprise visit by a group of
friends who invite you to go out to party with them.
DILEMMA: As a social unit you are inclined to join the group, but
as a fully engaged pattern of thoughts in the white heat of personal
discovery, you are compelled to contemplate the root nature of the
human condition.
MORAL OUTCOME: You decline the invitation and continue your reading.
Hope this isn't too indulgent with "aside" stuff.
Mark Lencho
ZAMM theme (Phase One): "Practice disinterested caring."
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