LS Re: : On Valuing Intellectual Ideas


Hettinger (hettingr@iglou.com)
Sun, 22 Mar 1998 16:19:45 +0100


Hi, Kevin. You got me thinking with this one.

Kevin Sanchez wrote:

> Furthermore, perhaps the value of any particular idea can be weight in how
> many other levels it must use to prove its point. For instance, pure evil
> force (threatening to turn human biological life into inorganic matter as a
> social custom) was what was necessary for Hitler's idea. However, Gandhi
> threatened no biological death and only made social demonstrations. The
> less invasion of other levels, the more worthy and intellectual idea.
> What do you think?
>

I've been gradually coming to a semi-conclusion that an event or interaction that acts
on many levels at the same time, in some sort of linked action, is perceived as a
Quality event. IE. some sort of balanced state in which the new patterns are
perceived as beauty, or as a paradigm shift. I might be able to buttress this with
the notion that lately the Squad seems to be coming to a sense that the more moral or
more evolved entity has the capability of increased awareness, which I interpret as
being able to interact and perceive with a high intellectual awareness without losing
touch with supporting levels and patterns as well.

Now, you seem to perceive the opposite. And after spending a few days on this, I
wonder whether it's not so much having an effect on lower levels that makes the
difference, as whether the lower levels' values are also a part of this or not.

Hitler had an effect on lower levels. His intellectual concept became a biological
force ("threatening to turn human biological life into inorganic matter as a social
custom"--good description).

I think Gandhi had an effect on lower levels, and his movement was an intellectual
concept put into social action that had the effect of changing biological reality
without destruction.

And the major differences between the two are:
1) One destroyed many individual human lives and one didn't. We could probably have a
field day with this, if we were willing to entertain the notion that the wholescale
preservation of individual human life may not be an automatic, unchallengeable
indication of betterness.

2) The level of action was different. Gandhi's movement maintained a high
intellectual self-concept, applied its force entirely within the social/intellectual
realm, refused to recognize or interact within the social/biological struggle, and
therefore kept itself within a higher, more moral plane. Hitler's movement glorified
a biological ideal (the purity of the Aryan race), and operated within the
biological/inorganic level (pure physical survival).

If this observation is correct, each "movement", even though it contained an
intellectual component, focused itself at a different level, (or maybe llinked the
intellectual pattern to a different level) and then went into action at the level
below. Is this something that seems to carry through as any kind of general rule?

Maggie

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