Hi all:
I have only one thought this time, but it needs to be developed a
little. To put it simply, I think there is an affinity and similarity
between the pre-Socratic Sophists and Native Americans.
I like the picture Denis painted. As he described, I think the
intellectual level is the jungle where SOM lives. SOM rules the jungle.
But I've been trying to make the case that a different metaphysic has
been trying to establish itself as king of the jungle all along. I think
of it as an ongoing dialectic between romantic Platonism and classic
Aristotleianism. (Is that even a word?!) With respect to this month's
discussion, that battle could have gone on forever and SOM would seem
even more insurmountable than it already does if Pirsig hadn't gone to
the East, back in time, or to the tee pee to trip. This was what it took
to get outside of the SOM monster and it was a heroic effort in the
truest sense of the word.
I think Pirsig turns to the Native American and their kind of mysticism
to provide an example of a contemporary non-Asian culture that isn't
dominated by SOM. Their values are deeply embedded in the American
psyche now and so Pirsig thinks the losing side has more of a chance
than ever. Their values aren't alien in the West. Those values live in
middle class white guys like me. Remember Butch and Sundance in sepia
tone? I've always felt that Pirsig short changes the Africans in this
respect. Surely their values have been absorbed into the American
culture too. In fact, their relationship to European Americans was far
more intimate, with many white children in the south being virtually
raised by house slaves. But I digress.
So the similarity between native Americans and the Sophists is that they
were both highly developed on the social level, but neither of them has
been "polluted" by Aristotle's brand of thinking. They both represent a
place where the jungle is still free from the dominance of SOM. They
were both more evolved than the naked hunter gatherers. And they were
both up against huge forces that wished to build an empire way beyond
local or regional culture. I mean, it seems there is something
imperialistic about classical thinking. Both the Sophist and the
"Indians" opposed forces that wanted to control everything. Notice how
the MOQ will allow SOM to live in its' jungle?
DMB
MOQ.org - http://www.moq.org
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