Hi Platt,
PLATT:
My position is that you have focused on the word "scientific" without
taking into consideration the context in which it appears. Since I quoted
that context in my post to addressed to Struan of Jan. 19, I see no need
to repeat it.
Since it's irrelevent, neither do I. You posted Struan twice on 19 Jan. In
the second one you focused on the meaning of "scientific" at the end of
chapter 12. However, my post is obviously in response to your first posting
on 19 Jan which refers to a completely different part of the book where he
talks about the doctor/germ example. Any context that "scientific" had in
chapter 12 is lost here. However, you can't fault me for neglecting to
address the context issues you raised about the doctor/patient issue. That
was the point of my post.
PLATT:
I'm puzzled, however, why Pirsig would want to claim that MOQ is
"scientific" if, as you've said, he has a "personal vendetta against
science." Between those two positions, something doesn't compute.
You can accuse Pirsig of inconsistency, but IMHO, the inconsistency
lies elsewhere.
I am convinced Pirsig has a personal vendetta against science and admires
its authority simultaneously. His writing bears this out and it's the only
honest conclusion I can come to. As I've said before, Pirsig is deeply
conflicted and is of two minds about science. This conflict is not
necessarily an inconsistency until you examine precise statements about
science in his writing, because he could dislike certain aspects of
science and admire other ones. I have found at least one direct
contradiction in his writing concerning his attitudes about science. But
this is a topic about attitudes and we've been over it before. I don't
want it to derail the current discussion about the taxonomic method being
scientific.
My position, outlined in my last two posts, is that:
1) Pirsig claims the taxonomic method is scientific and yet
2) It is not scientific in any normal sense of the word.
I'm not saying this is an inconsistency. It's either just wrong,
misleading, or he's neglected to tell us what the new meaning of science
is under the MOQ. Would you care to comment on this further or just let it
rest?
Glenn
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