David and Squad,
At last, I have finally found someone who can explain Mysticism to me.
You stopped short of offering an explanation in your last post so I will
await further enlightenment.
Getting back to the physical explanation. I don't see a physical
explanation as being at variance with Pirsig's ideas. I agree that there is
much discussion of mysticism and that it has been around probably since the
dawn of consciousness. That doesn't mean that it is correct, it just means
that there is a lack of understanding within the human community. Even
Pirsig is still caught up in it. You are correct in concluding that my
understanding of our place in the scheme of things comes from reading. I
have been doing it for the better part of seventy years. That is what has
led me to the conclusion that a mystical view of the universe is incorrect.
I don't deny that mysticism is a satisfying position, I just deny that it
is a correct position and has led to much strife and misunderstanding in
the world and needs to be superseded. We are just now approaching a
complete enough understanding of the workings of the universe to correctly
place ourselves into the scheme of things. We are just beginning to
understand that the entire universe displays all of the characteristics of
a living entity just as does the Earth. To my mind it is a much more
beautiful picture of our situation than the mysticism that I have been
immersed in all of my life. If you wish to present me with a God that
conceived the overall function of the universe and all of its contents then
I will be more prepared to accept your conclusions. The mysticism that is a
function of the desires of humanity I am less inclined to accept since it
has a record of continually sowing strife and discord in the world.
I think that the Metaphysics of Quality is an amazing achievement of the
mind, but I also think that we can dispense with mysticism within it
without damaging its precepts. I think it would be a cleaner, more honest
philosophy if it were grounded in the realities of the universe.
It is getting late and this is just off the top of my head but I will be
prepared to discuss these ideas in more detail if you are interested.
I will also be looking forward to a detailed definition of Mysticism and
how it is a fitting framework to support our world view. At the moment I
can't see it. Ken
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