From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Jan 19 2003 - 12:02:06 GMT
Hi DMB:
> Platt said:
> In MoQ terms, the individual is the intellectual level, the public the
> social, placing the individual at a higher moral level than the mob.
>
> DMB says:
> Would you like to back up the idea that the 3rd and 4th levels are defined
> this way? I think its not essentially about individuals-vs-groups and that
> you've confused Robert Pirsig with Ayn Rand here.
Last time I looked, intellectuals were individuals.
> Pirsig:
> "To put philosophy in the service of any social organization or any
> dogma is immoral. It's a lower form of evolution trying to devour a higher
> one." (29)
>
> DMB says:
> Its hard to tell exactly what you make of this quote, but it seems you're
> using to undermine the idea that intellectually guided societies are
> morally superior to traditionally guided societies. In any case, I think
> the quote expresses an idea that is easily seen in a specific example.
> Remember when he discusses his fraternity brothers who were happy to sell
> out. Instead of doing science for the sake of science, they were willing to
> do it for the sake of a buck? He says its wrong for a social organization,
> in this case a company, that only USES science to make money. This is a
> specific case of "a lower form of evolution trying to devour a higher one"
> and makes the meaning of the quote quite clear.
Intellectuals are not interested in making money? That's a new one on
me. I think with your anti-profit, anti-capitalism stance you're confusing
Pirsig with Marx.
Thanks,
Platt
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