From: Matthew Stone (mattstone_2000@yahoo.co.uk)
Date: Mon Mar 03 2003 - 10:48:39 GMT
DMB,
DMB said:
> Do me a favor. Explain to me how this wish to go
> back to an unarticulated
> world view is NOT just a big pile of
> anti-intellectual nihilism. Why would
> we be happy with a one-word philosophy? I was
> thrilled when Lila came out.
> For my tastes, ZAMM raised too many question that
> needed answers. I enjoyed
> it in many ways, but I couldn't help but think,
> "Yea? So? What does that
> mean?" I'm extremely suspicious of pomo's apparent
> hostility to the
> philosophical attempts to understand things. I
> think this is just what
> humans want to do and what they have always done.
> We're curious. We're
> explorers. We want to know. Our inability to achieve
> perfection in this, in
> my view, is an extremely weak reason to abandon
> philosophy. Besides,
> metaphysics is fun.
Thanks for your interesting reply. I'm not
criticising Pirsig in a broad sense, only in that his
work can peraps be seen as incompatible with the
post-human ideas of thought. BUt you also raise some
crucial points about the value of nihilism in thought.
This is the biggest (and I might add, the easiest)
criticism of postmodern thought. But there are some
really interesting ideas being developed at the moment
about the positive effect of nihilism. Firstly, that
a state of nihilism is necessary, and perhaps
inevitable, at certain junctures in society's
development, such that defunct modes of thought can be
discarded as they are shown to be questionable.
Therefore new modes of thought are forged, nihilism is
abandonned, and a new, revised modernity emerges. I
would contend that the last 100 years or so have
pretty much resembled such a juncture. Pirsig may
resemble this model, or at least a symptom of the
model - after all, the blurb on the back of ZMM says
something like 'it'll change the way you think about
life'.
Secondly, nihilism may be conceived of as more
advanced state of human reason, where higher forms of
thought can take place, un-hindered by the weight of
metaphysics. This is a difficult idea, but the
emphasis seems to be on 'intersubjectivity', rather
than objectivity, and an empowerment of people to
speak of different things, in different 'languages'.
Although the most 'tricky' cenception of nihilism, it
is also the most exciting, as it heralds a new
enlightenment, such that thought has turned full
circle, and enters modernity again, only in a more
refined sense.
I wouldn't say nihilism is anti-intellectual. Perhaps
it is often unhelpful, as it seems to point out what
is wrong, but never what is right, but is this a bad
thing per se? I've always seen postmodernism as an
exploration of the truth and of the true nature of
things. Yes this is perhaps a contradiction in terms,
but wouldn't you rather throw away the dead wood than
keep hold of it?
Matt
=====
From Matt.
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