From: SQUONKSTAIL@aol.com
Date: Wed Jul 02 2003 - 21:07:35 BST
Dear All,
I wish to state that in my view, Mr. Pirsig is in no sense racist.
His ideas have been ignored and modified by many people, most notably
Skutvik. In Skutvik's very personal view of the Metaphysics of Quality, the
intellectual level is specifically differentiated experience and reason. To use his
precise words:
"the intellectual LEVEL emerged with the Greeks and is the S/O divide or
reason"
This position is not that of Mr. Pirsig.
The assertion states that Chinese and Indian intellect did not exist until it
was introduced from the West. This view is not even held by Western
philosophers. It is certainly not held by squonk, Paul, or Mr. Pirsig:
'For purposes of MOQ precision, let's say that the
intellectual level is the same as mind. It is the
collection and manipulation of symbols, created in the
brain, that stand for patterns of experience.' Lila's
Child
PIRSIG: "It is important for an understanding of the
MOQ to see that although 'common sense' dictates that
inorganic nature came first, actually 'common sense'
which is a set of ideas, has to come first. This
'common sense' is arrived at through a web of socially
approved evaluations of various alternatives. The key
term here is 'evaluation,' i.e. quality decisions. The
fundamental reality is not the common sense or the
objects and laws approved of by common sense but the
approval itself and the quality that leads to it."
Lila's Child Note 97
Chinese and Indian intellectual history is harmonised with western
intellectual history by the Metaphysics of Quality. Chinese intellectual history of over
4,000 years has less differentiation between subjects and objects, and it has
a variation of logic based upon the meaning of words rather than Pythagorean
derived numerical harmony. Indian intellectual thought is embedded in
apparently superfluous (to Western minds) religious and social custom, which in
essence shares a common root with Chinese intellectual history far beyond 4,000
years.
The correct Metaphysics of Quality unifies all intellectual patterns, and
fully recognises the Quality of Chinese and Indian intellectual history. In fact,
the correct Metaphysics of Quality draws heavily on Asian intellectual
tradition, emphasising harmony.
I do not wish to suggest that Skutvik knowingly asserts racist doctrine. I
feel his views are largely a matter of his own cultural blind spot, and a very
large degree of socially approved evaluations. Those who support him contribute
to his evaluations. That is quite understandable and easily overcome by
openness of thought and a willingness to explore ideas beyond one's own limited
sphere.
But Skutvik's insistence upon a racist assertion has been a considerably long
one, and goes as far as his belief that his own very personal view of the
Metaphysics of Quality is the 'proper' Metaphysics of Quality. Thus, the proper
view for Skutvik is one that has deep racial and divisive undertones which
completely deny intellectual history to Asians.
Failure to address this issue may be very damaging to our Chinese and Indian
friends, not to mention many other excellent intellectual traditions of the
World. We also suffer a tremendous and staggering loss if we ignore our friends
intellectual history. That was a motivation of F.S.C Northrop, and it has
arguably ripened in the excellent work of Mr. Pirsig.
squonk
Where standards differ there will be opposition.
But how can the standards of the World be unified?
Mo-ti.
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