From: David Buchanan (DBuchanan@ClassicalRadio.org)
Date: Mon May 17 2004 - 01:32:31 BST
David Morey posed for discussion:
In the world of the MOQ, what is evil? Why is there destruction? What is the
relationship between patterns and contingency?
dmb says:
I thought the other Dave's answer was pretty good. "All evil is contingent",
it's "phase-specific", it's "assymetrical", as Dave S put it. Generally
destruction is a natural part of the evolutionary process and is even a
normal feature of everyday existence for those of us who eat. But then there
is destruction of the evil sort. Beyond the most conspicuously evil acts
like murder, genocide and all that bloody stuff, evil is "an unnecessary
suppression of DQ", as DS said. In other words, its evil to stand in the way
of evolution. This raises the question of how to know the difference between
preservation of worthy sq and inappropriate clinging to it. How do we know
the difference between positive change and social destruction?
The case of the ZUNI Brujo is a meditation on those questions. (chapter 9)
And this little morality koan leads Pirsig to make the static/Dynamic
split. he explains that there was a deep "conflict between a priesthood anda
shaman" and employes EA Hobel to describe the priesthood as "fixed in a firm
set of traditions" and shamans as "arrant individualists" and "always a
threat to the order of the organized church". Pirsig tells us that both
sides proclaimed itself good and the other evil. And then he says...
"As Phaedrus thought about this context again and again it became apparent
there were two KINDS of good and evil involved.
The tribal frame of values that condemned the BRUJO and led to his
punishment was one kind of good, for which Phaedrus coined the terms 'static
good'. Each culture has its own pattern of static good derived from fixed
laws and the traditions and values that underlie them. This pattern of
static good is the essential structure of he culture itself and defines it.
In the static sense the BRUJO was very clearly evil to oppose the appointed
authorities of his tribe. Suppose everyone did that? The whole Zuni culture,
after thousands of years of continuous survival, would collapse into chaos.
But in addition there's a DYNAMIC good that is outside of any culture, that
cannot be contained by any system of precepts, but has to be continually
rediscovered as a culture evolves. Good and evil are not ENTIRELY a matter
of tribal custom. There has to be a source of good and evil outside the
tribal custom that produces tribal change."
I guess it'd be good to begin a discussion with the distinction between
these "two kinds of good and evil" in mind.
two cents,
dmb
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