Hello focused re-readers:
OK, my posts were meant to provide examples, but now I'm just starting to
feel like a forum hog. And since I can't restrain myself, I'll ask you all
to start posting more so there's more of a balanced conversation. Jeez, if
we just had a post or two from every one who voted for this experiment we'd
have several dozen posts by now. Where is everybody?
Diana and Bodvar each said some things that really made me think. It seems
that there is an interesting contrast between the unoriginal fakeness of
Lila's blonde hair and red nails and the authentic originality of the
Indians.
Diana quickly summarized chapter 3. She said, "Getting stoned in the tee pee
= Freedom from social level." But it's much, much more than a defiance of
the War on Drugs. In fact, the value of Peyote visions wasn't recognized
among most white European types, but it wasn't yet illegal either. I think
Pirsig is certainly getting at the D/s split and it is surely about freedom
and order. But I think that social values properly control vice and such,
but eating peyote IS NOT VICE like sex and booze. NO way. The peyote
ceremony is mystical and Pirsig will later express reservations about
bringing it down to the intellectual level! Its just not a biological thing,
its a spiritual or at least an intellectual thing. See, the tee pee scene
ain't no party. Its about radical freedom, its about expanding consciousness
and deep intellectual insights, it not just about the right to party. Social
level values have no business restraining the intellect, its degenerate. It
seems to me that this is a very important point. Any thoughts?
On the other hand, Bodvar rightly pointed out that the alliance between Lila
and Phaedrus represents the alliance of the biological and intellecual
values as they gang up on the social values embodied in Rigel. Later Pirsig
will tell us that the problems of degeneracy that we've witnessed in this
century is a result of social vaules being attacked from both sides. I
suspect we should keep an eye on those three with that insight in mind. And
we all know that in the end Rigel will take Lila under his wing and take
care of her, which is what the social level does for the biological.
Phaedrus, the intellectual mystic, helps her too, but his domain is more
about her sanity and absorbing her bad karma, whereas Rigel will probably
just make her a respectable church-going memeber of the community. Any
thoughts?
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