Hello Roger and All,
Somewhere in the distant past Roger wrote:
"Although the optimal choice is spontaneous (after all,
broadly defined, all choice is spontaneous), it does not
follow that all spontaneous choices are optimal."
****
A 'spontaneous choice' sounds to me like a contradiction in
terms. Inherent in ANY choice is a struggle between
conflicting value patterns. Choice is an intellectual
crossroads. ("...given the choice of two courses..."). When
we move through our daily lives in a kind of autopilot,
we're following tried and tested value patterns, or
spontaneous PREFERENCES. However, this spontaneity
occasionally grinds to a halt in the face of a conflicting
value pattern, at which point the intellect is evoked to
resolve the struggle...
"A screw sticks, for example, on a side assembly." ZMM,
Ch.24
There you were following spontaneous preferences when
suddenly up pops a brick wall- and intellect 'switches on'
to apply some prior moral judgments here, the most dynamic
ones being those based most closely on the reality of the
moment-
"If you're experienced you'd probably apply a penetrating
liquid and an impact driver at this point."
and the less dynamic, more removed from reality-
"But suppose you're inexperienced and you attach a
self-locking plier plier wrench to the shaft of your
screwdriver and really twist it hard, a procedure you'd had
success with in the past, but which this time succeeds only
in tearing the slot of the screw."
So choice is always 100% intellect, and the most dynamic
choice is the most intellectually evolved, and thus most
moral/reality-based.
"The difference between a good mechanic and a bad one...is
precisely this ability to SELECT the good facts from the
bad ones on the basis of quality." ZMM, Ch.24
Regards,
Mark
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