What's happening Rog,
I always wanted to start a conversation that way.... I broke this up with
(---)s.
> ROG:
> I AM suggesting that this MAKING STATUES POLITICALLY CORRECT can be viewed
that
> way and that the issue IS being viewed that way by many people.
RICK:
Yes... unfortunately, the media did cast the issue in these terms. I
regret that it has become quite fashionable and trendy to label anything
inclusive as 'politically correct'. It lowers the quality of intellectual
debate when the participants are contented to dismiss opposing views by
labeling them with hollow catch-phrases that are all too easy to attack.
Like yourself, I find nothing exceptionally interesting about the 'statue
debate'. I hadn't even considered this 'issue' until Platt's post. But I do
like discussing the MOQ as a moral guide.
----------------------------------------------------------------
> ROG:
> And yes, rewrites of history for film also lack a level of intellectual
> quality. They may be more entertaining or socially acceptable.
RICK:
You're 100% right... they do lack 'a level of intellectual quality'.
The bigger picture is that there are, as you said, 'levels of Intellectual
Quality'. And they often can conflict with each other. 'Historical
accuracy' may be one level. But there are other Intellectual values
implicated as well....
'Freedom of speech' may be one (LILA p187-188). Has anyone considered
that scrapping the statue because of social outcry was CENSORSHIP? I think
that Marco was right when he said the Giant shouldn't be allowed to prevail
over an artistic view point; Though, I feel Marco misidentified the Giant as
'the city of New York'. The Giant is better described as 'the collective of
all social patterns in the city of New York'. No city beauracracy is big
enough to be a Giant. In this case, private members of society screaming
'political correctness' woke the giant and CENSORED the city's artistic
freedom.
And what of the Intellectual value of a 'Democratic form of
government'? Democracy is explicitly named as Intellectual value by Pirsig
on p.187-188 in LILA. Did anyone consider that it was our democratically
elected leaders who made this decision? A mob outcry has strong-armed our
chosen decision makers into changing their minds. Is this what democracy
means? Should society force its will on government whenever it's displeased
by the decisions of elected leaders? Is nobody bothered by this?
So now the question becomes... how is one decide among all these
Intellectual values... LILA doesn't give us much to go on and there an
infinite variety of angles from which to come at this thing.... Anybody up
for a run at the old 'intralevel moral conflict' debate...?
------------------------------------------------------------
> RICK:
> ...The point here is that MOQ is of questionable value when applied to
> everyday moral questions like the statue because any predetermined
> conclusion can be reached by simply couching one's terms in the language
of
> levels that produce the desired outcome.
>
> ROG:
> This is called...what is the term ... an agreement.
RICK:
Splendid... I love a good agreement.
It's always a pleasure to spar with you...
take Care,
rick
MOQ.org - http://www.moq.org
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat Aug 17 2002 - 16:03:34 BST