From: MATTHEW PAUL KUNDERT (mpkundert@students.wisc.edu)
Date: Mon Jan 12 2004 - 18:09:58 GMT
DMB,
I believe you've missed the point of the reading I gave of that section. I
was making a distinction between adding a sense of value and redescribing
the senses in terms of value. It doesn't make sense at all to say that
there is an additional, sixth sense for value _and_ all the other five
senses are encapsulated by it. To say that this does make sense is to make
a distinction between two uses of "value," which I also pointed out. If you
make this distinction and insist that there is an additional "sense of
value" analogous to the other five senses, I would imagine we would be able
to find it in our brains, ala the other five senses.
You imply that I'm importing some kind of physicalism, but I doubt it. Does
not the MoQ acknowledge the existence of inorganic and biological patterns
of Quality? Sure it does. All I'm talking about is, if a sense of value is
analogous to the other five senses, then it should appear as a biological
pattern of value, i.e. we should be able to find it in our brains.
I think a close reading of the text that is at issue supports what I wrote.
And, as is apparent, I'm all for reading Pirsig as redescribing the world,
using value in its redescriptive sense. I think this fundamental to
Pirsig's point. I'm not at all sure what saying that there is an additional
"sense of value" does for Pirsig's philosophy and I'm not at all sure that
denying it means that I'm saying that morals aren't real, like the SOMists
say. As you say, "Morals are values of a different kind." But, if we take
a "sense of value" to be analogous to the other five senses, then, again, we
should be able to find a biological pattern that is attuned to morals, much
like our eyes, ears, and skin are attuned to rocks.
I don't think we are going to, nor do I think we need to for Pirsig's
philosophy to make its important points.
I don't think we are at all at odds on this reading of the text, not, at
least, from what you wrote in reply.
Matt
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