Kelly Sedinger (simba@eznet.net)
Mon, 25 Aug 1997 04:26:40 +0100
> > Pirsig describes static quality as an agent that "works behind" the
dynamic
> > forces and tries to preserve what they create. Using this idea on the
levels
> > of quality seems to imply that 100 million years ago (during the reign
of the
> > dinosaurs, long before the arrival of man (or even our ancestors, the
great
> > apes)) there the levels of social and intellectual quality did not yet
exist.
> > I'm less certain on whether it means that entirely different levels of
quality
> > might have arisen in their place had the dinosaurs not died out.
I rather suspect that these levels are latent, awaiting the proper patterns
to emerge within the Static realm in order to be manifested.
In terms of evolution: could the emergence of intelligence be merely
the emergence of the ability to perceive Quality? If so, then there are
gradations in nature as animals certainly make judgements of value,
even if they are rudimentary (my cat turning her nose up at the generic-
brand cat food placed before her, for just one example). Perhaps brains
are those organs that have evolved for the sheer perception of Quality
itself. Therefore, the more refined a given brain's ability to make Quality
statements, the more advanced evolutionally the brain.
> Right. These levels aren't only subjective to human nature (human
> intelligence, human social behavior,...) but all of nature in general.
> Intellectual Quality is a high level that resides throughout nature. It
> might appear to be human-centric but this is only because we embody the
> highest known intelligence...highest level of Quality...in nature.
> Pirsig is really saying something positive about mankind!
A fascinating thing would be to learn just what Quality statements are
made by, say, the Orca or Humpback whale populations. Perception
must be Dynamic in nature, but it must emerge from Static patterns.
Is the history of the Universe the tale of its march toward the
apprehension
of Quality?
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