Diana McPartlin (diana@asiantravel.com)
Sun, 16 Nov 1997 19:16:20 +0100
Hi again,
I've been through all the replies to this post and tried to put the
answers together. I also decided to sort out the more fundamental
questions from more speculative questions (like why did Pirsig write
Lila) as I think we should deal with the basics first. Then, when I was
doing that I couldn't help coming up with my own answers so I figured I
might as well put them in.
I've put up my revised list of FAQ questions on this page
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/4670/faq.html
but I haven't linked this page to the rest of the site so people outside
the LS won't be able to read it.
So here's another bunch of questions. The answers below are my
suggestions only. I would appreciate everyone's feedback and I'll revise
the online version accordingly.
Diana
--What is a metaphysics?
A metaphysics is a theory that explains the fundamental nature and structure of reality.
What is Quality?
Quality is moral value. It may also be described as goodness or right-ness. Quality may also be understood as experience, the pure direct experience of "now".
What is the Metaphysics of Quality?
The Metaphysics of Quality is a theory that says that the fundamental nature of reality is that it is moral value (also refered to as Quality, goodness, experience etc). This value is divided first into dynamic and static patterns of value. The static patterns are further divided into four levels of value -- inorganic, biological, social and intellectual.
What is dynamic quality?
Dynamic quality is the source of all things, the pre-intellectual cutting edge of reality. It is recognized as freedom, newness, beauty, change, wonder, the unexpected, any phenomenon that transcends the run of everyday experience.
What is static quality?
Static quality is what gives order to the world. It provides a latch for the advances made by dynamic quality. It is recognized as routine, structure, normality, organization, conformity, the expected, stability, any pheonomenon that shows resistance to change.
What is inorganic quality?
Inorganic quality is what is usually understood as matter.
What is biological quality?
Biological quality is life and that which propagates life.
What is social quality?
Social quality is any phenomenon that propagates social order - laws, institutions, manners, classes, castes, religion, fashions and so on.
What is intellectual quality?
Intellectual quality is any phenomenon that propagates subject-object thinking - democracy, freedom of speech, mathematics, philosophy and so on.
How do humans fit into the four levels of Static Quality?
People are cohesions of changing static patterns of value. All living humans and all animals and plants are biological value because of the very fact that they are alive. A human who has been raised in a society will also be possessed by social values. These values may be recognized in the form of beliefs, behavior, speech patterns, customs and so on. Humans raised in most modern societies are also possessed by intellectual value. This is recognized as an ability to reason.
Why did Pirsig say that Lila had quality?
Lila Blewitt, the subject of Robert M Pirsig's novel LILA, was described as having high biological quality because she was an attractive, voluptuous, and presumably fertile woman. Biologically her body was high value both for itself and for its implied ability to bring forth more life. Lila was also described as having low social quality -- she was working class, had no social connections nor standing, and was a sometime prostitute. Neither did she have much intellectual quality, her thought patterns show little rationality or sense. However Lila was also described as having high dynamic quality. This is because she was a person who sought to break free from her static patterns of value.
The rest of the questions are here:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/4670/faq.html
Diana
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