The Metaphysics Of Quality

The '''Metaphysics of Quality''' is a Metaphysics based within Quality. As Metaphysics is a description of reality, through understanding and wisdom, it can improve many of the problems of today.

It does not intend to destroy any of our current understandings but widen our perspective. It is this very feature which gives it its strength and allows it to be compatible with anyone in the world who comes across it.

How it came to life

The Metaphysics of Quality came to life after its creator, Robert Maynard Pirsig, spent 10 years writing a book called Lila which describes it.

However the patterns originally formed many years before the book had been written and were almost lost. This was during a period when Robert Pirsig underwent Electroconvulsive therapy due to his unrepentant persuit to the answer of the question "What is Quality?".

As he spent many years in and out of mental insitutions he channeled his energy towards the outlet of writing which resulted in a book called Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and is known as "the most widely read Philosophy book ever". In it he talks about an uncontested subject-object metaphysics which neglects the concept of Quality.

Lila, the second book by Robert Pirsig details an alternate Metaphysics called the Metaphysics of Quality or just MOQ for short.

Why it is good

The Metaphysics of Quality is good because Metaphysics is reality and reality is what is good. That's why we ask what is good in the first place. See?

!!Summary description of the MoQ by Robert Pirsig
The Metaphysics of Quality, or MoQ, is simply a philosophic answer to the question of what is Quality, or worth, or merit, or value, or betterness or any of the other synonyms for good. There are many possible answers but the one the MOQ gives is that you can understand Quality best if you don't subordinate it to anything else but instead subordinate everything else to it.
%rframe% http://moq.org/forum/Pirsig/figure4.gif [-Robert Pirsig's visual representation of the MOQ-]

It says there are two basic kinds of Quality, an undefined Quality called Dynamic Quality, and a defined quality called static quality. Static quality is further divided into four evolutionary divisions:
Inorganic Patterns of Value, Biological Patterns of Value,
Social Patterns of Value and Intellectual Patterns of Value.

Our entire understanding of the world can be organized within this framework. When you do so things fall into place that were poorly defined before, and new things appear that were concealed under previous frameworks of understanding. The MOQ is not intended to deny previous modes of understanding as much as to expand them into a more inclusive picture of what it's all about.

See Also

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