Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

["ROSSI J.A." <rossi@nusc.ARPA>]

Did you ever not read something required in a college literature class a long
time ago because you thought it was irrelevant?  Well, (and I realize that
this is starting way off the mark of the vane of this forum) I finally saw
Zen sitting on my bookshelf last week and decided to finally read it.  If you
have not read this book, nothing of the following is going to make any sense
(except possibly to Doug Trainor).  Also, if you have not read it you should
because it provides all the necessary information which is necessary to clear
up all the confusion that you developed in Metaphysics Class (eg PH-202).
Now to relate this to musical appreciation, esthetics, and Kate et al.
It is clear that QUALITY exists, and does indeed remain apart from the standard
metaphysical dualism pushed by many people.  Also, it remains apart from
religion and all the subunits which are founded on dualistic principles.
Phaedrus has much to say concerning the importance of QUALITY as an entity
in and of itself.  Unfortunately, he was forced to the conclusion that QUALITY
can not be defined (this being arrived at through REASON, a subordinate
level of understanding to quality).  So, I believe that many of the comments
made here, of late, can be attributed to the QUALITY of any given artist's
music.  Because the attribute of QUALITY remains outside the bounds of 
unerstanding or definition based on the rules learned in The Church of Reason,
we, being students of that church, are incapable of defining QUALITY as
it applies to any given artist's music.  We are forced, as IED has repeatedly
demonstrated, into forcing definitions on QUALITY which are, at most, purely
arbitrary.  Therefore, (and I'm not sure this follows logically, but logic
also resides within the bounds of the Church of Reason), the essence which
everone has been arguing here, is something which can be appreciated but
not expressed in rational argument.  We cannot judge QUALITY based on
reason alone.

John
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