The Giant

From Wikipedia:

"The main goal of this book is to develop a complete metaphysical system based on the idea of Quality introduced in his first book. As in his previous book, the narrative is embedded between rounds of philosophical discussion. Unlike his previous book, in which he creates a dichotomy between Classical and Romantic Quality, this book centers on the division of Quality into the Static and the Dynamic. According to the novel, the known universe can be divided into four Static values: inorganic, biological, social, and intellectual. Everything in the known universe can be categorized into one of these four categories, except Dynamic Quality. Because Dynamic Quality is indefinable, the novel discusses the interactions between the four Static values and the Static values themselves.
[...]
Another theme analyzed using the Metaphysics of Quality is the interaction between intellectual and social patterns. Pirsig states that until the end of the Victorian era, social patterns dominated the conduct of members of the American culture. In the aftermath of World War I, intellectual patterns and the scientific method acceded to that position, becoming responsible for directing the nation's goals and actions. The later occurrences of fascism are seen as an anti-intellectual struggle to return social patterns to the dominant position. The hippie movement, having perceived the flaws inherent in both social and intellectual patterns, sought to transcend them, but failed to provide a stable replacement, degenerating instead into lower level biological patterns as noted in its calls for free love."

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila:_An_Inquiry_into_Morals

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila:_An_Inquiry_into_Morals

My commentary:

My take on this passage is that Dynamic Quality, that fifth, indefinable category, is the creative force behind the Giant. Certainly, there are strong actors pulling the strings in local government as we've seen in Portland, Ore. (Update: July 25, 2020: wow@ understatement.. Since writing this, Trump has sent military-like goons to snatch up protesters far away from the Federal building across from Chapman Square. 1984!)

I think there is a notion that somewhere someone or some group is pulling the strings in the background and has a master plan for the development of society and its growth and expansion. If the Giant is a benevolent force that comes from the wellspring of Dynamic Quality. I could also be a malevolent force that destroys.

From "Lila: An Inquiry into Morals":

"Biological man doesn’t invent cities or societies any more than pigs and chickens invent the farmer that feeds them. The force of evolutionary creation isn’t contained by substance. Substance is just one kind of static pattern left behind by the creative force.

This city (NYC) is another static pattern left behind by the creative force. It’s composed of substance but substance didn’t create it all by itself. Neither did a biological organism called “man” create it all by himself. The city is a higher pattern than either a substance or a biological pattern called man. Just as biology exploits substance for its own purposes, so does this social pattern called a city exploit biology for its own purposes. Just as a farmer raises cows for the sole purpose of devouring them, this pattern grows living human bodies for the sole purpose of devouring them. That is what the Giant really does. It converts accumulated biological energy into forms that serve itself.

When societies and cultures and cities are seen not as inventions of “man” but as higher organisms than biological man, the phenomena of war and genocide and all the other forms of human exploitation become more intelligible. “Mankind” has never been interested in getting itself killed. But the superorganism, the Giant, who is a pattern of values superimposed on top of biological human bodies, doesn’t mind losing a few bodies to protect his greater interests.

The Giant began to materialize out of Phaedrus’s Dynamic dreams when he was in college. A professor of chemistry had mentioned at his fraternity that a large chemical firm was offering excellent jobs for graduates of the school and almost every member of the fraternity thought it was wonderful news. World War II had just ended and good jobs were all that anyone seemed to think of. The revolution of the sixties was still twenty years off. No one had thought of making the film, The Graduate, back then.

Phaedrus had always believed science is a search for truth. A real scientist is not supposed to sell out that goal to corporations who are searching for mere profit. Or, if he had to sell out in order to live that was nothing to be happy about. These fraternity brothers of his acted like they never heard of science as truth. Phaedrus had suddenly seen a tentacle of the Giant reaching out and he was the only one who could see it.

So here was this Giant, this nameless, faceless system reaching for him, ready to devour him and digest him. It would use his energy to grow stronger and stronger throughout his life while he grew older and weaker until, when he was no longer of much use, it would excrete him and find another younger person full of energy to take his place and do the same thing all over again."

Pirsig, Robert. Lɪʟᴀ. Bantam, 1991. pp 250-251.

Strange Dayz

I made three masks today. I went back to the first design. My hand stitching is getting better with fewer finger pricks. I'm out of raw materials unless I sacrifice another t-shirt and two more dress shirts. I could get away with just one but it's recommended to use a different fabric on the inside so you know which side is which and don't put your face on the contaminated side.

It's really just busywork. I'm worried about my liver test. Back in Dec when I had that weird pulmonary illness, I had a CT scan. A small growth was found on my liver. To make sure it was benign the doctor scheduled a 3-month follow-up which happens to fall during this pandemic.

Unrelated to the CT scan, I get quarterly blood tests in conjunction with my methotrexate. Since January there are signs of decreased function and increased AST & ALT levels. I can help but think there is a correlation to the growths but I know, ... I'm no doctor.

Reasons for elevated AST/ALT are alcohol abuse, being obese, overusing NSAIDs. None of those reasons apply. Actually, they have been increasing since I started monitoring last year. I  can see that the stress from the pandemic and lack of physical exercise could be a contributing factor. I've doubled down on the daily water and eating less sugar and dairy, more vegetables. I look forward to biking when it's ready for pickup from the shop. I certainly didn't get any exercise today. Sigh.