RISKY'S DAWN OF THE 5TH LEVEL Which way is closer to the sunrise? That is the answer to the 5th level. THE LANDSCAPE-- THE FIRST 4 LEVELS AND TRUTH Before progressing on to the 5th, we need to again go back to the fundamentals of the first four. The MOQ evaluates based foremost on quality, not on truth. Truth is an important subset of quality, defined as consistency. But within the MOQ, there can be many locally consistent beliefs...Many Truths. One Truth of the MOQ is that there are four levels that contain every static pattern. Pirsig compares these levels to an encyclopedia that can contain everything. The comparison is telling. Just as we could have encyclopedias in various languages...each would contain the same basic facts, but the sorting or ordering would vary based on the local spelling. Such an encyclopedia would be a true and accurate system to sort every conceptual pattern. But there are higher quality divisions. The highest quality division Pirsig discovered/created was inorganic/biological/social/intellectual. These divisions, combined with DQ, delineated clear and informative directional changes in values, and their interaction explains reality in ways that clears up unexplainable phenomenon from prior sorting systems (platypi). But to be consistent within the MOQ, I believe we must recognize that there likely are higher quality divisions, or at least that as reality continues to evolve that the MOQ will need to evolve with it. And as Pirsig himself states in his response to Doug Renselle's inquiry of whether the MOQ values its own extension, such an extension eventually will evolve to another theory of another name -- to be judged by its quality. THE HORIZON -- THE 5th LEVEL Identifying a 5th level is similarly a deviation from the MOQ, and the process should be evaluated upon its quality. (In fact that is what Doug was recommending to RMP.....the addition of extra levels). But I agree with most MF'ers that this is a high quality endeaver. With that said, let me jump out there and state that I am firmly in the camp that believes the most likely candidate for a new level is in "consciousness". One could look at the first four levels as increasing levels of awareness/consciousness. From attraction to desire to compassion to truth. As the new values and patterns of consciousness emerge, we can name them and sort them. That which was unknown and undefinable becomes conceptually defined. I believe that there are higher forms of consciousness that can be named and sorted today. In fact, these patterns are today NOT included in the MOQ's existing four levels. One such attempt at sorting reality based on consciousness has been done by Ken Wilber. He has sorted it into 9 levels, and a 10th division which is beyond division. He calls it "9 divisions and the paper the 9 are drawn on." Interestingly, Wilber references his final 4 consciousnesses as mystical. Looping back to Pirsig, note how little mention of "consciousness" occurs in Lila. Why is that? I believe it is because consciousness is so intractably intermingled with DQ. I am not saying DQ is consciousness, because consciousness defined is sq, not DQ, but I think you can see my point. Let me approach the issue from a different angle -- where does 'consciousness' fall in the 4 levels that contain everything? In the biological? The social? The intellectual? In some ways you can see that it lies within all of them, but it also has distinctive aspects that transcend them all. This is exactly what I would expect to see in a 5th level. THE CANVAS OF REPRODUCTION One other thing that Wilber wrote keeps emerging into my consciousness. He states that consciousness differs from other patterns in that it cannot be easily reproduced, copied or transmitted. I seem to remember Susan Blackmore of memetic theory writing something similar as well. As such, consciousness is immanently personal. Everbody must discover/create the path anew. Some trails have been marked, but they are rocky, winding, unpaved and based upon a weathered mythos long since past. What higher consciousness lacks is a copying and transmission system. Biology has DNA and behavioral modeling (nature and nurture), Society has language and shared culture, and the intellect has writing and printing and data transmission. But higher consciousness? I believe that if higher levels of consciousness are to emerge as levels, as consistent objective patterns, that there must be ways to transmit and recreate these experiences. My guess is that virtual reality machines may someday be able to do just this. But this is a guess. (Read David Deutsch's "Fabric of Reality" if you want any more explanation on how virtual reality could possibly be wired directly into our experience.) DAYBREAK I believe that the 5th level will emerge out of DQ as a consistent pattern of experience. This is consistent with my understanding of the origin of the other levels as well. Today, higher consciousness -- mystical experience -- is virtually synonymous with DQ. From our vantage they are almost one and the same. However, if we could objectively share and reproduce these experiences, we could begin to objectively label and sort them into a new level. This new level will have common values that will impinge and redirect some of the prior level values. Again this is consistent with the other four. But then again...... Risky PS -- This morning I was outside on our deck watching the sun rise. When I came in my wife mentioned that she had watched it too, but from bed. My retort was jokingly that "Well I was closer to it." This got my mind spinning like James' incident with the squirrel. Which direction is closer to the sunrise? Can you ever get closer? MOQ.org - http://www.moq.org
