Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
I just finished reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig), and the first question that sprang to mind upon completing it was “Why haven’t I read this until now?” It’s an absolutely brilliant book, at once intellectual and earthy. I am going to try to put some distance between myself and it before I attempt to comment further on it. However, for those who are interested and don’t have access to a copy, there is an HTML version of the book available here. Best of luck on your Chautauqua - I’m going to go read the sequel, Lila.
I read Zen Maintenance several years back and after about page 100, I thought it was quite good. I can’t decide if it’s a book everyone should read, or should have already read (like the bible or ‘The Far Side’). I got the impression that it was quite remarkable at its time, and the ideas (for better and worse) have seeped into our culture over the last forty years. But, perhaps Zen was only a product of its time, articulate but not ground-breaking. For example, Godel rocked all notion of logic (mathmatical grammars) a few decades earlier. Einstien threw a wrench into ‘theory of everything’. The Beatles brought Hinduism into the kitchen. So, what’s Pirsig saying? It’s not a matter of true vs false but logic verse esthetics. Where I think Pirsig went wrong was to put Beauty above Logic. He’s just put himself further into what the Buddha calls a ‘tangle of views,’ and winds up no further than the trap he accuses Western society of entering since the Sophists.
Cheers,
Alex
Comment by Alex Genaud — 11 August 2005 @ 15:56
It’s interesting how Pirsig translated motorcycle maintenance into Buddism. Bikers have known the ‘Beauty above Logic’ argument for decades before Pirsig. We say “Chrome won’t get you home!”
Comment by Mike — 22 December 2007 @ 5:28
Пост хорош, читал и видел многие свои ошибки, но не увидел главной:)
Comment by Стекло листовое — 21 January 2009 @ 19:48