Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
By Robert M Pirsig

And what is good Phaedrus?
And what is not good?
Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?

‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,’ was to become one of most influential novels of the 70’s. It became something of a cult book amongst the beat generation when it was published in 1974.Previously turned down by over 121 publishers it has since sold over well 5million copies. That it was rejected by so many publishers is not so hard to understand as it is a densely argued philosophical investigation of values as its sub title suggests. The book is almost impossible to characterize but. perhaps the closest to it is Hermann Hesse's ‘The Glass Bead Game’, or ‘Steppenwolf,’ but ‘On the Road,’ by Jack Kerouac covers some of the same territory.The title is a not so subtle allusion to the ‘Zen in the Art of Archery,’ by Eugen Herrigel. This German philosopher had trained for six years in Japan in 1930s learning the chivalrous art of archery from a Zen master. But in the introduction to his book, Pirsig explains that, despite its title, "it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles either.”
The book describes a 17-day journey motorcycle journey from Minnesota to California by the author and his son Chris and a couple who are close friends. This journey is punctuated by numerous philosophical discussions tied together by the story of the narrator's own past self, who is referred as ‘Phaedrus,’ one of the figures in Plato’s dialogues. Phaedrus is a teacher of creative and technical writing at a small college who had become engrossed in the question of what defines ‘good,’ writing, and what, in general, defines our views of what is good or quality. How we decide this is central to the discussion on the journey and also how we know the difference. Two potential ways we look at the world, here termed the Classical and the Romantic, are examined .The Classical divides the motorcycle (for instance) into its components. The Romantic only sees the complete and finished motorcycle. These two ways of looking at reality are both typical of humans, but are entirely incompatible.
As the story and the discourse unfold on different levels, we discover that 'Phaedrus' became obsessed with the idea of reconciling these two sets of values - a quest that took him deep into philosophy and eventually to such strange paths that he stepped outside the 'Church of Reason' and was considered insane. After treatment in a mental institution, his ‘Phaedrus,’ personality was removed, leaving him with only the relics of what he used to be and know, like archaeological ruins in a field. The journey, on a third level, is not only to rediscover Phaedrus but also to piece together from these 'ruins' the conclusions he came to. Finally he presents us with an entirely new 'third' way of looking at reality. He aims towards a perception of the world that embraces both sides the rational and the romantic. This means encompassing "irrational" sources of wisdom and understanding. In particular, this must include bursts of creativity and intuition that seemingly come from nowhere and are not (in his view) rationally explicable. Phaedrus seeks to demonstrate that rationality and a Zen-like "being in the moment" can harmoniously coexist and suggests that such a combination of rationality and romanticism, a new middle way, can potentially bring a higher quality of life

Whether you accept his conclusions or not this book is a brilliant achievement - sad, funny, wise, moving, uplifting, enlightening - it works on many different levels and lingers in the mind over the years. Definitely a fine thought provoking read if you have a philosophical turn of mind or are interested in finding your own third way.

Michael
Kogan Muju
Radiant Light Vow No Abode Dwelling

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