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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
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1974 book by Robert M. Pirsig
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values First edition<br>AuthorRobert M. PirsigLanguageEnglishGenrePhilosophical fiction, Autobiographical novel[1]Published1974 (William Morrow and Company)Publication placeUnited StatesMedia typePrint (hardcover and paperback)Pages418 ppISBN0-688-00230-7OCLC673595Dewey Decimal917.3/04/920924 BLC ClassCT275.P648 A3 1974Followed byLila: An Inquiry into Morals<br>Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is a book by Robert M. Pirsig first published in 1974. It is a work of fictionalized autobiography, becoming an instant bestseller.[2] It is the first of Pirsig's texts in which he discusses his concept of Quality.[3]
The title is an apparent play on the title of the 1948 book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. In its introduction, 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."
Pirsig received 121 rejections before an editor finally accepted the book for publication—and he did so thinking it would never generate a profit. It ended up selling 50,000 copies in the first three months and more than 5 million since.[4]
Structure<br>[edit]
The book is a fictionalized autobiography of a 17-day journey that Pirsig made with his Honda CB77 motorcycle from Minnesota to Northern California along with his son Chris in 1968.[1] The story of this journey is recounted in a first-person narrative, although the author is not identified. Father and son are also accompanied, for the first nine days of the journey, by close friends John and Sylvia Sutherland, with whom they part ways in Montana.
The journey is punctuated by numerous philosophical discussions, referred to as Chautauquas by the author, on topics including epistemology, the history of philosophy, and the philosophy of science.
Many of these discussions are accompanied by information concerning the narrator's own past self, who is referred to in the third person as Phaedrus (after Plato's dialogue). Phaedrus, a teacher of creative and technical writing at Montana State College, became engrossed in the question of what defines good writing, and what in general defines good, or "Quality", which he understands similar to Tao. Phaedrus's philosophical investigations eventually caused him to become insane, and he was subjected to electroconvulsive therapy, which permanently changed his personality.
Towards the end of the book, Phaedrus's strong and unorthodox personality, presented as dangerous to the narrator, becomes more apparent and the narrator is reconciled with his past.
Writing<br>[edit]
Roberts Shoes on the corner of Chicago and Lake in Minneapolis, where Pirsig lived while writing Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.Pirsig wrote most of the book while living above a shoe store in south Minneapolis, while working as a tech writer for Honeywell.[5] In a 1974 interview with National Public Radio, Pirsig stated that the book took him four years to write. During two of these years, Pirsig continued working at his job of writing computer manuals. This caused him to adopt an unorthodox schedule, awakening very early and writing Zen from 2 a.m. until 6 a.m., then eating and going to his day job. He would sleep during his lunch break and then go to bed around 6 in the evening. Pirsig joked that his co-workers noticed that he was "a lot less perky" than everyone else.[6]
Themes<br>[edit]
Philosophical content<br>[edit]
In the book, the narrator describes the "romantic" consideration of life of his friend, John Sutherland, who chooses not to learn how to maintain his expensive new motorcycle. John simply hopes for the...