Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values Mass Market Paperback
Author: Visit Amazon's Robert M. Pirsig Page - ISBN: 0060589469 - Language: English - Format: PDF, EPUB
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Amazon.com Review
Phaedrus, our narrator, takes a present-tense cross-country motorcycle trip with his son during which the maintenance of the motorcycle becomes an illustration of how we can unify the cold, rational realm of technology with the warm, imaginative realm of artistry. As in Zen, the trick is to become one with the activity, to engage in it fully, to see and appreciate all details--be it hiking in the woods, penning an essay, or tightening the chain on a motorcycle.
In his autobiographical first novel, Pirsig wrestles both with the ghost of his past and with the most important philosophical questions of the 20th century--why has technology alienated us from our world? what are the limits of rational analysis? if we can't define the good, how can we live it? Unfortunately, while exploring the defects of our philosophical heritage from Socrates and the Sophists to Hume and Kant, Pirsig inexplicably stops at the middle of the 19th century. With the exception of Poincaré, he ignores the more recent philosophers who have tackled his most urgent questions, thinkers such as Peirce, Nietzsche (to whom Phaedrus bears a passing resemblance), Heidegger, Whitehead, Dewey, Sartre, Wittgenstein, and Kuhn. In the end, the narrator's claims to originality turn out to be overstated, his reasoning questionable, and his understanding of the history of Western thought sketchy. His solution to a synthesis of the rational and creative by elevating Quality to a metaphysical level simply repeats the mistakes of the premodern philosophers. But in contrast to most other philosophers, Pirsig writes a compelling story. And he is a true innovator in his attempt to popularize a reconciliation of Eastern mindfulness and nonrationalism with Western subject/object dualism. The magic of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance turns out to lie not in the answers it gives, but in the questions it raises and the way it raises them. Like a cross between The Razor's Edge and Sophie's World, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance takes us into "the high country of the mind" and opens our eyes to vistas of possibility. --Brian Bruya --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“The book is inspired, original. . . . The analogies with Moby-Dick are patent.” (The New Yorker)
“Profoundly important...full of insights into our most perplexing contemporary dilemmas.” (New York Times)
“It is filled with beauty. . .a finely made whole that seems to emanate from a very special grace.” (Baltimore Sun)
“A miracle . . . sparkles like an electric dream.” (The Village Voice)
DETAILS
- Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages
- Publisher: HarperTorch; Reprint edition (April 25, 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0060589469
- ISBN-13: 978-0060589462
- Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
- Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Zen Philosophy
- #2 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Emotions
- #15 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > General
REVIEWS
947 Reviews Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry into Values Download it once and read it on your Kindle device Mass Market Paperback Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values Mass Market Paperback An Inquiry into Values Mass Market Paperback Pub Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a touching and transcendent book of life Read More Show Less Mass Market Paperback Full Download Zen and the Art of Motorcycle and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry into Values in Description Buy Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values book online or download a FREE An Inquiry Into Values Import Mass Market Paperback Editions for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values 0060589469 Paperback published in 2006 0553277472 Mass Market Paperba Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values Paperback Paperback Robert M Pirsig 39 s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry into Values by Robert M Pirsig 1984 Paperback Robert M Pirsig 1984 Softcover New Vintage Mass market References for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry into Values by Robert M Pirsig a Mass Market download Download Zen And The Art Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values by GUIDE Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance caused a Mass market paperback
I'm compelled to write this review after browsing the others, because something has to be said about book that isn't being pointed out for someone who is interested in the book for the first time.
At this point, this book can be found on the front table in your local bookstore. Other philosophy books can be found in the philosophy section either collecting dust, or being perused by someone intensely interested in philosophy who is well versed in debates that have gone on for centuries.
I have listened to the author, Robert Pirsig, being interviewed, and it seems that he did, in fact, intend for this book and its premise of "Quality" to be the great, all encompassing philosophy, presented in a straightforward, readable manner. However, despite Pirsig's intention, that is not quite why this book has become so famous.
This book is famous because it fills a perfect niche in that it introduces some very complicated philosophical questions in a form that the common reader will find interesting. Pirsig is attempting to create a practical philosophy and sets the book against the background of actual experience to make the questions he ponders real for the reader.
With that in mind, if you are not clamoring for a debate with someone else who is knowledgable on the ins and outs of Kierkegaard and Spinoza and are simply looking for a readable book that makes a real attempt of answering the big questions in life, this book is for you.
What I find interesting, and somewhat disturbing, is that many choose to deride this book because it doesn't agree with their notions of philosopy, but fail to grasp that the people who are most likely to read this book won't even be at the table to understand their objections to it unless they read it.
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