Freethought & Rationalism Archive

RED DAVE · 03-30-2003, 01:59 AM

Can anyone tell me what the status is of the philosophic system of Robert Pirsig (Zen in the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila)?

His official website seems to be dominated by cultish groupies.

RED DAVE

Hugo Holbling · 03-30-2003, 05:04 AM

It's nice to see you in the philosophy forum, RED DAVE.

If you look at the editorial review here you can begin to see some of the difficulties with Pirsig's work. Although he popularized Zen to an extent, his literary explication is not as clear or as thorough as can be found in Watts or - the acknowledged master - Suzuki. He also discounts (or rather inexplicably doesn't cover) the more recent philosophical endeavours (in particular, so-called postmodernism) that have led some to speculate on the links between them and Zen. If he had it would probably have been enough to kill his ideas before he had started, particularly the claim to originality.

In summary, i'm not aware of any philosophical system based on him that has any credibility as distinct from Zen. Any site called the "Metaphysics Of Quality" ought to be enough to send a shivver down the spine...

03-30-2003, 01:59 AM	#1
RED DAVE Banned Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: NYC Posts: 10,532	Robert Pirsig Can anyone tell me what the status is of the philosophic system of Robert Pirsig (Zen in the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila)? His official website seems to be dominated by cultish groupies. RED DAVE

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03-30-2003, 05:04 AM	#2
Hugo Holbling Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Self-banned in 2005 Posts: 1,344	It's nice to see you in the philosophy forum, RED DAVE. If you look at the editorial review here you can begin to see some of the difficulties with Pirsig's work. Although he popularized Zen to an extent, his literary explication is not as clear or as thorough as can be found in Watts or - the acknowledged master - Suzuki. He also discounts (or rather inexplicably doesn't cover) the more recent philosophical endeavours (in particular, so-called postmodernism) that have led some to speculate on the links between them and Zen. If he had it would probably have been enough to kill his ideas before he had started, particularly the claim to originality. In summary, i'm not aware of any philosophical system based on him that has any credibility as distinct from Zen. Any site called the "Metaphysics Of Quality" ought to be enough to send a shivver down the spine...

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