"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig. A Review
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M. Pirsig My rating: 3 of 5 stars My son had to read it for a philosophy of science class. After he completed the course he asked me to read it so we could talk. If it hadn't been for my son's request I would likely have put it down a time or two. But, I plowed on over the weeks to see what my son had been reading, and to talk it over with him. A clash of ideas. A wrangling between Western and Eastern philosophy. Layers of story line that include father and son, technology and art, mental illness and mental prowess, rhetoric and dialectic, the one and the many, institutionally trained motorcycle mechanics and those who are motorcycle mechanic-artists, romantic and classic modes of thought, et alia. In so many ways it is a fascinating story. Maybe something of a mystical tale for non-theists with a surprise ending? Now I'm done, and ready to talk. He's already moved on and delving into other t...