Writing Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

[Syk3]

Hey all. I'm actually sort of surprising myself by making this thread, lol, because other than the occasional post I've pretty much decided that I'm going to take a little break from OB until I've largely developed a personal philosophy that I can then force onto others. :p But then I thought, "why not help to form these ideas by sharing and considering with others the books that I'm reading to help me do this?"

I finished the book [i]Six Questions of Socrates[/i] a couple weeks ago, but honestly while some of the information was useful in considering my own opinions, I didn't find it to be that great of a book, mainly due to the fact that the author seemed quick to throw in arbitrary and technicality points against many of the great philosophers. lol The final note that he left on, that an excellent person is defined by extremely fluctuating virutes, felt like he was saying virtues are nonexistant, and didn't sit well with me at all; I concluded that he was incorrect, and the being excellent was not always the same as having to do the right thing (which is where moderation comes into the virtues).

But enough about [i]that[/i] book, here I want to discuss the one in the title of this thread. I actually am in the process of reading it and have yet to finish it, but the more I think about it the better for development, I believe. I'd really like to know if anyone here has read the novel and what you guys thought of it, and then possibly discuss a few of the points that Pirsig was making along the way. Some of the ones I've thought about so far have dealt with:
[list]
[*]Technology and organization in the world today.
[*]Ghosts relating to our comprehension of ideas.
[*]Classical and romantic understanding.
[*]The nature of empiricism in knowledge.
[*]Kant's theoretical perspective.
[*]Lack of faith and fanatic natures.
[*]Getting rid of grades and degrees in college.
[*]The nature of reality.
[*]Quality.
[/list]For those who have not read the book, it's a nonfiction novel first published in 1974 that explores many philosophical ideas, while at the same time about a father (the author) and his son on a summer vacation riding across Northern U.S. on a motorcycle. It's a very interesting book, and the subtitle does good to describe its purpose: An Inquiry into Values. I highly recommend that anyone interested in philosophy elements pick this book up.