Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - wikipedia Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : An Inquiry into Values First edition Author Robert M. Pirsig Country United States Language English Genre Philosophical fiction, Autobiographical novel Published 1974 ( William Morrow and Company ) Media type Print ( hardcover and paperback ) Pages 418 pp ISBN 0 - 688 - 00230 - 7 OCLC 673595 Dewey Decimal 917.3 / 04 / 920924 B LC Class CT275. P648 A3 1974 Followed by Lila : An Inquiry into Morals Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : An Inquiry into Values ( ZAMM ), by Robert M. Pirsig, is a book that was first published in 1974. It is a work of fictionalized autobiography, and is the first of Pirsig 's texts in which he explores his Metaphysics of Quality. The title is an apparent play on the title of the 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. '' Initially, the book sold at least 5 million copies worldwide. Contents 1 Structure 2 Writing 3 Philosophical content 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Structure According to Edward Abbey, the book is Pirsig 's fictionalized autobiography of a 17 - day journey he made on a motorcycle from Minnesota to Northern California along with his son Chris. 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 trip, by close friends John and Sylvia Sutherland, with whom they part ways in Montana. The trip is punctuated by numerous philosophical discussions, referred to as Chautauquas by the author, on topics including epistemology, ethical emotivism and the philosophy of science. Many of these discussions are tied together by the story of 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 a small college, became engrossed in the question of what defines good writing, and what in general defines good, or `` Quality ''. His philosophical investigations eventually drove him insane, and he was subjected to electroconvulsive therapy, which permanently changed his personality. Towards the end of the book, Phaedrus 's personality begins to re-emerge and the narrator is reconciled with his past. Writing 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 fall into an unorthodox schedule, waking up 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. Philosophical content This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. ( January 2013 ) In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Pirsig explores the meaning and concept of `` quality '' ; a term he conceives as undefinable. Pirsig 's thesis is that to truly experience quality one must both embrace and apply it as best fits the requirements of the situation. According to Pirsig, such an approach would avoid a great deal of frustration and dissatisfaction common to modern life. In the book, the Narrator describes the `` Romantic '' approach to life of his friend, John Sutherland, who chooses not to learn how to maintain his expensive new motorcycle. John simply hopes for the best with his bike, and when problems do occur he often becomes frustrated and is forced to rely on professional mechanics to repair it. In contrast, the `` classical '' Narrator has an older motorcycle which he is usually able to diagnose and repair himself through the use of rational problem solving skills. In an example of the classical approach, Pirsig explains to the reader that one must pay continual attention : when the Narrator and his friends came into Miles City, Montana he notices that the `` engine idle is loping a little, '' a possible indication that the fuel / air mixture is too rich. The next day he is thinking of this as he is going through his ritual to adjust the valves on his cycle 's engine. During the adjustment, he notes that both spark plugs are black, confirming a rich mixture. He recognizes that the higher elevation is causing the engine to run rich. The narrator rectifies this by installing new jets with the valves adjusted, and the engine runs well again. With this, the book details two types of personalities : those who are interested mostly in gestalts ( romantic viewpoints, such as Zen, focused on being `` In the moment '', and not on rational analysis ), and those who seek to know the details, understand the inner workings, and master the mechanics ( classic viewpoints with application of rational analysis, vis - a-vis motorcycle maintenance ) and so on. The Sutherlands represent an exclusively romantic attitude toward the world. The Narrator initially appears to prefer the classic approach. It later becomes apparent that he understands both viewpoints and is aiming for the middle ground. He understands that technology, and the `` dehumanized world '' it carries with it, appears ugly and repulsive to a romantic person. He knows that such persons are determined to shoehorn all of life 's experience into the romantic view. Pirsig is capable of seeing the beauty of technology and feels good about mechanical work, where the goal is `` to achieve an inner peace of mind ''. The book demonstrates that motorcycle maintenance may be dull and tedious drudgery or an enjoyable and pleasurable pastime ; it all depends on attitude. Ancient Greek philosophy in Athens, romantically depicted by Raphael Pirsig examines the modern pursuit of `` Pure Truths '', claiming it derives from the work of early Greek philosophers who were establishing the concept of truth in opposition to the force of `` The Good ''. He argues that although rational thought may find a truth ( or The Truth ) it may never be fully and universally applicable to each and every individual 's experience. Therefore, what is needed is an approach to viewing life that is more varied and inclusive and has a wider range of application. He makes a case that originally the Greeks did not distinguish between `` Quality '' and `` Truth '' -- they were one and the same, arete -- and that the divorce was, in fact, artificial ( though needed at the time ) and is now a source of much frustration and unhappiness in the world, particularly overall dissatisfaction with modern life. Pirsig aims towards a perception of the world that embraces both sides, the rational and the romantic. This means encompassing `` irrational '' sources of wisdom and understanding as well as science, reason and technology. In particular, this must include bursts of creativity and intuition that seemingly come from nowhere and are not ( in his view ) rationally explicable. Pirsig seeks to demonstrate that rationality and Zen - like `` being in the moment '' can harmoniously coexist. He suggests such a combination of rationality and romanticism can potentially bring a higher quality of life. It has been noted that Pirsig 's Romantic / Classical dichotomy resembles Nietzsche 's Dionysian / Apollonian dichotomy as described in The Birth of Tragedy. For example, in his book The Person of the Therapist, Edward Smith writes, `` In his popular novel, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig ( 1974 ) also addressed the Apollonian and Dionysian worldviews, naming them respectively classical understanding and romantic understanding. '' See also Novels portal Emotional intelligence Gestalt psychology Gumption trap Ideasthesia Lila : An Inquiry into Morals Index of philosophical literature Pirsig 's metaphysics of Quality Quality ( philosophy ) References This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2010 ) ^ Jump up to : Abbey, Edward ( March 30, 1975 ). `` Novelistic autobiography, autobiographical novel ? No matter ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ Reuters ( 25 April 2017 ). `` Robert Pirsig, Author Of ' Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, ' Dead At 88 '' -- via Huff Post. Jump up ^ ' Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Author ' Robert Pirsig at NPR online audio archive Jump up ^ Part II, Ch. 8, pages 80, 81 in the paperback edition for which the image is shown, Jump up ^ Smith, Edward W.L. The Person of the Therapist, McFarland & Company Inc, 2003 : p. 97. External links robertpirsig.org, A website containing a number of papers concerned with the Metaphysics of Quality. Pictures taken by Pirsig from the trip made famous in his book Audio : 1974 NPR Interview with Pirsig Audio : 1992 NPR Interview with Pirsig Guardian interview from 2006 Short version and Long version. Reviews : Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance from Goodreads. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance data visualization and learning guide from LitCharts. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance&oldid=801332860 '' Categories : 1974 books American autobiographical novels American philosophical novels Motorcycle writing Motorcycling in fiction Western United States in fiction William Morrow and Company books Works by Robert M. Pirsig Hidden categories : Pages to import images to Wikidata Articles that may contain original research from January 2013 All articles that may contain original research Articles needing additional references from May 2010 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español فارسی Français Italiano עברית Nederlands Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska Türkçe 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 19 September 2017, at 01 : 50. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance
Answer: Robert M. Pirsig