Zen and the art of maintaining a motorcycle

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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Original title: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ) is a work by the American author Robert M. Pirsig from 1974. It is a mixture of novel, autobiography and philosophical treatise.

The work

As a novel, it tells of a motorcycle trip through the northwestern United States. It also includes memories of the narrator of a problematic motorcycle trip with his son. As an autobiography, it contains memories of the author of himself and his earlier thinking. As a philosophy, the work consists of an examination of the increasingly technical (western) way of life of the 1950s and 1960s.

The philosophical considerations are inserted as teaching units in the framework of the motorcycle trip. Pirsig calls the units " Chautauqua " (wandering summer school). The work became popular after its publication in 1974 because the topics it dealt with are compatible with the interests of the counterculture of the 1960s and early 1970s, particularly with regard to the criticism of the nature of education and the life goals of the conservative bourgeoisie in the US of the 1950s .

The title is a reference to Eugen Victor Herrigel's book Zen in the Art of Archery from 1948.

Quality concept

The focus of the philosophy that Pirsig developed in Zen and the art of maintaining a motorcycle is the concept of " quality ". This term can be understood both epistemologically and metaphysically. “Quality” precedes a split in perception from which the subjective and the objective, the spiritual and the physical emerge. The concept of quality is thus an answer to dualistic ways of thinking.

A special characteristic of "quality" is dynamism. This is in contrast to the perception of things in the world that appear static. Pirsig defines “quality” as an event in this regard . As such, “quality” can never be fully grasped. Consequently, "quality" cannot be observed in the scientific sense like a delimited object of investigation. Pirsig often emphasizes that “quality” cannot be “defined”. In his epistemological considerations, Pirsig assumes a pre-intellectual consciousness that relates to “quality” and that he calls “quality consciousness”. The “quality awareness” does not correspond to the everyday understanding of consciousness or intellect as the apprehension of static things in the world or as a collection of fixed understanding concepts. For Pirsig, everything that is intellectually grasped and demarcated is an afterthought in relation to quality awareness. This retrospect also affects the division of the world into subjects and objects, into recognized objects and knowing people. For Pirsig, human action and speech are based on finding analogies to earlier experiences in the preconscious, pre-intellectual quality consciousness.

Pirsig uses the example of a freight train to clarify and illustrate the concept of quality. In this example, two ways of looking at things can be distinguished: (1) the view of the train, in which it appears as a static structure made up of a locomotive and individual wagons, as in a photograph; (2) the view of the train, in which it appears as a dynamic structure that moves and covers a distance. There are two ways of looking at the same thing. In the first perspective, the train is treated in the form of individual parts. Pirsig calls the result of this approach “classical knowledge” or “classical quality”. In the second perspective, the train is viewed in motion, and Pirsig focuses precisely on the foremost part, which he describes as the “leading edge of the locomotive”. Pirsig calls the result of this second approach “romantic knowledge” or “romantic quality”.

With the help of the second approach, Pirsig clarifies what he means by "quality". He describes the track on which the train travels as "quality track". The perspective is shifted to the front of the train and to the movement. From this perspective, the track and its further course cannot (or only very little) be seen. In contrast to the first (“classic”) approach, in which a train travels on a fixed track, the second (“romantic”) view is not pre-determined. For the observer at the leading edge of the train, the track and the train are created at the moment of travel. The division of perception into a train with individual wagons following a track does not emerge until later compared to this point of view. To do this, the observer must move away from the leading edge of the train.

Pirsig also calls this train "knowledge train". In an epistemological interpretation, the example of the train illustrates the process of knowing or experiencing. The cognitive process is eventful and takes place at the "leading edge of time". At the moment of recognition there are no classifications or delimitations. Classifications are necessary, but they only arise afterwards. They are symbolized in the “Knowledge Train” by the individual wagons that are arranged behind the locomotive. The knowledge process described in this way precedes all dualisms.

Observer and problem-relatedness of the work

In Pirsig's work, the observer is included in philosophical thinking. This is shown by his numerous explanations of the concept of quality. But Pirsig doesn't stop there. It describes the effects of the two approaches in daily use of technology. He talks about it throughout the entire work using the example of a specific, not unusual problem - the maintenance of his motorcycle during the motorcycle trip. Zen and the art of maintaining a motorcycle is in this way an example of philosophical thinking that is observer and application-oriented and aimed at life today.

Using the example of motorcycle maintenance, Pirsig shows in detail that the traditional scientific approach, which Pirsig describes as the "classic", is necessary for problem solving, but not sufficient. Only a reassessment of the situation experienced as problematic enables a solution to the problem, and this requires the dynamic, qualitative approach that Pirsig describes as "romantic". As an example of such a re-evaluation under the dynamic approach, Pirsig cites the problem of a loose handlebar. A shim is missing. This is a problem that occurs in the classic, static perspective. Next to the motorcycle is a discarded beer can. This is where the dynamic perspective works: the beer can can be perceived in a new and adaptive way, for example as a sheet for a new underlay. This re-evaluation makes problem solving possible. Another example of problem solving by reassessing the situation, which Pirsig explains in more detail, is the problem of a stuck screw.

The name Zen in the title of the work Zen and the art of servicing a motorcycle symbolizes the view that a certain approach can lead to problem solving in the field of technology. In this approach, the observer has not yet separated himself from the observed world to such an extent that he only sees static, unchangeable things that function or do not function according to the observer's purposes. In this approach, the observer is still so closely connected with things that he can perceive new things and that in this way he can dynamically adapt things - and thus his world - to the problems that arise.

Criticism of the Greek classics

The philosophy in the work of Zen and the art of maintaining a motorcycle is linked to a clear criticism of the dualistic philosophies of the Greek classics (in particular Plato and even more Aristotle ). By adopting these classic theories, Pirsig said, “untold damage was done to this world”. Pirsig particularly criticizes the separation of reason (or rationality) from things and also from Platonic ideas and, as an alternative, opposes his point of view, in which an acting person (an observer) is connected to the products of his action at the moment of his action. The concept of quality can be seen as the focus of this alternative. In connection with the criticism of the Greek classics, there is also a criticism of a university education system in which more emphasis is placed on memorizing the classics and reproducing classifications and lists than on problem solving. This criticism includes Pirsig's personal experience as a teacher at Montana State University in Bozeman ( Montana ). In this regard, Pirsig names the "Great Books" program, the representatives of which he dealt with at the University of Chicago .

reception

“I now regret that I lack the expertise in philosophy to put Mr. Pirsig's ideas to a proper test, for this book may very well be a profoundly important one - a great one even - full of insights into our most perplexing contemporary dilemmas. I just don't know. But whatever its true philosophical worth, it is intellectual entertainment of the highest order. "

"I now regret that I lack the philosophical expertise to really put Mr. Pirsig's ideas to the test, for this book may very well be a deeply important - indeed a great one - full of insight into our most startling dilemmas today . I just do not know. But whatever its true philosophical value, it is intellectual entertainment of the highest order. "

- Christopher Lehmann-Haupt : The New York Times

“Some loved and adored the book. The others tormented themselves with philosophical considerations of air filter changes and the transcendence of valve settings. Much of the partially autobiographical description of Pirsig's motorcycle trip with his son Chris through the USA during the hippie era remained incomprehensible. Anyone who expected an adventure story often asked a different question than the one Pirsig was looking for - and gave up after a third of the 450 pages. "

- Michael Schümann : Motorbike

expenditure

  • Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values. William Morrow, 1974, ISBN 0-688-00230-7 .
German
  • Zen and the art of maintaining a motorcycle. An experiment on values. From the American by Rudolf Hermstein. S. Fischer, Frankfurt 1976, ISBN 3-10-061901-3 ; Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt 1978, ISBN 3-596-22020-3 .
    • Zen and the art of maintaining a motorcycle. An experiment on values. With an afterword by the author: Ten years after the first edition appeared. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt 2005, ISBN 3-596-50855-X .

literature

  • Ronald L. DiSanto & Thomas J. Steele: Guidebook to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. William Morrow, 1990, ISBN 0-688-08461-3 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cover text of the paperback edition of the second work Lila (Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 2006)
  2. ↑ The following page references refer to the following edition: Zen and the art of maintaining a motorcycle. An experiment on values. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt 1978, ISBN 978-3596220205 .
  3. ↑ p. 15 f.
  4. ↑ p. 252
  5. ↑ See, for example, p. 265. Here it is appropriate to distinguish between “quality” as a phenomenon (as an appearance, as a perceptual event) and “quality” as a concept . “Not being able to define” can be understood as meaning that it is not possible to delimit, determine and observe “quality” as a phenomenon (as a concrete, perceptible appearance). If “quality” is understood as a term , the expression “cannot define”, strictly speaking, does not fit, because terms can be defined and must also be defined for communicative purposes. Pirsig also defines “quality” as a term with the help of its descriptions.
  6. ↑ p. 260, p. 263 f.
  7. ↑ p. 263
  8. ↑ For the following see p. 298 f.
  9. ↑ p. 299
  10. ↑ The novel form means that the terms are not always used clearly.
  11. ↑ p. 260
  12. ↑ p. 58 f .; Pp. 296-303. Explanation: Even a defective part fulfills the laws of causality, so a valid traditional scientific view only describes a condition. This condition only becomes a problem through an assessment in relation to current goals and purposes. The same goes for problem solving. In these examples the involvement of the observer in Pirsig becomes particularly clear.
  13. ↑ The title says "Zen", which can be understood as a generalization of the approach to technical problems described in the work. Pirsig combines elements of his philosophy with his knowledge of Far Eastern philosophies. He connects his concept of quality with the concept of Dao from the Daodejing , p. 266 f.
  14. ↑ p. 370
  15. ↑ Pirsig himself does not speak of actions and actions. However, his examples of the use of technology suggest such an interpretation.
  16. ↑ On the Great Books Program, see the article in the English language Wikipedia
  17. ↑ Christopher Lehmann-Haupt: Books of The Times. In: The New York Times . April 16, 1974. Retrieved September 5, 2019 (American English).
  18. ↑ Michael Schümann: Death of a motorcycle philosopher. In: motorcycle . April 25, 2017, accessed July 11, 2020 .