Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

[Strong Flat White]

So... I'm not a philosophy major, but I just finished ZAMM and thought I'd go for some expert perspectives.  My personal feeling - as an admitted layperson - was that it was incredibly sloppy (but fun!).  The "classic" exegesis is more of a stoic thing, and this idea that the classic and romantic need to be reconciled leaves me totally empty on the "conflict" scale.  As in, really?  The institutionalization of "arts and sciences" hasn't reconciled this?  And quality.  An event, not a thing?  Yep.  I'm left feeling that this is a self-important book filled with catharsis for a guy who needs catharsis.  Not to mention a whole host of... well, if they are intentional then I suppose they are "ironies" but if not then they are just contradictions: the failure to properly taxonomize within the school of "hierarchies of knowledge;" the lameness in dealing with Hobbes and Kant, the obvious dilemma of writing a low-quality book about quality.  I see from the trumped-up liner notes of my edition that there is a companion book written by some actual philosophers.  The guy who recommended this book asked my definition of quality while he was reading it just to get an outsider's perspective.  When I asked what it was all about, he said it's about a guy who goes "quite literally" insane trying to define quality.  Which is actually untrue, but which elicited the response from me:  A guy goes insane trying to answer an un-answerable question?  What a poor, tortured soul!  

So, looking forward to any philosophers out there who can enlighten me.  Cheers.

[tarski]

Sorry, haven't read it . My highschool philosophy teacher loved it and you just reminded me of it, maybe I should check it out...

[anxiousapplicant]

I don't know why they teach this book. It is so shallow and pseudo-philosophical. I had a teacher who had us read it just to show us all the inaccuracies in the interpretation of philosophers such as Kant. I hated the book, I really did. it's just a novel.

[Strong Flat White]

I don't know why they teach this book. It is so shallow and pseudo-philosophical. I had a teacher who had us read it just to show us all the inaccuracies in the interpretation of philosophers such as Kant. I hated the book, I really did. it's just a novel.

Yes, I hated it, too! But even as a novel, sans philosophical validity... it sucks!

People who liked/bought this book also bought:

Razor's Edge

Sophie's World

[and the worst of them all...]

Ishmael

With the idea that they "make philosophy accessible," when in fact, they just suck!

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

It was a book I was impressed with as a teenager.

However, I grew out of it - especially when I took an intro to philosophy class in college, and learned what REAL philosophy was all about (and kind of fell in love with philosophy LOL, although not as much as with theater and literature ).

I feel about Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance the same way I feel about The Fountainhead (although The Fountainhead is MUCH better fiction) - it's extremely impressive when you're a teenager. However, as you grow up, accumulate some experiences and knowledge, you become disenchanted with it.

I didn't read Sophie's World or Razor's Edge, so I can't comment on either.

[Postbib Yeshuist]

I don't know why they teach this book. It is so shallow and pseudo-philosophical. I had a teacher who had us read it just to show us all the inaccuracies in the interpretation of philosophers such as Kant. I hated the book, I really did. it's just a novel.

I think the mistake is in approaching the book as a "textbook" as opposed to one (or two) person's musings on philosophy. I could care less about his critiques on Kant. For me, there were numerous points where his thinking pushed boundaries I had forgotten were there.

I also wonder if some of the "hate it/love it" has to do with those with a rift between those for whom philosophy is an academic pursuit and those who see it as a way of thinking about their own personal lives...

[spozik]

Another non-philosopher here (I'm fairly familiar with ancient philosophy, but I've never had a formal course dedicated to it), and I tend to agree with Postbib Yeshuist above. I enjoyed reading it, if for nothing else than the personal perspective on philosophy. I enjoy personal perspectives on any subject, I guess. But ZAMM, for me, is successful because it shows how one person, at least, integrated philosophy into life and life into philosophy.

I don't think reading it critically is the way to go. It's a story about one guy's experiences and struggles with philosophy, academics, and ultimately academia. It's a good gateway to both academic and practical philosophy, particularly for those of us who didn't have a philosophy class in high school (!) or didn't have the time to squeeze one in in college.

I don't understand those of you that say that you "outgrow" it. It's not trying to be a philosophical landmark. I'm all set to enter a PhD program in Classics next year, but I still consider Edith Hamilton's Mythology a great work. I think it's a mistake to be dismissive of anything that gets people interested in what you're doing, despite whatever problems you have with it.

[USC95]

I loved ZAMM! It had very little to do with Philosophy, however, and really nothing to do with Zen. It was a mystery story of a man who had a serious mental breakdown in the past, trying to live life with a new identity and hold it together for his son (who apparently was trusting enough to go on a cross-country road trip). As you descend with the narrator into his strange dark pit of self-realization, you get to experience his "observational" approach at life, living in the moment, focusing on the minute details of driving across the landscape... all the while wondering what the heck is really going on. 

 

That said, it's not for everyone. The second time I read it, I skipped most of the parts where he describes how to get the right fuel-air mix in the gas line ; )

[maelia8]

Non-philosopher here. Not wanting to seem superficial, but the things that I liked about this book had nothing to do with the character's existential crisis/breakdown/insanity or his musings about philosophy. I enjoyed the book as a travel narrative - as someone who has been on a lot of road trips, there was a big nostalgia factor involved in this road trip undertaken before google maps or smartphones or satellite TV. The descriptions of the landscape the narrator traverses, while not all that polished, have a certain raw charm that anyone who's been on an epic road trip can appreciate. Although the narrator things about very different things than I do when I'm on the road, everyone who's been on a road trip knows that it's one of the best times and places to muse and delve into one's feelings and memories.

 

Another thing I liked about the book: it actually managed to make me interested in how machines work, something that I normally find completely alienating (mainly because of the condescending attitude that a lot of technicians and mechanics have about laymen trying to figure out how to repair things without the requisite experience).