RIP, Robert Pirsig, 88

[Lightnin' Rod]

Author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

The study of the art of motorcycle maintenance is really a miniature study of the art of rationality itself. Working on a motorcycle, working well, caring, is to become part of a process, to achieve an inner peace of mind. The motorcycle is primarily a mental phenomenon.
Robert M. Pirsig

[dischead]

I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance when I was 19.  I found his his exposition about
the "church of reason," and his exploration into the question "what is quality?" cogent and accessible
as they introduced me to epistemology and ontology.  Reading Pirsig's book was, for several years,
the one thing that "expanded my consciousness" the most.  I've re-read it many, many times,
especially the meatier sections in the latter part of the book.

ETA:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/books/robert-pirsig-dead-wrote-zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance.html