After receivÂing 121 rejecÂtions from pubÂlishÂers, Robert PirÂsig finalÂly got Zen and the Art of MotorÂcyÂcle MainÂteÂnance pubÂlished in 1974, which subÂseÂquentÂly sold over five milÂlion copies and put PirÂsig in high demand. NevÂerÂtheÂless, his folÂlow-up book, Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals, didÂn’t come out until 1991, and he’s pubÂlished no book-length works since then. What did this towÂerÂing influÂence on so many writÂers, bikÂers, and loneÂly misÂfits do with the rest of his time?
In this video, PirÂsig talks about his pasÂsion for boatÂing, which is the setÂting for Lila. As an introÂducÂtion, we hear John SutherÂland, who was a promiÂnentÂly-feaÂtured charÂacÂter in the first half of Zen, opinÂing that PirÂsig should do some travÂel writÂing, and to my ears being a litÂtle snarky about the phiÂlosÂoÂphy comÂpoÂnent of his works. We then get to see PirÂsig’s boat and hear him talk about a nearÂly deadÂly trip he took across the Atlantic in 1979. (“right where the TitanÂic was sunk”).
PirÂsig’s sparse outÂput shouldÂn’t be a surÂprise if you’re familÂiar with his phiÂlosÂoÂphy, which is all about what he calls “QualÂiÂty,” a basic (and thereÂfore in an imporÂtant sense indeÂfinÂable) comÂpoÂnent of expeÂriÂence that not only proÂvides a basis for explainÂing psyÂcholÂoÂgy, biolÂoÂgy, and physics, but also proÂvides a guide for pracÂtiÂcal, daiÂly life. GetÂting pulled into the world of “philosopholÂoÂgy,” which he describes as a conÂcern with the hisÂtoÂry and methÂods of phiÂlosÂoÂphy, as opposed to actuÂalÂly doing phiÂlosÂoÂphy, would not yield the qualÂiÂty of life that floatÂing around on his boat would.
To learn more about PirÂsig, check out this podÂcast episode on Zen, and the subÂseÂquent series of notes I pubÂlished on Lila, which engenÂdered a lot of great conÂverÂsaÂtion with PirÂsig’s fans and critÂics.
Mark LinÂsenÂmayÂer runs the ParÂtialÂly ExamÂined Life phiÂlosÂoÂphy podÂcast and blog.
