Philosophical content In the book, the narrator describes the "romantic" consideration of 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. For example, when the narrator and his friends come into
Miles City, Montana, he notices the engine running roughly, a possible indication that the fuel/air mixture is too
rich. The next day 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 and adjusting the
valves, and the engine runs well again. '' in the
Vatican -
Ancient Greek philosophy depicted by
Raphael The narrator 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 applicable completely and universally to every individual's experience; therefore what is needed is a method of thought that is more 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. The narrator explains that he seeks a perception of the world that embraces both the rational and the romantic, and that he 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 result in a greater
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 ... Pirsig also addressed the Apollonian and Dionysian worldviews, naming them respectively classical understanding and romantic understanding."
The self and relationships Beverly Gross (1984) writes that Pirsig is seeking a synthesis of "the normal, everyday, functioning self with the person given to extremes, excesses, dizzying heights, obsessions—our crazy self with our sane self, the greatness in us with our ordinariness". The exceptional in the narrator is represented by Phaedrus, who, despite the narrator's attempt to keep him in the past, becomes a major item of his thought toward the book's end, threatening the narrator's stability and relationship with his son. However, the narrator's difficulties with his son during the journey also question whether surrendering parts of himself in exchange for "sanity" has even helped this relationship. Gross writes, "He relates to mechanical things, not to people. There is beauty in his recognition that personality inheres in motorcycles, riding gloves; there is sadness and sickness in his removal from the personality of people, his own most notably". The Chautauquas, which emphasize the narrator's tendency toward solitary thought and over-analysis, may reflect his avoidance of the problems before him: his relationships and the resurrection of Phaedrus. To the extent that the narrator denies Phaedrus, the Chautauquas are practical, but when he decides that he will admit himself to hospital again, he realizes the undeniable presence of Phaedrus in him, and the Chautauquas are given over to those more abstruse topics.
Gumption traps According to the narrator, a
gumption trap is an event or mindset that can cause a person to lose enthusiasm and become discouraged from starting or continuing a project. The word "gumption" denotes a combination of common sense, shrewdness, and a sense of initiative. Although the last of these traits is the primary victim of the "gumption trap," the first two suffer indirectly in that a reduction in initiative results in a reduction in constructive activity and therefore inhibits one's development of the first two traits. Pirsig goes on to inform his readers that the "trap" portion of the term refers to the
positive feedback loop that the event or mindset creates: the reduction in the person's enthusiasm and initiative decreases both the person's likelihood of success in that project and the degree of success likely, thus doubly affecting the
expected outcome of the person's efforts. The usual result further discourages the person, whether it be a mere lack of success or a bigger outright failure complete with embarrassment and
loss of the resources initially invested. The specific term "gumption trap" was invented by Pirsig, and the associated concept plays an important part in the practical application of his
Metaphysics of Quality.
Types The narrator defines two types of gumption traps:
setbacks, which he sees as arising from external/"exogenous" events, and
hang-ups, which he describes as the product of internal/"endogenous" factors such as a poor fit between one's psychological state and the requirements of a project.
Setbacks The nature of setbacks can vary considerably. For example, a minor setback might result from a minor injury. Worse setbacks include the lack of knowledge that a certain procedural action or condition is necessary for a project's success: If one attempts to keep working despite the
lack of knowledge that this obstacle exists (let alone how to deal with it), one's lack of progress may prompt one to take long breaks from the project, to focus one's attention on other endeavors, or even to lose interest in the project altogether. Pirsig suggests preventing these kinds of gumption traps by being slow and meticulous, taking notes that might help later, and
troubleshooting in advance (
e.g., by laying out the requirements for one's project in logical and/or conceptual order and looking for procedural problems ranging from unaccounted-for prerequisites to gaps in one's instructions or plans).
Hang-ups Hang-ups stem from internal factors that can get in the way of starting or completing a project. Examples of such hang-ups include anxiety, boredom, impatience, and the failure (often borne of excessive
egotism) to realize that
a) one might not have all the information necessary to succeed and/or
b) certain aspects of the problem might be more or less important than one believes. Dealing with hang-ups can be as simple as reducing
hyperfocus on a specific aspect of a problem by taking a short break from working on the problem or that specific aspect of it. Pirsig notes several aspects of hang-ups. • Affective (i.e. receptive or dynamic) understanding or
"value traps": these can be described generally as an inability or reluctance to re-evaluate notions due to a commitment to previous values. On the whole these types of issues can be addressed by (1) rediscovering facts as they arise; (2) recognizing that the facts are available and apparent; (3) deliberately slowing down to allow unstructured processing of information; and (4) reassessing the weight attached to the current knowledge. :* Egotism may encourage one to believe misleading information or disbelieve a potentially inconvenient fact. Appropriate recourses include humility, modesty, attentiveness and skepticism. :*
Anxiety may preclude the confidence necessary to begin a project or the self-assurance needed to patiently work through a project systematically. Appropriate recourses include research, study and preparation prior to beginning the project; detailing the anticipated steps required to accomplish the task; and understanding the personhood and fallibility of professionals. :*
Boredom may cause sloppy work and inattention to detail. Appropriate recourses include taking a break to allow interest in the project to rebuild or ritualizing common practices. Pirsig notes that at the first sign of boredom, it is important to stop work immediately. :*
Impatience, like boredom, may cause sloppy work and inattention to detail. Appropriate recourses include allowing indefinite time for the project and value flexibility to rediscover aspects of the project. • Cognitive understanding or
"truth traps": these can be described as misunderstanding the feedback of a given action. :* Reliance on yes-no duality may cause misinterpretation of results. Pirsig notes the concept of mu and suggests the answer to a particular question may indicate that the question does not match the situation. An appropriate recourse may be to reconsider the context of the inquiry. • Psychomotor behavior or
"muscle traps": these concern the interaction of the environment, machinist and machine. :* Inadequate tools may result in a feeling of frustration. Appropriate recourses include proper equipment acquisition. :* Environmental factors may result in frustration including inadequate lighting, temperature extremes and physically uncomfortable positions. :* Muscular insensitivity or lack of
proprioception may cause a disproportionate amount of force to be applied to a material that results in frustration. Misunderstanding of different tolerances of various materials may result in broken parts or inadequate tension. ==Reception and legacy==