Chain Reading

Pirsig's debut and bestselling work Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values is considered by many to be the definitive "intellectual rebel's book" of the 1970s. Its semi-sequel, Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals expatiates further upon what the author set out to introduce to the world in his first book -- the Metaphysics of Quality, a system of values and morals whereby both concepts converge into each other and form an entirely new and accommodating way of perceiving and understanding the world that also manages to explain what Pirsig refers to as "platypi" - heretofore unexplained and confusing philosophical problems - better than the traditional "subject-object metaphysics" that frames and delimits our outlook. He explains that there are four basic patterns of culture, the biological, social, intellectual, and finally the Dynamic, that form a hierarchy of values and morals and within the framework of which a lower level of evolution trying to control a higher is "immoral." He thus redefines the concept of immorality -- according to the Metaphysics of Quality, the effect of society's rituals or restrictions insofar as they hinder or attempt to forcefully influence intellectual thought is immoral, since a lower pattern of culture (social) is attempting to control a higher (intellectual). He says that society is essentially a Dynamic concept, ever-changing and evolving, although it requires static latches that support and maintain it while it explores higher levels of Quality.

For Pirsig, we have built around ourselves walls that amount to a cultural immune system whereby we see the world a certain way and believe it is so -- he attempts to turn this on its head and says that we see the world a certain way because we believe it is so. Thus our thoughts delimit what we perceive and understand in the world, and therefore if we could change or expand our belief-system, the world around us would consequently also seem to change and be differently explained.

He ties his musings together in the book with a common thread that deals with the Native American lifestyle and belief system, and draws an eloquent verbal picture of the Native American--American--European relationship. The Native American is viewed by the American as someone primal, naive, out of control and immature, just as the European tends to view the American. The Native American views the American as a phony snob, just as the American views the European. Pirsig's contention is that Native Americans are in fact the originators of the true American culture over which a European mentality has been superimposed (the anti-snobbery of the Americans has been derived from the Native Americans), and this now leads to a persistent internal conflict in all Americans.

It's hard to sum up the goal of Pirsig's variegated elaborations and musings in the book. Essentially, it is an attempt to redefine the way we understand the world and its people, and the way we judge the world and its people, by holding them up against the light of Quality, a concept that Pirsig has attempted to capture in his two books. Lila is a fascinating read, but can at times weigh one down with its abstractions. If you're in a questioning, deliberative mood, this book will prove good company, in conjunction with its predecessor (which I recommend you read first). An absolute must-read for anyone interested in a refreshing new understanding of what we are all evolving towards, and seeking a new, expansive system of values and morals.