In his philosophical treatise and narrative Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig hypothesizes that all of the world's progress and evolution is due to a need for Quality - a concept he deems indefinable. Pirsig explains, "Any philosophic explanation of Quality is going to be both false and true precisely because it is a philosophic explanation. The process of philosophic explanation is an analytic process, a process of breaking something down into subjects and predicates...'Quality' cannot be broken down into subjects and predicates. This is not because Quality is so mysterious but because Quality is so simple, immediate and direct" (319).
So, if Pirsig can't tell us what Quality is, how are we supposed to understand it? A search in the dictionary yields the definition "high grade; superiority; excellence." For Pirsig, this explanation doesn't do the subject justice. One way to examine Quality, he says, is to experiment with amoeba. If you were to place amoeba in a plate of water with a drop of sulfuric acid nearby, the amoeba would pull away from the acid and swim in another direction. If they could speak, the amoeba, without knowing anything about sulfuric acid, would say, "This environment has poor quality."
Responding to Quality, amoeba will manage to survive and reproduce, eventually mutating and becoming more complex and refined. It can therefore be stated that Quality created the world we live in today. Through billions of years, organisms have responded to Quality and evolved. This evolution relates to the reasons why we can't define Quality. Pirsig writes, "Now, to take that which has caused us to create the world, and include it within the world we have created, is clearly impossible. That is why Quality cannot be defined. If we do define it we are defining something less than Quality itself" (320).
It seems strange that a word may exist without a definition. When I first read Zen three years ago, I fought against the idea. I searched through my mind for arguments against Pirsig's meaning of Quality, but I could find nothing. Finally, after weeks of frustration, I gave up and decided that the entire concept was irrational and of little importance. However, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I found examples of Quality in everyday life. When I laughed, I laughed at Quality. When I heard good music, I experienced Quality. When I was tired, rest meant Quality.
Finally, after a year of pondering, I resolved to reread Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Although it still didn't make complete sense, I managed to gain a simple understanding of Quality. Since then, two years have passed, and I'm still not fully certain of what Quality is. I don't know if I or anyone else ever will be.
You've definitely given all of us a lot to think about, not just about the enigma that is Quality, but also about other ideas or philosophies in life that frustrate us. As for Quality itself, I'll put myself on the line and venture my own opinion-- that quality can't be defined, as Pirsig states, because it is a state of being. One will always recognize Quality, but only when it shows up. Quality, in this sense, is much like time in that it can never truly be pinned down to on universal understanding. Try defining time without using the word itself.
ReplyDeleteI came to your blog because I knew you'd have something written that I'd find intriguing. I wasn't wrong. Pirsig certainly makes a valid point in stating that "any philosophic explanation of Quality is going to be both false and true precisely because it is a philosophic explanation." I can't say that I find a way to define Quality without having someone else find a fault with my definition, and it is philosophical, so therefore I'm fixed to believe that it's close to impossible. Excellent work. I enjoyed this a lot.
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