Self Improvement – The Top 101 Experts that Help Us Improve Our Lives

ROBERT M. PIRSIG

(Expert # 58)

Robert M. Pirsig Quick Facts

Main Areas: Spirituality; Metaphysics; Zen Buddhism
Best-Seller: “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”
Profile: Author

Robert M. Pirsig Biography

t M. Pirsig is the author of the best-selling book, Zen and the Art of

cycle Maintenance. It is an autobiographical novel, detailing a cross-c

ycle trip by a man with his 11-year-old son, as well as his quest for

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was born in Minneapolis and studied chemistry, philosophy, and journa
University of Minnesota. He also attended Benares Hindu University in
where he studied Oriental philosophy. Pirsig says the idea for the book
onceived in 1968 as a short and light-hearted essay, following a moto
t ith his son and two friends.

In his other work, LILA: An Inquiry into Morals, Pirsig offers another lengthy
investigation on how we can live well. The Metaphysics of Quality (MOQ) is
explained in both of Pirsig’s books. It is a philosophy and a theory about reality.
The MOQ asks questions like “What is real?”, “What is good?”, and “What is
moral?” and comes up with surprising conclusions about our lives and existence.

David Riklan’s favorite Robert M. Pirsig Quotes and Thoughts

• 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.


• The cycle you’re working on is a cycle called “yourself.”


• Metaphysics is a restaurant where they give you a thirty thousand page menu
  and no food.