- published: 12 Jul 2012
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Robert Maynard Pirsig (born September 6, 1928) is an American writer and philosopher, and the author of the philosophical novels Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (1974) and Lila: An Inquiry into Morals (1991).
Pirsig was born on September 6, 1928 to Harriet Marie Sjobeck and Maynard Pirsig, and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is of German and Swedish descent. His father was a University of Minnesota Law School (UMLS) graduate, and started teaching at the school in 1934. The elder Pirsig served as the law school dean from 1948 to 1955, and retired from teaching at UMLS in 1970. He resumed his career as a professor at the William Mitchell College of Law, where he remained until his final retirement in 1993.
Because he was a precocious child, with an I.Q. of 170 at age 9, Robert Pirsig skipped several grades and was enrolled at the Blake School in Minneapolis. Pirsig was awarded a high school diploma in May 1943 and entered the University of Minnesota to study biochemistry that autumn. In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, he described the central character, thought to represent him, as being far from a typical student; he was interested in science as a goal in itself, rather than as a way to establish a career.
Examined Life is a 2008 Canadian documentary film about philosophers directed by Astra Taylor. The film features eight influential modern philosophers walking around New York and other metropolises, discussing the practical application of their ideas in modern culture.
The philosophers featured are Cornel West, Avital Ronell, Peter Singer, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Martha Nussbaum, Michael Hardt, Slavoj Žižek, and Judith Butler, who is accompanied by Taylor's sister and disability activist Sunny (Sunaura Taylor).
The film appeared in the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, the 2009 Melbourne International Film Festival and the 2009 Kingston Canadian Film Festival. It is co-produced by Sphinx Productions and the National Film Board of Canada, in association with the Ontario Media Development Corporation, TVOntario and Knowledge Network.
Reception has been generally favorable (Rotten Tomatoes gives it 76%), However, Martha Nussbaum subsequently complained in The Point magazine, that although Examined Life displays "a keen visual imagination and a vivid sense of atmosphere and place" it nonetheless "presents a portrait of philosophy that is... a betrayal of the tradition of philosophizing that began, in Europe, with the life of Socrates".
Shortly after 'Zen' was published, Connie Goldman talked with Robert Pirsig at his home in St. Paul, Minn. Pirsig discusses his process in writing the book, at times working four hours before he arrived for his day job writing technical manuals. Originally broadcast on July 12, 1974. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4612364
A short film about the life and work of Robert Pirsig.
Interview from BBC radio with Robert Pirsig, author of 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' and 'Lila'.
This is an excerpt from a prior episode of The Partially Examined Life podcast, discussing Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. You can find the entire unabridged Pirsig podcast, along with dozens of others discussing philosophers from Aristotle to Wittgenstein, at the Partially Examined Life website: http://www.partiallyexaminedlife.com About PEL: The podcasters were all graduate students in philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin back in the Clinton years. They all left the program at some point before getting their doctorates and have consequently since had time to get outside that whole weird world of academia and reflect on it and the various philosophical topics with a different, and probably much more lazy, perspective.
The 122nd gently warned Pirsig, a former rhetoric professor who had a job writing technical manuals, not to expect more than his $3,000 advance. “The book is not, as I think you now realize from your correspondence with other publishers, a marketing man’s dream,” the editor at William Morrow wrote in a congratulatory note before its 1974 publication. He was wrong. “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values” sold 50,000 copies in three months and more than 5 million in the decades since. The dense tome has been translated into at least 27 languages. A reviewer for the New Yorker likened its author to Herman Melville. Its popularity made Pirsig “probably the most widely read philosopher alive,” a British journalist wrote in 2006. #RobertPirsig #zenandtheartofmotorc...
"Chautauqua 2012 : MSU honors Robert Pirsig" records events at a symposium which took place December 7th/8th, 2012 on the Bozeman campus of Montana State University where Robert Pirsig taught creative writing in 1958-60. Michael Sexton, Master of Ceremonies, Charles Pinka, Tina DeWeese, Anthony McWatt, Henry Gurr and filmmaker Lee Glover (among others) spoke during the seminar. Lee Glover premiered his feature-length video entitled "Meridian" which examines Pirsig and his classic work "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".
In these previously unpublished video promos, we hear Robert Pirsig discuss his personal experience with motorcycles (amongst other things) and also from John Sutherland - his late Sixties motorcycle riding buddy - talk about 'Zen & the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance'. (Please note that the ARRIVE WITHOUT TRAVELLING DVD mentioned at the end of this film is no longer available from www.robertpirsig.org!)
This video describes Robert Pirsig's struggle to figure out the nature behind the term "quality" as described in his novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. This idea of questioning the overall thought process of analytical reason is a theme that occurs repeatedly in the novel. It is what drove his previous personality crazy.
This is the wrap-up video for the first month of the book club. This month we read, Robert Pirsig's classic philosophical road trip, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. This month I'm joined by Kalid Azad of BetterExplained.com to discuss the book. Interested in joining the book club? You can subscribe here to get the video reviews, or you can join our Facebook group to participate in the live discussion: https://www.facebook.com/groups/543802626007799/ If you want to buy the book, you can do so here: https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry/dp/0060589469/ The narrator and his eleven year old son, Chris, embark on a winding motorcycle ride through the American countryside. Along this journey we're treated to a series of "Chatauquas" on philosophy. As they t...
Shortly after 'Zen' was published, Connie Goldman talked with Robert Pirsig at his home in St. Paul, Minn. Pirsig discusses his process in writing the book, at times working four hours before he arrived for his day job writing technical manuals. Originally broadcast on July 12, 1974. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4612364
Interview from BBC radio with Robert Pirsig, author of 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' and 'Lila'.
A short film about the life and work of Robert Pirsig.
This is an excerpt from a prior episode of The Partially Examined Life podcast, discussing Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. You can find the entire unabridged Pirsig podcast, along with dozens of others discussing philosophers from Aristotle to Wittgenstein, at the Partially Examined Life website: http://www.partiallyexaminedlife.com About PEL: The podcasters were all graduate students in philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin back in the Clinton years. They all left the program at some point before getting their doctorates and have consequently since had time to get outside that whole weird world of academia and reflect on it and the various philosophical topics with a different, and probably much more lazy, perspective.
"Chautauqua 2012 : MSU honors Robert Pirsig" records events at a symposium which took place December 7th/8th, 2012 on the Bozeman campus of Montana State University where Robert Pirsig taught creative writing in 1958-60. Michael Sexton, Master of Ceremonies, Charles Pinka, Tina DeWeese, Anthony McWatt, Henry Gurr and filmmaker Lee Glover (among others) spoke during the seminar. Lee Glover premiered his feature-length video entitled "Meridian" which examines Pirsig and his classic work "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".
In these previously unpublished video promos, we hear Robert Pirsig discuss his personal experience with motorcycles (amongst other things) and also from John Sutherland - his late Sixties motorcycle riding buddy - talk about 'Zen & the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance'. (Please note that the ARRIVE WITHOUT TRAVELLING DVD mentioned at the end of this film is no longer available from www.robertpirsig.org!)
This video describes Robert Pirsig's struggle to figure out the nature behind the term "quality" as described in his novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. This idea of questioning the overall thought process of analytical reason is a theme that occurs repeatedly in the novel. It is what drove his previous personality crazy.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig Book Review, visit http://goo.gl/eDeYy to get your copy. Amazon.com Review Arguably one of the most profoundly important essays ever written on the nature and significance of "quality" and definitely a necessary anodyne to the consequences of a modern world pathologically obsessed with quantity. Although set as a story of a cross-country trip on a motorcycle by a father and son, it is more nearly a journey through 2,000 years of Western philosophy. For some people, this has been a truly life-changing book. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Review "An unforgettable trip." (Time ) "The book is inspired, original. . . . The analogies with Moby-Dick are patent." (The New Yorker ) "Profoun...
Shortly after 'Zen' was published, Connie Goldman talked with Robert Pirsig at his home in St. Paul, Minn. Pirsig discusses his process in writing the book, at times working four hours before he arrived for his day job writing technical manuals. Originally broadcast on July 12, 1974. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4612364
A short film about the life and work of Robert Pirsig.
Interview from BBC radio with Robert Pirsig, author of 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' and 'Lila'.
This is an excerpt from a prior episode of The Partially Examined Life podcast, discussing Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. You can find the entire unabridged Pirsig podcast, along with dozens of others discussing philosophers from Aristotle to Wittgenstein, at the Partially Examined Life website: http://www.partiallyexaminedlife.com About PEL: The podcasters were all graduate students in philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin back in the Clinton years. They all left the program at some point before getting their doctorates and have consequently since had time to get outside that whole weird world of academia and reflect on it and the various philosophical topics with a different, and probably much more lazy, perspective.
The 122nd gently warned Pirsig, a former rhetoric professor who had a job writing technical manuals, not to expect more than his $3,000 advance. “The book is not, as I think you now realize from your correspondence with other publishers, a marketing man’s dream,” the editor at William Morrow wrote in a congratulatory note before its 1974 publication. He was wrong. “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values” sold 50,000 copies in three months and more than 5 million in the decades since. The dense tome has been translated into at least 27 languages. A reviewer for the New Yorker likened its author to Herman Melville. Its popularity made Pirsig “probably the most widely read philosopher alive,” a British journalist wrote in 2006. #RobertPirsig #zenandtheartofmotorc...
"Chautauqua 2012 : MSU honors Robert Pirsig" records events at a symposium which took place December 7th/8th, 2012 on the Bozeman campus of Montana State University where Robert Pirsig taught creative writing in 1958-60. Michael Sexton, Master of Ceremonies, Charles Pinka, Tina DeWeese, Anthony McWatt, Henry Gurr and filmmaker Lee Glover (among others) spoke during the seminar. Lee Glover premiered his feature-length video entitled "Meridian" which examines Pirsig and his classic work "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".
In these previously unpublished video promos, we hear Robert Pirsig discuss his personal experience with motorcycles (amongst other things) and also from John Sutherland - his late Sixties motorcycle riding buddy - talk about 'Zen & the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance'. (Please note that the ARRIVE WITHOUT TRAVELLING DVD mentioned at the end of this film is no longer available from www.robertpirsig.org!)
This video describes Robert Pirsig's struggle to figure out the nature behind the term "quality" as described in his novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. This idea of questioning the overall thought process of analytical reason is a theme that occurs repeatedly in the novel. It is what drove his previous personality crazy.
This is the wrap-up video for the first month of the book club. This month we read, Robert Pirsig's classic philosophical road trip, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. This month I'm joined by Kalid Azad of BetterExplained.com to discuss the book. Interested in joining the book club? You can subscribe here to get the video reviews, or you can join our Facebook group to participate in the live discussion: https://www.facebook.com/groups/543802626007799/ If you want to buy the book, you can do so here: https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry/dp/0060589469/ The narrator and his eleven year old son, Chris, embark on a winding motorcycle ride through the American countryside. Along this journey we're treated to a series of "Chatauquas" on philosophy. As they t...
Shortly after 'Zen' was published, Connie Goldman talked with Robert Pirsig at his home in St. Paul, Minn. Pirsig discusses his process in writing the book, at times working four hours before he arrived for his day job writing technical manuals. Originally broadcast on July 12, 1974. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4612364
This is an excerpt from a prior episode of The Partially Examined Life podcast, discussing Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. You can find the entire unabridged Pirsig podcast, along with dozens of others discussing philosophers from Aristotle to Wittgenstein, at the Partially Examined Life website: http://www.partiallyexaminedlife.com About PEL: The podcasters were all graduate students in philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin back in the Clinton years. They all left the program at some point before getting their doctorates and have consequently since had time to get outside that whole weird world of academia and reflect on it and the various philosophical topics with a different, and probably much more lazy, perspective.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (ZAMM), first published in 1974, is a work of philosophical non-fiction, the first of Robert M. Pirsig's texts in which he explores his Metaphysics of Quality. The book sold 5 million copies worldwide. It was originally rejected by 121 publishers, more than any other bestselling book, according to the Guinness Book of Records. The title is an apparent play on the title of the book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. In its introduction, Pirsig explains that, despite its title, "it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either."
Four great points from this intellectual work.
A very effective technique for creating a near perfect alpha mask for a subject in front of an imperfect chroma key background. Alternative approaches and brute force techniques are compared against one another and sometimes combined to form a "mega zen mask" in this epic keying demonstration that is sure to enlighten beginners and intrigue pros. Skill Level: Unlimited "The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there." -Robert M. Pirsig
Audiolivro - Zen e a Arte da Manutenção de Motocicletas - Robert M Pirsig
E.H. Gombrich famously observed that 'there really is no such thing as Art' (with a capital A). Instead he described the practice of art as 'mastery', which equates to the Quality recovered by Robert M. Pirsig in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974). Quality is also a better word than 'virtue' to render the aretê that preoccupied Socrates in Plato's dialogues.
The God Delusion is a 2006 bestselling book by English biologist Richard Dawkins, professorial fellow of New College, Oxford, and former holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. About the book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618918248/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp;=1789&creative;=9325&creativeASIN;=0618918248&linkCode;=as2&tag;=tra0c7-20&linkId;=7d86959c49f6bc2ff37a239e5f70858c In The God Delusion, Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that belief in a personal god qualifies as a delusion, which he defines as a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence. He is sympathetic to Robert Pirsig's statement in Lila that "when one person suffers from a delusion it is...
This is the wrap-up video for the first month of the book club. This month we read, Robert Pirsig's classic philosophical road trip, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. This month I'm joined by Kalid Azad of BetterExplained.com to discuss the book. Interested in joining the book club? You can subscribe here to get the video reviews, or you can join our Facebook group to participate in the live discussion: https://www.facebook.com/groups/543802626007799/ If you want to buy the book, you can do so here: https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry/dp/0060589469/ The narrator and his eleven year old son, Chris, embark on a winding motorcycle ride through the American countryside. Along this journey we're treated to a series of "Chatauquas" on philosophy. As they t...