Part III

Part III

I think Phaedrus’s reaction to Quality (214) is how I and many of my classmates are feeling about it. Quality, not quality but capital Q Quality; but what does that really mean? What creates Quality, because I see it as a very personal interpretation? We can’t place one, blanket definition on Quality because everyone has his or her own determining factors of Quality.

Pirsig claims that Phaedrus said in one of his papers that, “ These estheticians think their subject is some king of peppermint bonbon they’re entitled to smack their fat lips on; something to be devoured; something to be intellectually knifed, forked and spooned up bit by bit with appropriate delicate remarks and I’m ready to throw up.”

I like this for two reasons; firstly this is one of the first times that I really enjoyed Pirsig’s writing. I liked the deliberate description that took place. Even though it’s just a sentence made up of words, it jumps out to me and I appreciate when a writer does that.  As a business student and a student in general I see a lot of writing that does not speak to me or essentially draw me into the text. So when a writer does that I get super excited because I know I’m about to enjoy reading.

I also wanted to point out this passage because when I first read it I had this image of a young man, Phaedrus, really writing this about Quality to an ancient scholar of that time. I imagined Phaedrus to be a sharp boy, brimming with witty comments always ready to challenge his teachers even when he knew it would get him in trouble. From my perception of Phaedrus this was a prefect comment, scorning those damn peppermint bonbons.

I was kind of caught by surprise when Pirsig flat out just says he wanted to go into some day to day information. But what really got me is when he says “and I’m not quite sure how to go about this” (260). I have been recently thinking about the different styles and approaches there are to writing, especially because my new job has me writing as someone who is well versed in genetic research. I could never say “and I’m not quite sure how to go about this,” it just wouldn’t be acceptable. Firstly I could never actually use I in my writing because it is scientific/ research driven. Additionally I would lose credibility. Here I feel like there is something to be said for Pirsig’s honest attempt at going about conveying this information, where as if I said that, I would instantly be discredited. In Pirsig’s example he could almost be called wise, because he is admitting to his lack of ability. It reminds me very much of Socrates and his belief that we in fact know little to nothing.

Back to capital Q Quality. I was frustrated by the notion that Pirsig gives, “ it’s our habit of assigning Quality to subject or objects that give this impression” (297). However we still do not have a clear or in my opinion complete definition of Quality. And if we go back to my above rant on Quality the point comes up again that we give Quality to subject or objects based on personal perception of Quality, which I am beginning to interpret and interchange with value. However, value seems to be more easily defined, with many individuals finding the same properties valuable.