Robert M. Pirsig

American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

Robert Maynard Pirsigwas an American writer and philosopher. He is the author of the philosophical novels Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Valuesand Lila: An Inquiry into Moralsalong with his wife and editor, Wendy Pirsig.

Table of Contents

About the Robert M. Pirsig

Robert Maynard Pirsigwas an American writer and philosopher. He is the author of the philosophical novels Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Valuesand Lila: An Inquiry into Moralsalong with his wife and editor, Wendy Pirsig.

13 Quotes by Robert M. Pirsig

  1. 1.

    To live for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  2. 2.

    Traditional scientific method has always been at the very best, 20 – 20 hindsight. It’s good for seeing where you’ve been. It’s good for testing the truth of what you think you know, but it can’t tell you where you ought to go.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  3. 3.

    The truth knocks on the door and you say, go away, I’m looking for the truth, and it goes away. Puzzling.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  4. 4.

    We keep passing unseen through little moments of other people’s lives.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  5. 5.

    The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  6. 6.

    The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  7. 7.

    To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  8. 8.

    One geometry cannot be more true than another; it can only be more convenient. Geometry is not true, it is advantageous.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  9. 9.

    Quality is a direct experience independent of and prior to intellectual abstractions.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  10. 10.

    Even in the presence of others he was completely alone.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  11. 11.

    The solutions all are simple – after you have arrived at them. But they’re simple only when you know already what they are.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  12. 12.

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

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)

  13. 13.

    It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, “Go away, I’m looking for the truth,” and so it goes away. Puzzling.

    Robert M. Pirsig

    American writer and philosopher (1928-2017)