Product Description

This new edition of "Lila: An Inquiry into Morals" is revised and expanded by Robert M. Pirsig, author of "Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance". "Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance", Robert M. Pirsig's worldwide bestseller, holds a unique and unforgettable place in modern Western literature. Now in "Lila", he brings us a new voyage, a poignant journey and a passionate philosophical exploration. Phaedrus - a character familiar to readers of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" - is sailing down the Hudson River when he meets Lila Blewitt, an unapologetically sexual, psychologically unstable woman whom a mutual friend warns him against. But Phaedrus is drawn to her physically, and interested in her intellectually, finding her "a culture of one" in whom he discerns an unexpected "Quality". Sailing with him to Manhattan, where her mental state deteriorates further, Lila prompts Phaedrus to explore conflicts of values, such as those between Native Americans and Europeans, or between the insane and the normal. Finally, after years of struggling, he formulates his "Metaphysics of Quality", which offer a system of understanding - and evaluating - actions according to a hierarchy of four evolutionary realms (natural, biological, social and intellectual). Lila remains elusive to Phaedrus' penetrating intellect, and her destiny remains a mystery, but Pirsig's wide-ranging philosophical explorations will provoke and engage readers in the memorable experience of pursuing the journey started by Pirsig in the 1970s to its final end.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32930 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 476 pages

The Guardian
'No question that Pirsig is a writer of high integrity and intelligence'

Financial Times
'A book that both concentrates and releases the mind, brings the attention down to one point and sends it scattering...'

Sunday Times
'The voice of the narrator carries some of the folksy weight and salty wisdom of a Mark Twain'

Customer Reviews

A compelling and witty book with vast scope
More than enough for a lifetime's meditations...

Pirsig's book spans a phenomenal range of subject matter - biology, society, the Victorians, World War I, the hippie movement, intellectualism, celebrity culture, cities, capitalism, 'insanity', 'sanity' - and encapsulates the whole thing in a well-argued framework that shows how the otherwise vague terms of value and morals work apply to 'reality' in its broadest sense, and how the whole thing is totally relative. And it's an enlightening journey, and by no means stuffy or academic.

As a long-term student of Buddhism, the book provides a welcome and refreshing Western take on the subject (although Zen Buddhism is only a very small part of the book's scope), showing how Buddhist values are just as important in the development of Western society and thinking, albeit 'filtered out' of mainstream conscious.

I would highly recommend LILA to anyone who likes to think about what they're reading. It's not essential to read "Zen and the Arts of Motorcycle Maintenance" in advance of approaching this book, but it does give a good introduction to the concepts on show.

This is a compelling and witty book with vast scope, that celebrates the diversity of consciousness, whilst audaciously trying to capture the breadth of human achievement and thought within a framework that is more open and persuasive than anything I've seen put forward before now.

The result is a book that celebrates humanity, rather than trying to diminish its achievements, and which deserve serious consideration by those that claim to decipher 'truth' - be they philosophers, advocates for religion, anthropologists or scientists.

One of the most thought-provoking books out there - timely, and even more radical and far-reaching than Pirsig's first book in its implications for humanity.

Must read
This is absolutely brilliant.

If you like to think about life, and why things are the way they are, then this is for you. I've got a feeling it may not be a woman's book: the affective side of life is not particularly pertinent to Pirsig's analysis. But as an organised stream of intellectual investigation it is without peer - unless you include Zen and the Art... of course.

Not quite Zen but getting there
This twist on the way we see reality, thinly disguised as a journey down the Hudson River with an amoral woman (although a lot hangs on whether or not she is amoral ) is absorbing. His investigation of her is both intellectual and biological. This is told against a background of Native American culture v the European view complete with hallucinogens and teepees. It is, of course, a continuation of Pirsig's unique perspective on Quality (his capitalisation not mine) as started in "Zen and the Art".
Phaedrus rides again. While the characters are fascinating it is the narrator who really capture your interest - more hang ups than Bowie's wardrobe. His take on Quality is quirky and, while I get much of it, other chunks just don't quite hang together for me. However, there are themes and ideas that seem so blatantly right that you have to consider all his assertions for nuggets of obscure truth. I only saw the end coming 'cause I counted the pages. Wow! Is this genius or flawed-genius? It's a good read\rant anyway and prods mercilessly at the grey matter.