The way to see what looks good and understand the reasons it looks good, and to be at one with this goodness as the work proceeds, is to cultivate an inner quietness, a peace of mind so that goodness can shine through.
Robert M. PirsigRead
When analytic thought, the knife, is applied to experience, something is always killed in the process.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that deep analysis of experiences can lead to a loss of something essential, potentially diminishing the richness of those experiences.
Robert M. Pirsig highlights the tension between analytic thought and lived experience. While analytical thinking, likened to a knife, seeks to dissect and clarify our understanding, it can simultaneously strip away the nuances and complexities that make those experiences meaningful. Thus, the act of analyzing can lead to a loss of essence, illustrating the idea that too much scrutiny may detract from the value of intuition and feeling.
Themes
AnalysisExperienceThoughtPhilosophyMeaning
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a discussion on the importance of balancing analysis and intuition in personal growth.
More from Robert M. Pirsig
All quotes βThe Buddha resides as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain.
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It's better not to see than to see wrongly.
Robert M. PirsigRead
The truth knocks on the door and you say, go away, I'm looking for the truth, and it goes away. Puzzling.
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You want to know how to paint a perfect painting? It's easy. Make yourself perfect and then just paint naturally.
Robert M. PirsigRead
This inner peace of mind occurs on three levels of understanding. Physical quietness seems the easiest to achieve, although there are levels and levels of this too, as attested by the ability of Hindu mystics to live buried alive for many days. Mental quietness, in which one has no wandering thoughts at all, seems more difficult, but can be achieved. But value quietness, in which one has no wandering desires at all but simply performs the acts of his life without desire, that seems the hardest.
Robert M. PirsigRead
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