Lila: An Inquiry into Morals
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Author Robert M. Pirsig uses the idea of the map–territory relation both theoretically and literally in his book Lila when the main character/author becomes temporarily lost due to an over reliance on a map, rather than the territory that the map describes."--Sholem Stein |
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Lila: An Inquiry into Morals (1991) is the second philosophical novel by Robert M. Pirsig, who is best known for his classic text, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Major themes
The main goal of this book is to develop a complete metaphysical system based on the idea of Quality introduced in his first book. As in his previous book, the narrative is embedded between rounds of philosophical discussion. Unlike his previous book, in which he creates a dichotomy between Classical and Romantic Quality, this book centers on the division of Quality into the Static and the Dynamic. According to the novel, the known universe can be divided into four Static values: inorganic, biological, social, and intellectual. Everything in the known universe can be categorized into one of these four categories, except Dynamic Quality. Because Dynamic Quality is indefinable, the novel discusses the interactions between the four Static values and the Static values themselves.
Another goal of this book is to critique the field of anthropology. Pirsig claims traditional objectivity renders the field ineffective. He then turns his concept of Quality toward an explanation of the difficulties Western society has had in understanding the values and perspectives of American Indians. One interesting conclusion is that modern American culture is the result of a melding of Native American and European values.
Another theme analyzed using the Metaphysics of Quality is the interaction between intellectual and social patterns. Pirsig states that until the end of the Victorian era, social patterns dominated the conduct of members of the American culture. In the aftermath of World War I, intellectual patterns and the scientific method acceded to that position, becoming responsible for directing the nation's goals and actions. The later occurrences of fascism are seen as an anti-intellectual struggle to return social patterns to the dominant position. The hippie movement, having perceived the flaws inherent in both social and intellectual patterns, sought to transcend them, but failed to provide a stable replacement, degenerating instead into lower level biological patterns as noted in its calls for free love.
As a concrete example of a moral dilemma, Pirsig notes the example of Lila, whose affair with a married man would have gone unnoticed but for the intervention of a friend who felt a moral responsibility to expose it, thus ruining the man's marriage and career, and exacerbating the titular character's tendencies towards mental illness.
