Hey Wim
WIM: I don't think that stories are the bearers of meaning. You also
say readers are the bearers of meaning. I think meaning is in the
relation between stories and readers. And Meaning goes beyond by
pointing to patterns of values yet to be formed.
ERIN:I thought what you said was interesting. I was wondering if you had any
thoughts to share about Pirsig describing ZAMM as being a culture- bearing
book. I am wondering what other books could be described as culture-bearer so
I could get a better grasp of this idea. If you have any thoughts about this
or if anyone knows of this being discussed previously could refer the
approximate date so I could look it up I would appreciate it.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Erin
PIRSIG :There is a Swedish word, kulturbärer, which can be translated as
“culture-bearer” but still doesn’t mean much. It’s not a concept that has much
American use, although it should have.
A culture-bearing book, like a mule, bears the culture on its back. No one
should sit down to write one deliberately. Culture-bearing books occur almost
accidentally, like a sudden change in the stock market. There are books of
high quality that are an part of the culture, but that is not the same. They
are a part of it. They aren’t carrying it anywhere. They may talk about
insanity sympathetically, for example, because that’s the standard cultural
attitude. But they don’t carry any suggestion that insanity might be something
other than sickness or degeneracy.
Culture-bearing books challenge cultural value assumptions and often do so at
a time when the culture is changing in favor of their challenge. The books are
not necessarily of high quality. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was no literary masterpiece
but it was a culture-bearing book. It came at a time when the entire culture
was about to reject slavery. People seized upon it as a portrayal of their own
new values and it became an overwhelming success.
The success of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance seems the result of
this culture-bearing phenomenon. The involuntary shock treatment described
here is against the law today. It is a violation of human liberty. The culture
has changed.
This book offers another, more serious alternative to material success. It’s
not so much an alternative as an expansion of the meaning of “success” to
something larger than just getting a good job and staying out of trouble. And
also something larger than mere freedom. It gives a positive goal to work
toward that does not confine. That is the main reason for the book’s success,
I think. The whole culture happened to be looking for exactly what this book
has to offer. That is the sense in which it is a culture-bearer.
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