Re: MD Sophocles not Socrates

From: Elizaphanian (Elizaphanian@members.v21.co.uk)
Date: Sat Nov 02 2002 - 08:55:28 GMT

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    Hi Platt,

    Perhaps the interesting question is: if "I also really am Richard Rigel" -
    does that mean that Rigel is in fact *not* the source of all evil?

    Sam
    www.elizaphanian.v-2-1.net/home.html

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Platt Holden" <pholden@sc.rr.com>
    To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>
    Sent: Friday, November 01, 2002 9:40 PM
    Subject: Re: MD Sophocles not Socrates

    > Hi Sam,
    >
    > > And I now discover in Lila's Child Pirsig saying:
    > >
    > > "Yes, Phædrus is overwhelmingly intellectual. He is not a mask, really,
    > > just a literary character who is easy for me to write about because I
    share
    > > many of his static values a lot of the time. I don't think big self and
    > > small self are involved here. My editor wanted me to make him a warmer
    > > person in order to increase reader appeal. But making him warmer would
    have
    > > made him more social and weakened the contrasts between himself and
    Rigel
    > > and Lila that were intended to give strength to the story. The fact that
    > > everyone seemed to think that Phædrus was me came as an unpleasant
    surprise
    > > after the book was published. I had assumed that everyone would of
    course
    > > know that an author and a character in his book cannot possibly be the
    same
    > > person."
    >
    > Pirsig says he shares many of his Phaedrus character's static values. I
    > take him at his word. Also in Lila's Child in the same place Pirsig
    > writes:
    >
    > One interviewer asked me, "Are you really Phaedrus?" The answer was,
    > "Yes I really am Phaedrus. I also really am Richard Rigel. I also really
    > am Lila. I also really am the boat."
    >
    > So I guess a question will always be, "Will the real Robert Pirsig please
    > stand up?" But when he writes things like, "What the Metaphysics of
    > Quality says . . ." I believe I'm safe in presuming that the statements
    > and conclusions which follow are Pirsig's own.
    >
    > Platt
    >
    >
    >
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