I recently began reading Robert M. Pirsig's book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". It primarily deals (from what I've read so far) with the difference between Classical and Romantic approaches to life. Whereas romantics are more involved with external appearance and aesthetics, people with a Classical approach see underlying form, e.g. they don't see a motorcycle as a chaotic mix of esoteric parts and functions, they recognize it for what it is. (A man-made creation with a clear purpose and parts designed and assembled in such a way to attain that purpose). Obviously the book goes into far more detail and explores more ideas than my short (and sucky) summary, but I just came across a passage that I really liked. Here goes... 'To speak of certain government and establishment institutions as "the system" is to speak correctly, since these organizations are founded upon the same structural conceptual relationships as a motorcycle. They are sustained by structural relationships even when they have lost all other meaning and purpose. People arrive at a factory and perform a totally meaningless task from eight-to-five without question because the structure demands that it be that way. There's no villain, no "mean guy" who wants them to live meaningless lives, it's just that the structure, the system demands it and no one is willing to take on the formidable task of changing the system just because it's meaningless. But to tear down a factory or to revolt against a government or to avoid repair of a motorcycle because it is a system is to attack effects rather than causes; and as long as the attack is upon effects only, no change is possible. The true system, the real system, is our present construction of systematic thought itself, rationality itself, and if a factory is torn down but the rationality which produced it is left standing, then that rationality will simply produce another factory. If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will repeat themselves in the succeeding government. There is so much talk about the system, and so little understanding.'
It's definitely an awesome book. I was turned onto it by a thread on here awhile and finally got around to reading it. Good find man
I first read that book about 15 years ago. I reread it every few years and always find something new. It's in my "5 books to bring to a desert island" list.