[MD] What does Pirsig mean by metaphysics?

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Steve]
What do you think about the need for an ironic approach to Pirsig's 
metaphysics?

[Arlo]
I agree with the meaning, am not sure about the word "irony" (just 
because of my own associations). I'd go with "mu-approach" or 
"Tao-approach" or "Zen approach", but I suspect we'd mean the exact 
same thing.  I haven't been able to read/respond to many of the 
recent posts, but this same sentiment was expressed by John recently 
(sorry if i am unaware of the entire context).

[John had said]
The Metaphysic of Quality is a self contradicting label.  Metaphysics 
is about ultimate defining and Quality is undefinable.  A better 
label for a metaphysic is a Quality metaphysics, as opposed to a 
metaphysics OF Quality.

[Arlo]
Personally I don't have trouble with self-contradiction, as this type 
of paradox (as Godel has shown) is inherent in any and all 
sufficiently meaningful symbolic systems. The starting point would 
be, "okay, we know that have this limitation, so as we dance around 
that, what analogies can we offer that provide meaning to us as well 
as offer a pointer to that indefinable, unseeable Void". This is 
precisely what I see the MOQ doing. This is what Einstein and 
Poincare (and Hofstadter) offer as well.

For me, the issue of self-containment is equally an inherent paradox 
in sufficiently meaningful symbolic systems. Hofstadter plays with 
this theme at great length in GEB. In Pirsig's criticisms of 
self-containing containers in S/O science, I think (for me) the 
criticism is on its blindness to this inevitability. I don't think 
the MOQ (or ANY symbolic system) is capable of escaping such paradox. 
In fact, I'd argue that the myth that one can break free of 
self-containment paradox is the S/O view that we can devise a 
symbolic system capable of being outside the world it describes; the 
very definition of Subject-Object reasoning.

So here, yes, I fully agree with your metaphor "like an eye trying to 
see itself". I have Magritte's "The False Mirror" on the wall on my 
office. It reminds me of this sentiment every day.