[MD] First Division 2.0

[118]

Hi Dan,
Yes, this is true.  I have no idea what kind of personality change ECT
results in.  I certainly agree that the personality did change from
the romantic to the classical as Pirsig has said.  While the classical
may dominate, I get the feeling that much which Pirsig writes from is
the romantic side.  Perhaps this is a right brain left brain kind of
thing.  I just love the ending of ZAMM, it always sends chills over my
body when I read it.

I do like the way Pirsig writes, as if discovering his past, and I
have no reason to think this is not true.  He has good style,
especially in ZAMM which was from the heart.  It is kind of like
writing in the third person for part of one's personality.  I think
the book can be read at many levels, and probably none that I see are
the level from which Pirsig is writing.  So, I discover something new
all the time.

The way I read the book is as a personal odyssey, of someone.  I do
believe that he presents the truth of what happened from his point of
view.  I do not get too involved in the literary style, but just try
to put myself in Pirsig's  place.  I have had similar adventures of
the mind.  Pirsig helped me deal with my sudden "realization", so that
I did not get lost or paranoid and have to be treated.  I also had
some good faithful friends.  He allowed me to make sense of what I was
going through.  It is a strange thing when all of "taught" reality
suddenly falls apart, and there is no real ground to stand on.  It is
like building a parachute while falling.  Not that I have ever
parachuted.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Cheers,
Mark

On Sun, Feb 26, 2012 at 5:17 PM, Dan Glover <daneglover at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey Mark,
>
> From what I gather, the narrator didn't undergo ECT... Phaedrus did.
> The narrator is the result of ECT and it is the narrator speaking in
> the quote Marsha offered. It might seem a minor point but in fact the
> whole story revolves around the narrator constructing a new
> personality and much of the conflict between Chris and him goes back
> to Phaedrus, who Chris remembers as his 'real' father. Phaedrus is the
> 'ghost' in the machine... the past that haunts the dreams of the
> narrator, who is never named throughout the whole manuscript. We
> assume it is Robert Pirsig.
>
> You (on the other hand) seem to be assuming the narrator and Phaedrus
> are one and the same. By making that assumption I think you're missing
> a huge part of the story.
>
> For what it's worth...
>
> Dan
>
> http://www.danglover.com
>
> On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 1:42 PM, 118 <ununoctiums at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Yes Marsha,
>> But then how do you explain the ECT treatment he underwent.  Are you saying that Pirsig lived on a flat world.  I can only deduce that such is what you mean by posting only this part.  If not, then what do you mean?
>>
>> Sent laboriously from an iPhone,
>> Mark
>>
>> On Feb 24, 2012, at 10:16 AM, MarshaV <valkyr at att.net> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> "I think present-day reason is an analogue of the flat earth of the medieval period. If you go too far beyond it you're presumed to fall off, into insanity. And people are very much afraid of that. I think this fear of insanity is comparable to the fear people once had of falling off the edge of the world. Or the fear of heretics. There's a very close analogue there."
>>>
>>>    (ZAMM, Chapter 14)
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