{"id":29737,"date":"2021-03-22T08:17:55","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T12:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=29737"},"modified":"2021-04-01T21:25:21","modified_gmt":"2021-04-02T01:25:21","slug":"classical-vs-romantic-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/classical-vs-romantic-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Classical vs Romantic Thinking: What They Mean"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the difference between classical vs romantic thinking? How does Robert Pirsig<\/a> explain this difference in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenanc<\/em>e?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book, Robert Pirsig explains the two types of thinking<\/a>. He focuses on the differences between classical vs romantic thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to find out more about classical vs romantic thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Classical vs Romantic Thinking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is the chautauqua on the differences between classical vs romantic thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chautauqua: Phaedrus and the Classical\/Romantic Dichotomy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phaedrus, Pirsig finally tells us, was a misunderstood and now-forgotten philosopher. In an ideal world, Phaedrus would stay forgotten, but Pirsig believes he must address Phaedrus head on to exorcise and bury him forever. Unlike the Sutherlands\u2014and much like Pirsig himself\u2014Phaedrus viewed the world entirely in terms of its underlying form<\/strong>. To properly illustrate the qualities of this particular worldview, Pirsig deploys an admittedly broad but useful dichotomy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Classical Understanding<\/em>. <\/em><\/strong>A person of classical understanding is rational, scientific, unemotional, cerebral, and technologically savvy. She is more concerned with the underlying form of things than the appearance of things\u2014that is, she cares more about how a thing works than how it looks<\/strong>. Motorcycle maintenance, for example, is classical all the way.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romantic Understanding<\/em>. <\/em><\/strong>A romantic, oppositely, is intuitive, emotional, creative, and artistically inclined. He is more concerned with immediate appearances than underlying forms<\/strong>\u2014he values aesthetics over utility. Motorcycle riding<\/em>, for example, is romantic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each mode of understanding features in the other. For example, a romantic sees the classical mode of understanding as boring, robotic, overly deliberative\u2014oppressive. A classic, meanwhile, sees the romantic mode as silly, impetuous, irrational\u2014dangerous. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two modes are, by all appearances, irreconcilable; and Pirsig traces the tumult of the Sixties to the deep antagonism between the classical (\u201csquare\u201d) and the romantic (\u201chip\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phaedrus\u2019s ideas concerned this perennial divide, but he was ignored, then dismissed, and eventually considered insane. Pirsig opines the insanity was real but caused by people\u2019s opinion of Phaedrus and his ideas rather than an illness. Phaedrus\u2019s end came in the form of an arrest and the permanent removal from society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The riders stop for gas, and Chris says he\u2019s hungry. Pirsig tells him he either eats with everyone else or not at all. Soon enough they\u2019re back on their cycles. The road they\u2019re traveling is in disrepair and there\u2019s traffic; the sun is bright and the weather sweltering. Pirsig escapes the rough riding by meditating further on the classical world of Phaedrus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is the difference between classical vs romantic thinking? How does Robert Pirsig explain this difference in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance? In his book, Robert Pirsig explains the two types of thinking. He focuses on the differences between classical vs romantic thinking. Keep reading to find out more about classical vs romantic thinking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":22758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,9],"tags":[242],"class_list":["post-29737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","category-psychology","tag-zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nClassical vs Romantic Thinking: What They Mean - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What's the difference between classical vs romantic thinking? 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