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Meaning
The quote points out a contradiction: people may keep searching for truth while refusing to recognize it when it appears. It suggests that being fixated on finding truth can make someone miss it. The final word, “Puzzling,” adds a dry, self-aware note about that behavior.
When It Was Said
1974
Who It Was Said To
Not documented yet.
Historical Context
Listed on Wikiquote under Ch. 1.
Source
Ch. 1
Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
Listed with a cited source on Wikiquote: Ch. 1.
Did You Know?
Listed on Wikiquote under Ch. 1.
About Robert M. Pirsig
American writer and philosopher
Robert Maynard Pirsig was an American writer and philosopher. He is best known for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, published in 1974, and Lila: An Inquiry into Morals, published in 1991. His work is shaped by philosophical questions about values, morals, and quality. He also co-authored On Quality: An Inquiry Into Excellence: Selected and Unpublished Writings with his wife and editor, Wendy Pirsig, which was published in 2022.
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- “We want to make good time, but for us now this is measured with the emphasis on "good" rather than on "time".…”Robert M. Pirsig
Explore Truth
- “Worry does not keep it from raining tomorrow, but it does keep it from being sunny today.”Shannon L. Alder
- “You can tell a guy the truth, and they might hate you for that day, but they'll come back that night and text…”Tyronn Lue
- “From a universal perspective, what you do matters less than how you feel about what you do.”Eric Micha'el Leventhal
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READ THE SOURCE
Books by Robert M. Pirsig
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
2000
Lila
1992