Church of Reason

The first thing that actually caught my attention during this week’s reading was when Pirsig began to talk about the differences in “universities”. If I understood what he was trying to get across correctly, then I can relate to some of the things he was saying. For example, when he states that a real University has no specific location and that it is a state of mind, I thought about the church in Doral. Most of the Catholics around where I live attend usual Sunday mass at the Doral Academy High School cafeteria. Some would say that this is in no way shape or form a church; it’s a place of eating. However, if I understand Prisig properly, then the materialistic objects do not matter, the four walls that enclose the building do not matter; it’s the mind inside the building that controls what it is. Students who attend the school see the cafeteria during the week as a commonplace for eating, but on Sundays, they see it as a holy place. 

I was confused when Pirsig spoke about what was meant by the Church Of Reason, “their primary goal is to serve, through reason, the goal of truth”. I still do not really understand what he meant by that. At first I thought he was saying that everything done should be focused in order to achieve the truth. But, then I realized that their aiming for the goal of truth and not truth itself. Does that mean that truth does not really exist?

I strongly agree with Pirsig when he says, “You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in”. In my opinion, that is a fact. You can apply that statement to many things; a test for instance. You are not going to study for an exam that you know you will ace, but you will drive yourself insane studying for a test which you doubt, which you think you will fail. I think you can apply this statement to religion as well if you base it off the Pirsig’s statement that people are dedicated because they have doubt. Many, if not all extremely religious people get defensive almost immediately if you question any of their beliefs. I was raised Catholic and I believe in God, in a higher power, but I think that religion itself is a big question. I think that people become so fanatical about their religion because they have to find a way to make it seem real, to make it tangible.