Detailed Outline

Thesis:

The only way to try and comprehend life is through irrational thinking since the rationale is something humans created in order to have a structure on how to live. Throughout the novel, Pirsig continually searches for a logical explanation to every situation and scenario, but realizes that it is not possible and eventually drives himself insane trying to do so.

Outline:

I.                         Irrational thinking in itself

a.     Quality

                  i.    The way in which Phaedrus drove himself insane

                 ii.    How Pirsig was about reach insanity through the same form of thinking

b.     Smoking

                  i.    Threatening to our health, yet we still do it.

                 ii.    Why do we do it?

1.     Because we can

2.     A wanting of freedom

3.     The adrenaline- comparison with skydiving and speed racing

                iii.    A “rational” mind would not participate in any of these activities because they want to maintain their health; only doing what benefits us.

II.                        Philosophy and science

a.      Space is boundless

                  i.    We all try understand it

                 ii.    But we stop ourselves because we can’t.

b.     Quality

                  i.    Pirsig’s definition

                 ii.    My definition

                iii.    If it cannot be defined, does it exist?

                iv.    Phaedrus could not grasp it, but he did not stop.

III.                       Love

a.     How this attachment seems to give life a purpose

                  i.    Pirsig stops himself from going insane because of his son, Chris

b.     Romantic and Classical thinking

                  i.    Definitions

1.     My own

2.     Pirsig’s

                 ii.    How these terms apply to me

IV.                      Religion

a.     How we give God all the responsibility we cannot handle

                  i.    Created for hope

                 ii.    Praying

b.     There are no absolute truths

                  i.    Creationism

                 ii.     Darwinism.  

V.                       Life

a.     Rational thinking does not define it

                  i.    People have different purposes in life

1.     Following religion

2.     Falling in love

3.     Being successful

4.     Being happy

b.     If we are dying since we are born, are we living?

Outline

Outline: The Essence of Quality:

          I.     The difficulty to define quality

      A. Examples from Phaedrus and protagonist of novel and their difficulties to understand it

         1. Phaedrus asking students to write essays on quality

         2. Protagonist debating and trying to explain in his lectures to friends in Montana what is           quality

      B. World examples of quality that prove how quality is misinterpreted, misused, and complicated

        II.     The different uses and definitions of quality


      A. How quality is applied to Motorcycle maintenance

         1. Quality factor in maintenance

            a. John’s way of maintenance

            b. Protagonist’s way of maintenance

         2. Quality in family relationships in novel

      B. Examples of quality in an array of matters in the real world

         1. Advertising

         2. Work/Production/Labor

      III.     The importance of knowing what is quality

      A. Be at peace with life

         1. Struggles and hardships both narrator and Phaedrus had in the quest to define quality

         2. The secondary negative results that occurred from not knowing

            a. Relationships with family

      B. The advantage of knowing quality

         1. The understanding that it has multiple faces

         2. The understanding that it applies to all differently but has the same dramatic effect

       IV.     My definition of quality

      A. My opinion

         1. It is a measure of the ratio of the effort one puts into an action and the success that results from it

         2. Does quality mean success?

      B. My understanding that it may not be seen the same by others

Second Outline

I. My view/ take on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

         A. Phaedrus being fairly misunderstood and being limited through his knowledge 

         1. The reaction of his fellow teachers to his methods

         2. His inability to define quality (at first)

B. Why situations like that of Phaedrus' are a problem, why they are necessary 

         1. Inability halts progress

         2. The inactive man allows for enlightenment

         3. The necessary balance between both

C. Why a motorcycle seems like a good tool to use in a discussion about values

         1. The simplistic and mechanical nature of a motorcycle

         2. When cut down, values are simplistic explanations

II. Motorcycle Maintenance in relation to the NFTU

            A. Underground man in relation to Phaedrus (ideaology)

B. Relation of both characters in terms of limitation 

         1. Similar aspect of Phaedrus’ trouble with quality and underground man with         everything

C. Phaedrus not at "complete" clarity since he still is able to become something 

         1. Eventually able to define quality

         2. He is a teacher, does communicate with others

III. Motorcycle Maintenance in relation to The Stranger

A. Simplicity of both characters because of an understanding of basic human nature 

         1. Meursault acts on very primal instincts, doesn’t think much past the physical- that’s his simplicity

         2. Phaedrus has simplicity in his view of the school system, he sees the fault and wants    to fix it

B. comparison (but more of a contrast) of the ideologies in Stranger and NFTU

IV. Differences with all three

A. What differences/ discrepancies exist 

B. Which ones I believe in 

Detailed Outline

Comment on Rodrigo's Post

I really like your Thesis, I think it sounds really nice and works well. I believe that you will have plenty material to work with and you can create a very interesting paper if you add a little of your unique perspective to it.

Comment on Jose's Post

I think your topic for your paper is fantastic. To talk about irritational thinking and how this form of thinking is the one humans use most often is something that 100% agree with and an aspect that the book has many supporting details for evidence. As humans, we developed a rational way of thinking in the attempt to keep everyone in order, however, that makes us all seem the same, which is the last thing anybody wants. Through irrational thinking, we create our personality and shape our life. Through the institutions of love, philosophy and science, religion and the ideals of no absolute truths and irritational thinking, I believe you will have plenty of amazing topics to talk about and create a great paper, where you will be able to incorporate both the never ending supporting details from the book in addition to your own ideas and experiences in life.

Comment on Talia's post

I really like the fact that you decided to write about this certain topic. Not only was it my favorite, but I think there is a lot of material you can include and also leaves a lot of space for you to include your own opinions. In regards to the thesis statement, I do not think that it sucks at all. I would just add a little more about the twist that Pirsig creates in order to give the reader a hint of what the paper is going to be about. I think it would be important for the reader to try and grasp the difference in Pirsig’s views from the beginning in order to keep the reader from guessing.  I think your outline is very well thought out and structured; you seem to know exactly what you are going to write about. 

Comment on Rodrigo's post

I like the direction in which you're heading with your thesis statement. Nevertheless, I think there are some words that you could cut in order to make it sound less chopped up. If you took out the "but rather" right at the begging you would avoid cutting up the thought that you were about to introduce, which in my opinion, is kind of important since your paper is going to be about this idea. Then if you switch around the words in the second sentence and write "thus, this is the reason.." it would sound nicer.  I bolded the other things I changed too, but obviously this is your paper so do what you want with it. 

The definition of quality is, ironically, not definitive, but rather, has multiple definitions, applications and meanings for every single individual. Thus, this is the reason for the debates and difficulties in explaining such a powerful and meaningful world that affects all individuals in a different manner.

As for your outline, I think it's really good I just think that maybe you should end with your definition of quality instead of writing about it towards the beginning. 

Thesis/ Outline

I have decided to write my paper on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance's relation to Notes from the Underground and The Stranger.  I think that this topic has a lot of support that can be found in the book and it is also the one that I like the most. Jose and Rodrigo both agreed that it was the best one,  but honestly, I was going to choose this topic regardless of what people had said was their favorite.

My thesis statement will be something along the lines of:
Through the simplistic nature of repairing a motorcycle Pirsig is able to express the same complexities as Camus does in the Stranger and Dostoyevsky in Notes from The Underground, nevertheless he does so with his own twist.

**I know that thesis sucks but it's a start?**


Outline:

- My view/ take on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

• Phaedrus being fairly misunderstood and being limited through his knowledge 
• Why situations like that of Phaedrus' are a problem, why they are necessary 
• Why a motorcycle seems like a good tool to use in a discussion about values

- Motorcycle Maintenance in relation to the NFTU

• Underground man in relation to Phaedrus (ideaology)
• Relation of both characters in terms of limitation 
• Phaedrus not at "complete" clarity since he still is able to become something 

- Motorcycle Maintenance in relation to The Stranger

• Simplicity of both characters because of an understanding of basic human nature 
• comparison (but more of a contrast) of the ideologies in Stranger and NFTU

-Differences with all three

• what differences/ discrepancies exist 
• which ones I believe in 

Thesis and Outline

I chose to write about how life cannot be figured out through rational thinking. Not only does this topic have a lot of material I could use, but it correlates with topics we have discussed in class and allows me to include some of my ideas as well.  Not to mention, I find this topic interesting and believe I can do well on it.

Thesis:

The only way to try and comprehend life is through irrational thinking since the rationale is something humans created in order to have a structure on how to live. Throughout the novel, Pirsig continually searches for a logical explanation to every situation and scenario, but realizes that it is not possible and eventually drives himself insane trying to do so.

Outline:

I.                    Irrational thinking in itself, such as smoking or skydiving

II.                  Philosophy and science; space is boundless, yet we cannot grasp that.

III.                Love; how this attachment seems to give life a purpose

IV.                Religion; how we give God all the responsibility we cannot handle

V.                  There are no absolute truths; creationism vs. Darwinism.  

Thesis Statement and Outline

After careful consideration of all four topics that I have previously devised,  I have chosen to write about the importance of having a passion in life. I have chosen this topic because I feel that I can incorporate some of my ideas for the other topics into this essay and this will make for a better, more complete, and more interesting paper.

Thesis:
Pirsig introduces many ideas and themes throughout the novel but they all stem from one main idea: passion. He uses the narrator's passion of motorcycles and Phaedrus's passion for learning to allow himself to explain highly philosophical ideas to his readers.

Outline:
I. Passion for motorcycles to maintain at peace
II. Passion for motorcycles to explain technology
III. Passion for learning used to teach others
IV. Passion for learning used to change system of rewarding students

Thesis Statement + Outline

I decided to base my paper on the topic of quality. Since Pirsig dedicates most of his time to it in his book, and Phaedrus and the narrator both talk about it extensively, I will attempt to define it as well, and try to explain how it relates to everyone in different ways.

Thesis statement: The definition of quality is a peculiar one since it is not set in stone, but rather, has different definitions and different applications and meanings for every single individual. This is thus the reason for the debates and difficulties to explain such a powerful and meaningful world that affects all individuals in a different manner.

Outline: The Essence of Quality

I. The difficulty to define quality
II. The different uses and definitions of quality
III. My definition of quality
IV. The importance of knowing what is quality