Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

by

Robert Pirsig

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Zen and the Art of... makes teaching easy.

Aristotle Character Analysis

Aristotle was an Ancient Greek philosopher from the fourth century B.C.E., and a successor to Plato and Socrates. His rigid taxonomies of philosophical concepts have provided much of the groundwork for the western intellectual tradition, and are especially influential to the Chairman of the Committee who oversees Phaedrus’s studies at the University of Chicago. Phaedrus seeks to repudiate Aristotle’s devaluation of the art of rhetoric, and to remedy the inattentiveness to Quality in the modern world that he views as a consequence of Aristotelian thought.
Get the entire Zen and the Art of... LitChart as a printable PDF.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance PDF

Aristotle Character Timeline in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

The timeline below shows where the character Aristotle appears in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 28
Quality Theme Icon
Duality Theme Icon
...recollects a fragmented memory of Phaedrus commenting to the Assistant Chairman that he hadn’t noticed Aristotle in the committee’s curriculum. The Assistant Chairman was aghast that Phaedrus did not know that... (full context)
Quality Theme Icon
Rationality and Irrationality Theme Icon
Duality Theme Icon
...seem insane, even though he believes that the real insanity lies in the “mythos” that Aristotle has made people believe by default. (full context)
Chapter 29
Quality Theme Icon
Identity Theme Icon
Duality Theme Icon
Zen Theme Icon
Phaedrus reads Aristotle fastidiously, so that his truculent Professor of Philosophy cannot dismiss him as a poor student.... (full context)
Quality Theme Icon
Rationality and Irrationality Theme Icon
Duality Theme Icon
...realizes that Plato has simply made arête into a fixed concept: the Good. This allows Aristotle to manipulate the idea later on and place it in a subordinate role—and explains western... (full context)