"One geometry cannot be more true than another; it can only be more convenient. Geometry is not true, it is advantageous"
About this Quote
Robert M. Pirsig presses against the idea that mathematics and science simply mirror reality. Geometries are not discoveries the way mountains are; they are rule-governed systems we construct to organize experience. Euclidean and non-Euclidean frameworks do not compete for absolute truth so much as for fitness to purpose. When lines, planes, and angles are arranged under one axiom system, the results are elegant and powerful for surveying fields or building bridges. Under different axioms, new results emerge that illuminate phenomena Euclid cannot. The measure is usefulness, coherence, scope, and ease of application, not metaphysical truth.
History bears this out. For centuries, Euclid felt inevitable. Then Lobachevsky and Riemann showed consistent alternatives where parallel lines behave differently. Einstein adopted a curved geometry to model gravity, and the universe suddenly made better sense. The world did not change; our conceptual net did. Henri Poincare called this conventionalism, and Pirsig, echoing that tradition, pushes it further: the selection of a system expresses values. We choose the geometry that best serves the problems we care about. That standard of better is a judgment of quality.
Within Pirsig’s larger project, geometry becomes an emblem of how all rational structures work. The classical, analytic mindset he explores in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance achieves its triumphs by choosing definitions, goals, and methods that yield reliable results. But those choices rest on a prior sense of what counts as worthwhile: simplicity, predictive power, calculational ease, adaptability to instruments and practice. Quality precedes and guides truth claims.
The point is not relativism but humility. Models are tools. Their authority comes from how well they resolve dissonance between experience and expectation, how they guide action with fewer surprises. When purposes change, the most advantageous framework may shift. Seeing knowledge this way opens space for creativity, responsible revision, and a deeper appreciation of the values steering inquiry.
History bears this out. For centuries, Euclid felt inevitable. Then Lobachevsky and Riemann showed consistent alternatives where parallel lines behave differently. Einstein adopted a curved geometry to model gravity, and the universe suddenly made better sense. The world did not change; our conceptual net did. Henri Poincare called this conventionalism, and Pirsig, echoing that tradition, pushes it further: the selection of a system expresses values. We choose the geometry that best serves the problems we care about. That standard of better is a judgment of quality.
Within Pirsig’s larger project, geometry becomes an emblem of how all rational structures work. The classical, analytic mindset he explores in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance achieves its triumphs by choosing definitions, goals, and methods that yield reliable results. But those choices rest on a prior sense of what counts as worthwhile: simplicity, predictive power, calculational ease, adaptability to instruments and practice. Quality precedes and guides truth claims.
The point is not relativism but humility. Models are tools. Their authority comes from how well they resolve dissonance between experience and expectation, how they guide action with fewer surprises. When purposes change, the most advantageous framework may shift. Seeing knowledge this way opens space for creativity, responsible revision, and a deeper appreciation of the values steering inquiry.
Quote Details
| Topic | Truth |
|---|---|
| Source | Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values — Robert M. Pirsig, 1974. Line appears in Pirsig's discussion of geometry/values (page numbering varies by edition). |
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