I still like motorcycles

Recently I read quite a scathing critique of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (ZAMM) by Robert Pirsig. It was particularly critical of the philosophy contained in the book and how it has been misleading a generation of readers. In that case, I am one of those that have been mislead. I read ZAMM when I was 17 or 18 and really liked it (and have recommended it to a few friends over the years). I shall not bother describing ZAMM in too much detail, but it is essentially about a scientist who is disillusioned by science, but finds solace in philosophy; the protagonist then explains his philosophies to us, whilst on a motorcycle road trip with his son and couple.

Not to be dissuaded by a bad review, I decided to re-visit ZAMM. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Let me give an example of a dialogue that takes place in the second chapter. This a conversation between the protagonist and the road trip companion, John. (It's long, so I have put more relevant text in bold.) 

'Modern man has his ghosts and spirits too, you know.'
'What? '
'Oh, the laws of physics and logic... the number system... the principle of algebraic substitution. These are ghosts. We just believe in them so thoroughly they seem real.'
...
So I go on. 'For example, it seems completely natural to presume that gravitation and the laws of gravitation existed before Isaac Newton. It would sound nutty to think that until the seventeenth century there was no gravity.' 
'Of course.' 
'So when did this law start? Has it always existed?' 
John is frowning, wondering what I am getting at. 
'What I am driving at,' I say, 'is the notion that before the beginning of the earth, before the sun,and the stars were formed, before the primal generation of anything, the law of gravity existed.'
...
'Sitting there, having no mass of its own, no energy of its won, not in anyone's mind because there wasn't anyone, not in space because there was no space either, not anywhere - this law of gravity still existed?' 
... 
'Well, I predict that if you think about it long enough you will find yourself going round and round and round until you finally reach only one possible, rational, intelligent conclusion. The law of gravity and gravity itself did  not exist before Isaac Newton. No other conclusion makes sense.'

Right, I am sure you are bored by now, so I shall stop; it gets worse as it goes on. The first question, and a rather embarrassing one at that, is 'how did I fall for this?'. I guess I still hadn't developed my critical thinking yet! Anyhow, let's deal with ZAMM.

It seems to me that Pirsig is intentionally confusing the notion of gravity with the laws that describe them. The laws of gravity did not exist before Newton because these laws are an observation and description of the Universe in which we live. This is also the reason that they are not correct; they are approximations. For that matter, gravity is not something just always existed; if that is a name we have given to the interaction of massive bodies, then it came into existence with mass. Also, just because we are not able to describe something, does not mean it does not exist. I guess this is where popular "Zen" comes into it. A tree falling in a forest will produce sound waves, even if there is no one there to listen. It is only the description of those waves which is missing. Humans do not hold the position of a "special observer" in the Universe.

There are further examples of scientific and logical fallacies in the book, but I shall leave them out. The protagonist acts like a great voice of reason and enlightenment and makes John, his friend, sound like an idiot. When in fact, John is the real voice of reason and the protagonist the voice of popular ignorance. If I recommended this book to you at any time, I have changed my mind since. If you like motorcycle maintenance, get a Haynes manual. If you like road trips, get a travel guide.