144 lines
9.5 KiB
Plaintext
144 lines
9.5 KiB
Plaintext
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w _____ ____ 1 000 999 "Defining Quality" w
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D // | \ 11 0 0 9 9 by Lobo Licious D
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* || ____ | || | 1 0 0 999 *
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G || || \ / | || | 1 0 0 9 issue #109 of "GwD: The American Dream G
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w \\___// \/\/ |____/ 111 000 999 with a Twist -- of Lime" * rel 09/20/01 w
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What is quality? What makes something "better" (or at least of a higher
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quality than something else? An exact definition of quality has long been
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elusive and has brought about much discourse through the ages. Even in the
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twenty-first century, while different quality standards abound in industry and
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the U.S. government has established an award for companies that exhibit
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exceptional quality (the Malcolm Baldridge Award), the term still lacks a
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universally accepted definition. Standards such as these merely define
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quality with respect to specific applications (or sets of applications, such
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as industrial processes) without actually explaining what quality is. this is
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through no fault of their own, though, as lack of a clear definition is in the
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very nature of quality. Some say that quality is merely what you like;
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others say it is what *society* thinks you should like. Others attach
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philosophical implications to the concept of quality, a very interesting
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subset of the discourse surrounding its definition. A study of the
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philosophical aspects of quality is found in Robert M. Pirsig's _Zen and the
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Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_.
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When trying to define a word, the most obvious place to begin is the
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dictionary. With quality, though, the dictionary is somewhat lacking.
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Merriam-Webster defines quality as "an inherent feature," "degree of
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excellence," and "a distinguishing attribute..." (955). The definition
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continues, saying that quality is "a general term applicable to any trait or
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characteristic whether individual or generic..." (955). While parts of this
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definition seem to fit the concept of quality as we know it (particularly the
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discussion of its general nature and its applicability to either general or
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specific characteristics), the dictionary seems to have given quality a
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definition that is too narrow to adequately encompass all that quality is.
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Many companies and individuals have developed their own definitions of
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quality. An independent record company (Man's Ruin Records) labels its
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products with "Where Quality is Just a Word" (Kozik). While this is obviously
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a self-effacing slogan, Man's Ruin uses it to advertise the quality (or lack
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thereof) of its products. Kolarik quotes many (industrial and/or business)
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"Quality Masters" who also give narrow (specific to an industry) definitions
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of the term, such as: "Quality is fitness for use (Juran)...[it] is
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conformance to requirements (Crosby)..." (5). While these definitions are
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perfectly suited to specific engineering and/or business practices, they fail
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to grasp the overall concept of quality.
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In _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_, Pirsig uses the character
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of Phaedrus to define quality in metaphysical terms, despite repeatedly
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claiming that quality is indefinable. The narrator recalls that Phaedrus
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thought quality is not "independently related with either the subject of the
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object [as many classical quality definitions state] but...*only in the
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relationship of the two with each other*" and goes on to postulate that the
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"Quality" event is the *cause* of the subjects and objects..." (215), not vice
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versa. Thus, quality is the beginning and the end, which Phaedrus in his
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pursuit of quality equates to the Hindu Bragma and the Buddha in numerous
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passages from the work. If quality is truly the beginning and the end, as
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Phaedrus claims, then he is equating it to the deity of Western theology as
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well as the Oneness of the East: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and
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the last, the beginning and the end" (Revelation 22:13). Pirsig, possibly
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unknowingly, has thus linked Eastern and Western mythology.
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Phaedrus also states: "Quality isn't a substance. Neither is it a
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method. It's outside of both...It's the goal toward which method is aimed"
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(Pirsig 305). Pirsig, through Phaedrus, seems to be saying that quality is
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everything and the stimuli to which we react are merely manifestations of
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quality. This is a refutation of classical quality definitions tat relate to
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specific characteristics of specific products processes, etc. Pirsig's
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definition of quality is therefore nondualistic; it is neither subject nor
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object, neither substance nor method. Quality exists outside of the trappings
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of these terms and, according to Pirsig, is the cause behind the existence of
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these terms.
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Quality is a word that is attached to many things. The norms of society
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often tell us what is "good" and "bad," but long ago someone (or perhaps a
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specific group of people or society at large) chose the definitions of these
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subjective terms. In many cases, "good" and "bad" are defined in terms of
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morals, which is too in-depth a topic to be discussed here. While Mr.
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Pirsig's definition of quality as non-subjective makes sense, the experience
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of quality (Kolarik 6-7) -- the manifestations of the enigma called quality --
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are entirely subjective and are influenced by many factors, including personal
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preference. Most definitions of quality, with the exception of Pirsig's
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metaphysical definition, are actually definitions of the experience of
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quality, "a function of the fulfillment of human needs and expectations"
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(Kolarik 6).
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(Quality aside, perhaps the most interesting aspect of Pirsig's work is
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the Eastern-inspired focus on oneness or unity. Pirsig defines quality in
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nondualistic terms, as discussed above. He also provides many other examples
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of oneness/unity, such as an in-depth discussion of rhetoric versus the
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dialectic (in the context of Socrates and the Sophists). Rhetoric is "writing
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or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion" (Merriam-Webster 1004)
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while the dialectic is "discussion and reasoning by dialogue as a method of
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intellectual investigation" and "tension or opposition between two interacting
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forces or elements" (319). Thus, rhetoric (especially in the case of speech)
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is more in tune with Pirsig's unity concept than the dialectic, which is
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usually a discussion between two people, one seeking to disprove the other's
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statements. When Phaedrus argues with the Chairman, it is clear that Phaedrus
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(the rhetorician) is victorious over the dialectical Chairman (Pirsig
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351-354). The narrator himself is an example of the move to oneness. He is
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plagues with fragments of memories from Phaedrus's life until he finally
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succumbs to Phaedrus's desire to "come back" and decided to "Be one person
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again!" (370). Once this decision is made, it seems that the bulk of the
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narrator's troubles will end.)
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I have arrived at a definition of quality which borrows aspects from many
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of the definitions discussed above. I sought to define quality in
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sufficiently broad terms to encompass any instance of quality in any
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situation. Therefore quality, to me (borrowing heavily from Pirsig), is the
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ultimate cause to every effect. It is omnipresent. Quality manifests itself
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as the measurable characteristics of objects (e.g. dimensions) or processes
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(e.g. process time), as well as those characteristics that are completely
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subjective and cannot be measured (e.g. pleasant smells). Thus, the
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experience of quality is the only quantifiable aspect it possesses. As such,
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quality is intimately involved in all aspects of our daily lives, yet it is
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unknowable; we can merely become familiar with specific aspects of it such as
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the experience of quality discussed previously.
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Pirsig's _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_ provides a unique
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insight into philosophy, a discipline that many "technical people" often
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neglect to study. The discussion of quality is entirely different from any
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that can be found in an engineering textbook. While quality may not be the
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Creator of everything, Pirsig's perspective on quality is certainly unlike any
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I have seen before. This new (to me) perspective made me reevaluate my own
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definition of quality, given above.
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-----
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-= References =-
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"Dialectic." _Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary_. 10th ed. 1993.
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"Quality."
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"Rhetoric."
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Kolarik, William J. _Creating Quality: Concepts, Systems, Strategies, and
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Tools_. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995.
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Kozik, Frank. "MAN'S RUIN - The Frank Kozik Resource Center."
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http://www.mansruin.com/. (15 March 2000).
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Pirsig, Robert M. _Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance_. 1974.
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Toronto: Bantam, 1981.
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--- -- - -- --- -- - -- --- -- - -- --- -- - -- ---
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Issue#109 of "GwD: The American Dream with a Twist -- of Lime" ISSN 1523-1585
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copyright (c) MMI Lobo Licious/ GwD Publications /---------------\
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