Who is Phaedrus to Robert Pirsig?

        In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Pirsig explains that Phaedrus was a philosopher from Plato's time. One of the ancient, famously philosophical, revered geniuses whose mind mysteriously travels through thoughts and ideas that a normal person would not care to touch on in daily life. Basically enough, this name is given to Pirsig's former personality, an enigmatic English professor who somehow thought himself into a mental breakthrough (or breakdown) so huge and deep that he went insane and destroyed his personality, replacing it with a much simpler consciousness that has many scattered and vague memories of its previous self, but is nevertheless still a philosopher. 

       The name explains it all. Pirsig views his former personality as a deep thinker and philosopher, a mystery, and enigma that he is slowly uncovering, like an "archaeologist". Thought Phaedrus had shared this same body, Pirsig treats him as a completely different entity. One that he used to know, but now barely remembers. One that all his friends and his family remember, but whose disappearance he must keep hidden from them. 

       I won't say Pirsig doesn't want to know all about Phaedrus. He is curious. He is enamored with this genius philosopher, this scientist, this rhetoric professor. But he makes no haste to discover his past. He goes along with life. He doesn't bury himself and obsess himself with his former mind. He patiently learns of it from others. He is also content with the mind he has now. But then again, that's the point of Zen.