---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is the source of the trouble…"
description: "\"“This is the source of the trouble. Persons tend to think and feel exclusively in one mode or the other and in doing so tend to misunderstand and under..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/robert-m-pirsig-817_truths_this-is-the-source-of-the-trouble-person_1092439.png"
---

#  This is the source of the trouble. Persons tend to think…

![“This is the source of the trouble. Persons tend to think and feel exclusively in one mode or the other and in doing so tend to misunderstand and underestimate what the other mode is all about. But no one is willing to give up the truth as he sees it, and as far as I know, no one now living has any…” quote by Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/robert-m-pirsig-817_truths_this-is-the-source-of-the-trouble-person_1092439.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/robert-m-pirsig-817_truths_this-is-the-source-of-the-trouble-person_1092439.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/robert-m-pirsig-817_truths_this-is-the-source-of-the-trouble-person_1092439.png)

> ““This is the source of the trouble. Persons tend to think and feel exclusively in one mode or the other and in doing so tend to misunderstand and underestimate what the other mode is all about. But no one is willing to give up the truth as he sees it, and as far as I know, no one now living has any real reconciliation of these truths or modes. There is no point at which these visions of reality are unified. And””

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People often cling to a single perspective, leading to misunderstanding and a failure to reconcile differing truths.

**In simple terms:** Sticking to one view causes conflict and prevents unity.

Key Takeaway

Seek multiple viewpoints to bridge gaps.

Themes

perspective truth reconciliation conflict understanding

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- team decision making
- cross‑cultural dialogue
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

philosophy duality epistemology

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you honor your truth while appreciating another?
- When is it appropriate to hold onto a single view?

A Different Perspective

A single perspective can still be valuable; integration may be impossible.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truths/)

## Related quotes

> [“Persons tend to think and feel exclusively in one mode or the other and in doing so tend to misunderstand and underestimate what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/persons-tend-to-think-and-feel-exclusively-in-one-mode-or-the-other/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [No thought can encapsulate the vastness of the totality. Reality is a unified whole, but thought cuts it up into fragments. Every thought implies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/no-thought-can-encapsulate-the-vastness-of-the-totality-reality-is-a/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Reality is a unified whole, but thought cuts it up into fragments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/reality-is-a-unified-whole-but-thought-cuts-it-up-into-fragments/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [I want to support the view that the foundation of reality itself is a unified, indeterminate maze of possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danah-zohar/i-want-to-support-the-view-that-the-foundation-of-reality-itself-is-a/)

Danah Zohar

> [Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to search for it there, and to be guided by truth as one sees it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/truth-resides-in-every-human-heart-and-one-has-to-search-for-it-there/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“What I see, and what I believe, is exactly who I will portray here on the Earth. If I see an unhealed, broken person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-living/what-i-see-and-what-i-believe-is-exactly-who-i-will-portray-here-on/)

[Faith Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-living/)

> [In every generation there has to be some fool who will speak the truth as he sees it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/in-every-generation-there-has-to-be-some-fool-who-will-speak-the/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [“Within infinite myths lies the eternal truth Who sees it all? Varuna has but a thousand eyes, Indra has a hundred, And You and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/within-infinite-myths-lies-the-eternal-truth-who-sees-it-all-varuna-2/)

[Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/)

> [“Truth sees things as they are. Love sees things as they should be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/truth-sees-things-as-they-are-love-sees-things-as-they-should-be/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [Know that Truth sees through bullshit. So if you can't handle looking at Truth, you must be a Devil's culprit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/know-that-truth-sees-through-bullshit-so-if-you-can-t-handle-looking/)

[Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/)

> [Within infinite myths lies the Eternal Truth Who sees it all? Varuna has but a thousand eyes Indra, a hundred And I, only two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/within-infinite-myths-lies-the-eternal-truth-who-sees-it-all-varuna/)

[Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/)

> [“Truth sees the world as it is; hope sees the world as it could be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/truth-sees-the-world-as-it-is-hope-sees-the-world-as-it-could-be/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [The rules and principles of case law have never been treated as final truths but as working hypotheses, continually retested in those great laboratories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-rules-and-principles-of-case-law-have-never-been-treated-as-final/)

[Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/)

> [“First love is stripping down everything to essential truths, setting aside your fears and doubts and seeing who you are in someone else's eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-thurlow/first-love-is-stripping-down-everything-to-essential-truths-setting/)

[Chloe Thurlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-thurlow/)

> [“What shapes us is not always our achievements but our omissions. Not lies; simply the truths we don’t tell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-tudor/what-shapes-us-is-not-always-our-achievements-but-our-omissions-not/)

[C.J. Tudor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-tudor/)

## More by Robert M. Pirsig

> [“And from time to time you find your “county road” takes you onto a two-rutter and then a single rutter and then into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/and-from-time-to-time-you-find-your-county-road-takes-you-onto-a-two/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [“I started to roll over for more sleep but heard a rooster crowing and then became aware we are on vacation and there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-started-to-roll-over-for-more-sleep-but-heard-a-rooster-crowing-and/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-buddha-the-godhead-resides-quite-as-comfortably-in-the-circuits/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [Even though quality cannot be defined, you know what quality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/even-though-quality-cannot-be-defined-you-know-what-quality-is/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [I suppose philosophy is historically not a woman's game, though that is changing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/i-suppose-philosophy-is-historically-not-a-woman-s-game-though-that/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [Up until my first book was published, I had all this potential, people would say, and I screwed up. After it, I could say:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/up-until-my-first-book-was-published-i-had-all-this-potential-people/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [There is a perennial classical question that asks which part of the motorcycle, which grain of sand in which pile, is the Buddha. Obviously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/there-is-a-perennial-classical-question-that-asks-which-part-of-the/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [“Of the value traps, the most widespread and pernicious is value rigidity. This is an inability to revalue what one sees because of commitment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/of-the-value-traps-the-most-widespread-and-pernicious-is-value/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [“Historically mystics have claimed that for a true understanding of reality metaphysics is too “scientific”. Metaphysics is not reality. Metaphysics is names about reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/historically-mystics-have-claimed-that-for-a-true-understanding-of/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [“What’s emerging from the pattern of my own life is the for belief that the crisis is being caused by the inadequacy of existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/what-s-emerging-from-the-pattern-of-my-own-life-is-the-for-belief/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [To speak of certain government and establishment institutions as 'the system' is to speak correctly . . . They are sustained by structural relationships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/to-speak-of-certain-government-and-establishment-institutions-as-the/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/if-a-revolution-destroys-a-systematic-government-but-the-systematic/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-only-zen-you-can-find-on-the-tops-of-mountains-is-the-zen-you/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [Only social patterns can control biological patterns, and the instrument of conversation between society and biology is not words. The instrument of conversation between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/only-social-patterns-can-control-biological-patterns-and-the/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [Even in the presence of others he was completely alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/even-in-the-presence-of-others-he-was-completely-alone/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

[Explore all 351 Robert M. Pirsig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

## More Truths quotes

> [“What shapes us is not always our achievements but our omissions. Not lies; simply the truths we don’t tell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-tudor/what-shapes-us-is-not-always-our-achievements-but-our-omissions-not/)

[C.J. Tudor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-tudor/)

> [“First love is stripping down everything to essential truths, setting aside your fears and doubts and seeing who you are in someone else's eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-thurlow/first-love-is-stripping-down-everything-to-essential-truths-setting/)

[Chloe Thurlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-thurlow/)

> [The rules and principles of case law have never been treated as final truths but as working hypotheses, continually retested in those great laboratories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-rules-and-principles-of-case-law-have-never-been-treated-as-final/)

[Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/)

> [The most valuable thing I can share is the importance of living in truth. Sometimes, facing those truths can actually be your worst fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liberty-ross/the-most-valuable-thing-i-can-share-is-the-importance-of-living-in/)

[Liberty Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liberty-ross/)

> [Truths of life¦ The most beautiful day: Today The easiest thing: Equivocate The biggest obstacle: Fear The gravest error: give up, to despair The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truths-of-life-the-most-beautiful-day-today-the-easiest-thing/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Truth is often accompanied by intense pain, and almost no one is looking for painful truths”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/truth-is-often-accompanied-by-intense-pain-and-almost-no-one-is/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“Lies are for those whose truths are not strong enough." --Ariane”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-west/lies-are-for-those-whose-truths-are-not-strong-enough-ariane/)

[Michelle West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-west/)

> [Facts are not truths; they are not conclusions; they are not even premises, but in the nature and parts of premises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/facts-are-not-truths-they-are-not-conclusions-they-are-not-even/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [All significant truths are private truths. As they become public they cease to become truths; they become facts, or at best, part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/all-significant-truths-are-private-truths-as-they-become-public-they/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [The only truths we can point to are the ever-changing truths of our own experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-weiss/the-only-truths-we-can-point-to-are-the-ever-changing-truths-of-our/)

[Peter Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-weiss/)

> [“Richard had noticed that events were cowards: they didn't occur singly, but instead they would run in packs and leap out at him all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/richard-had-noticed-that-events-were-cowards-they-didn-t-occur-singly/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [“The biggest truths are the ones told after the longest silences”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/the-biggest-truths-are-the-ones-told-after-the-longest-silences/)

S.E. SEVER

> [Writers tell more truths, and more lies, than most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/writers-tell-more-truths-and-more-lies-than-most/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [The quarrel of the sociologists with the historians is that the latter have learned so much about how to do it that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-quarrel-of-the-sociologists-with-the-historians-is-that-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

[Browse all 1,110 Truths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truths/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“This is the source of the trouble. Persons tend to think and feel exclusively in one mode or the other and in doing so tend to misunderstand and underestimate what the other mode is all about. But no one is willing to give up the truth as he sees it, and as far as I know, no one now living has any real reconciliation of these truths or modes. There is no point at which these visions of reality are unified. And”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert M. Pirsig"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/this-is-the-source-of-the-trouble-persons-tend-to-think-and-feel/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Truths"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/this-is-the-source-of-the-trouble-persons-tend-to-think-and-feel/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/robert-m-pirsig-817_truths_this-is-the-source-of-the-trouble-person_1092439.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/robert-m-pirsig-817_truths_this-is-the-source-of-the-trouble-person_1092439.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/robert-m-pirsig-817_truths_this-is-the-source-of-the-trouble-person_1092439.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“This is the source of the trouble. Persons tend to think and feel exclusively in one mode or the other and…” — Robert M. Pirsig",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Robert M. Pirsig",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“This is the source of the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/this-is-the-source-of-the-trouble-persons-tend-to-think-and-feel/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/this-is-the-source-of-the-trouble-persons-tend-to-think-and-feel/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
