Today we have the great pleasure of talking with Ned Hall, a philosophy professor and generally “wicked smart” guy who helps us think about quality. Ned teaches us how to think like philosophers as we address questions about the quality of objects such as watches, and confront questions like: how do we assess quality? Should this be through a single question, or set of questions? What are the things that make a watch or another object high quality? What is the role of direct human attention and connection with an object and experience in understanding quality?

The conversation with Ned grows out of some of the conversations we have had on the podcast about Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Last spring, after talking with Mark Richardson, I set out to find the pump at the rest stop where, in 1968, Robert Pirsig and his son took a water break on Highway 55 just outside of Minneapolis. The stop is still there, but the pump is not, and after some research with the relevant municipalities, it seems reasonable to conclude that the pump was removed due to the health concerns from natural wells, and it was melted down for scrap. Given this fate, we recognize the pump and its place in philosophical history with the poem “Well Water” by Randall Jarrell, read by writer, educator, and friend of the Dogwatch Jim Mahoney.