Who is Phaedrus from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and what is their importance?

Phaedrus is the Narrator at an earlier stage of his life. Phaedrus was so driven to resolve the split between Classic and Romantic understanding that his sacrificed his sanity in pursuit of its resolution. He was a conscientious and idealistic man appalled by the ugliness of modern technological society and sought ways to bring it in line with his concept of Quality.