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What was it that one learned through a great books curriculum? Certainly not "conservatism" in any contemporary American sense of the term. We were not taught to become American patriots, or religious pietists, or to worship what Rudyard Kipling called "the Gods of the Market Place." We were not instructed in the evils of Marxism, or the glories of capitalism, or even the superiority of Western civilization.
As I think about it, I'm not sure we were taught anything at all. What we did was read books that raised serious questions about the human condition, and which invited us to attempt to ask serious questions of our own. Education, in this sense, wasn't a "teaching" with any fixed lesson. It was an exercise in interrogation.
To listen and understand; to question and disagree; to treat no proposition as sacred and no objection as impious; to be willing to entertain unpopular ideas and cultivate the habits of an open mind — this is what I was encouraged to do by my teachers at the University of Chicago.
It's what used to be called a liberal education.
The University of Chicago showed us something else: that every great idea is really just a spectacular disagreement with some other great idea.
Bret Stephens's speech warrants a full read. It makes valuable points that we all need to hear, even on SN.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Wednesday September 27 2017, @01:33PM (2 children)
Disagree. Trump had this type of privileged education. Look how well spoken and articulate he is. Beautiful flowing speeches the envy of elegant skilled orators everywhere.
The best thing about Ivy League education is that if daddy's money is donated, you don't even need to have the ability to read or write beyond a fourth grade level in order to graduate from such a fine institution of higher learnin'.
So don't knock Ivy League edumacations.
If you eat an entire cake without cutting it, you technically only had one piece.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday September 27 2017, @02:40PM
Well, it's true - Bill Clinton is thinking of adopting Donald J. Donny can be the son that Billy never had!
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by vux984 on Thursday September 28 2017, @12:18AM
Compare donald trump today to donald trump 20 years ago. He was was always an egotistical asshat; but his articulation has declined considerably. He used to regularly put together complex sentences without much difficulty, without the rambling nonsense we see now.