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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: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday September 27 2017, @02:39PM (10 children)
I'm reminded of my generation's motto, "question authority". It was always my opinion that if authority had no answers to the questions, then their authority was bogus.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by fyngyrz on Wednesday September 27 2017, @06:11PM (1 child)
I think it's also fair to say that when authority provides answers, but the answers are bullshit – which is quite common – that authority is also bogus.
The problem is that authority is not the same thing as power.
For instance, the vast majority of the answers the government puts forth about the "war on drugs" are utter bullshit. But that doesn't mean they won't stomp you and your family and your future into the ground based on those answers.
Same goes for quite a few other things.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 28 2017, @01:37AM
BINGO!!
We've all watched videos of cops killing young black males unjustifiably. The Rice kid in Cleveland is my number one example. Cops all but run the kid down with their car, jump out, and start shooting. This is a horrible example of abuse of authority - murdering someone's child with impunity. Authority only has bogus bullshit answers to our questions. Obviously, this and other police departments are out of control.
But, we the people are so busy pursuing other agendas, that we can't even agree that the police need to be reined in.
How the hell do we ever force the police to exercise proper authority in a responsible manner? THAT is a worthy goal, and entirely achievable, IF we the people would just unite.
But, those agendas are all getting in the way.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 3, Disagree) by aristarchus on Wednesday September 27 2017, @06:50PM (5 children)
Runaway committing an auto-argumentum ad verecundiam in refuting an argument against accepting authority: the mind boogles, the irony-meter has melted down, can the center hold?
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday September 27 2017, @07:07PM
It can, but it's about to piss itself laughing :D
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Disagree) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 28 2017, @01:21AM
There is legitimate authority, you do understand. When authority is legitimate, and properly exercised, you're a fool to struggle against it. As I see it, your left is all about undermining legitimate authority, and trying to establish your own authority - based on bullshit.
What is the status of the Soviet, these days? And, "Red China"? Venezuela? Again and again the socialistic dream fails, but the left comes back again and again, "We just weren't doing it right, let's try again!"
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 28 2017, @01:39AM (2 children)
The center holds - if you come in from far-left field, you'll see that the center is quite healthy.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 3, Informative) by aristarchus on Thursday September 28 2017, @04:38AM (1 child)
So, Runaway, you do not know what an argumentum ad verecundiam is, eh? It is OK to just admit it. Not everyone can know Latin. Especially Polacks. And you owe us a new irony meter!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 28 2017, @02:25PM
Argument from authority. I looked it up. Since you ask, I don't read much Latin, at all. I never worked in a field where it was necessary to understand dead languages, so I didn't study them. In fact, I'm linguistically impaired - I can do alright in Spanish/Mexican and closely related languages - I can order a beer and ask about the hot women in any country that speaks Spanish.
Latin though, I only know what I found necessary to learn. You might look up 'inter utrosque polos tridens'. I realize you don't need to look up the interpretation, but go ahead, put it in a search engine. Hook us all up with a picture, alright?
Back to your point - What, exactly, is "wrong" with an argument from authority? Let's say, you're scheduled for brain surgery. And, you decide that you want to tell the doctor how she should decorate your head - you want the scars to fit into a really cool pattern, over which you can tattoo an awesome picture. And, she tells you "NO!" Argument from authority. Is that somehow "wrong"?
Verecundia - knowing one's place. It almost seems that you are accusing me of being out of place? Of not knowing my place? Hmmmm - you do realize that I am an American, right? My place is obviously wherever I decide it to be. Surely you aren't implying that the linguistically impaired should occupy a lower station in life than the linguistically gifted? I fail to see how that differes from keeping to your station in life if you're _____________ (black, female, Polack, retarded, genius, gay - pick any term to fill the blank)
But, back to that argument from authority - isn't that the same shit you're trying to pull? "I been mod-banned, and TMB is a horse's ass, and I GOT AUTHORITY ON MY SIDE!!"
And, no, I won't soon forget your dig at my ethnicity. At least I'm not Greek!!
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 27 2017, @08:17PM (1 child)
Friend of mine had a "Question Authority" bumper sticker on the back of his car -- this was late 1970s. All it seemed to get him was more random stops/harassment by the cops.
His car wasn't a wreck. This was upstate NY. Guy was white, college student, did have long-ish hair. My similar car (no bumper sticker) and similar personal appearance only attracted speeding tickets (all well deserved!) and no other police interest.
Seemed pretty likely that the bumper sticker was the cause of his problems. We'd never heard the term "profiling" back then, but it was certainly going on.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Wednesday September 27 2017, @09:20PM
Well, seeing that he was an authority on the topic of questions, they perhaps wanted to see if they can learn something from him. :-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.