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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 meustrus on Monday October 02 2017, @04:59PM
I thought it was funny. And normally I'm not so sure about the "Disagree" mod. It doesn't really add to the conversation, but I like having it as an option when I despise the post but can't come up with a good reason why. In some places I (or another moderator) would pick a negative mod that doesn't really apply, like "Troll".
But real disagreement comes from responses. If you have a disagreement, it's better for everyone for you to put forth your argument. Otherwise, we're just a chaotic mess that can't learn from the mistakes of others, let alone our own.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?