All Knowledge Is Connected…
Or some other platitude.
We’re about to have another day of thunderstorms. So I’m going to post this link
http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/Ave-atque-vale-7653
which came from Arts and Letters Daily.
And I’m going to note that I’ve been thinking all morning that this connects to the Rig Veda and to classical Greek and Roman religion and to…
Everything.
And I’ll make the connections later.
3 Responses to 'All Knowledge Is Connected…'
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I could scarcely dispute a word of the speech. However, note that the source is a retiring professor. Those of us who did study the classical world a little remember that the horse archers of Parthia were noted for their ability to shoot accurately behind them. This the “Parthian shot” is a comment both accurate and made by someone leaving the scene. This would appear to be a classic example.
Harvard, Yale and Columbia will continue to be just what he describes–finishing school providing the nation with an utterly incompetent ruling class–until either the ideology of the faculty and administration change (fat chance) or the schools are placed under unbearable pressure. In the absence of bombs and firing squads, I recommend mockery and contempt to apply the pressure.
robert_piepenbrink
3 Jun 13 at 3:56 pm
As you imply, Robert, he’d have suffered the tortures of the damned if he had dared make such a public speech before his retirement.
Impressive nonetheless.
Mique
3 Jun 13 at 8:20 pm
It seems to me that the speech has two parts. The first is historical and the second is a comment on current universities. I’d place the break at the paragraph starting “In evaluating the performance of major American universities in meeting the various goals of liberal education sought over the centuries”
And I agree with just about everything he says. Particularly “Every successful civilization must possess a means for passing on its basic values to each generation. When it no longer does so, its days are numbered.”
It seems that a large number of university faculty members no longer consider that there are basic values to pass on.
jd
3 Jun 13 at 10:34 pm