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Sitaram · Site Admin Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1079

http://sulekha.com/chpost.asp?for...ilosophy&show=0&cid=83192

I was thinking this morning how possibly one of the goals of
education is, one day, having something to say yourself, something
original, interesting.... not something which you FORCE yourself to
say or write, like homework, but something which comes spontaneously,
something which you MUST say

Wallace Stevens, the american poet, was once asked about some other
published poet, and he answered , "he does not write as if he MUST"

The word "e-ducate" means to "lead out",... but education is
definitely a process of planting something inside

Education enables "self expression", but somehow, we do not really
have a "self" worth expressing unless and until we go through years
of this process of internalizing the words and thoughts of others

Look at the back of a tapestry, and you see all sorts of loose
threads, but the front of the tapestry is a scene or depiction

A brain teaser college motto on the seal of St. John's in Annapolis:
Facio Liberos ex Liberis Libris Libraque (I make free men out of boys
by means of books and a balance

St. john's (in the 1960s) used to make a big deal about how important
it was to read the original authors, and not commentaries or
critiques on those authors

Years later, in the late 70s, I in the check-out line of the Yale
bookstore in New Haven, and I saw a professor purchasing TEN
commentaries on Plato's Republic, so I mentioned St. John's great
books program to him

He scowled and said, "there is room in the country for ONE college
like st. john's annapolis, ... but no MORE than one"

I have met people in my life with years of education, (perhaps it is
cruel of me to judge others), but just like water rolled off the
proverbial duck's back, they seemed to survive their education
through a similar impervious nature, in that they had nothing
fascinating to say, no curiousity, nor did they continue their
education and explore new areas or interests

I suppose in describing what they are NOT, I am describing what I
look for in others, what I wish they might be,... since I seek out
and enjoy such company, association (and it is hard to find)

I will give you a rather long but interesting example, in the early
90's I was on a plane, returning to new haven, and the man sitting
next to me was an israeli scholar who had just complete a book

I was anxious for some conversation, to pass the time, so I spoke
with him about some ideas I had regarding the septuagint and the
apocrypha, and he seemed to show some interest (much later I realized
that it was feined interest).. and he invited me to come that night
to a reception being held for him by the Yale dept. of linguistics

Little did I realize that he felt great contempt for the views I was
expressing about the apocrypha,... and his plan (desire) was to lure
me to that reception, and then ridicule my views...

When I arrived at the reception, I found myself surrounded by
important people in the yale dept of linguistics, including the head
of the department

For years I had a great interest in Otto Jesperson (who
wrote "Philosophy of Grammar"), so I asked the head of the department
(as one might do in a polite fashion to start some interesting
conversation), "what is your opinion of Otto Jesperson?"

Well, he flew into a rage and accused me of trying to "show him up"
in some fashion.... I apologized and explained that I was a simple
layperson hoping to learn something, so then he calmed down and
said, "oh, ok... yes, Jesperson is good", and then he walked away

Well, it was just interesting to be in the middle of the "creme de la
creme" of the linguistics department, honoring a visiting author,...
and to see how shallow and petty they were,... how uninspired

Then, the guest of honor, the newly published author, explained why
he had invited me, and then proceeded to ridicule my ideas that I had
expressed on the plane...

When he was finished, I asked him a "loaded question" about his own
new book, which he could not answer, and his wife whispered to him,
and ushered him to another room (feeling perhaps that he was not
benefiting his career at that moment)

People like Einstein, Feinmann (i am guessing), and others (joseph
campbell), had a measure of humility and compassion, .. not arrogant

The victories of one-upsman-ship are always short-lived

I am reading a paperback translation of Sartre's "Being and
Nothingness" which has a wonderful introduction. The very first page
of the introduction speaks of what psychologist William James
described as the phases through which an innovative thinker passes,
phases in the public eye

The new theory first "is attached as absurd; then it is admitted to
be true, but obvious and insignificant; finally it is seen to be so
important that its adversaries claim that they themselves discovered
it"

There are bumper stickers which tout "proud american" , "proud union
member", "we take pride", ... yet pride was considered the original
sin.... (though Aristotle felt that "hubris" was an essential quality
of the great-souled, megalopsyche individual)

By the way, it was Rabindranath Tagore who first used the
term "Mahatma" in reference to Gandhi, and the title gained popularity

"Image of reality", that phrase, reminds me of a phrase in
ecclesiastes: the "image of eternity" has been placed in the human
heart, yet no one can see to the beginning or end of a matter. Also,
I suppose, Augustine: Time is the moving image of eternity

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