I like the word "spurious"

11/10/2011

I once heard a criticism of Great Books programs (I'm pretty sure it was in The Closing of the American Mind) that charged that reading the Great Books in such a cursory fashion gives people a "spurious acquaintance with greatness." That may be so, but I would charge that an education that consists of reading a lot of history books or news articles without any philosophical training gives people a spurious acquaintance with awareness.

-Joey

2 Comments

Lillian

11/14/2011 11:20:07 am

Agreed.

Adam F.

11/14/2011 12:44:44 pm

Very true...

However, if education today could consist of reading history books and news articles, that would be an improvement. Unfortunately, at many universities today, an education does not even involve those sorts of activities, nevermind philosophical training.

Huh??

A pensée (n.) is "a thought or reflection put into literary form; an aphorism." The pensée was used to great effect by Blaise Pascal, Friedrich Nietzsche, and the pre-Socratic philosophers. On this page we will periodically post our deepest ruminations on life, until all our thoughts coalesce into a giant psychic snowball that will explain everything and envelop the Earth.

I like the word "spurious"

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Huh??

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