Post by kungfuzu on Jun 13, 2021 21:15:37 GMT -8
I just finished The Great Conversation which is the first volume of that famous series of books Great Books of the Western World , published by Encyclopedia Britannica.
I first encountered this series sometime in the 1970s and have always wanted to include it in my library. Unfortunately, I could not afford it back in the 1970s. In between then and now, I traveled so much that I thought it impractical to schlep it around the world with me. Now, I feel it a bit late to be buying such a set. Nevertheless, I did have a couple of volumes which were given to me over the years. I finally sat down and started reading The Great Conversation last week.
The Great Conversation was written by Robert Maynard Hutchins, who was also the Editor-in-Chief of the project to publish the complete set of books. I looked into his biography and there is no doubt that the man was brilliant. He became the Dean of the Yale Law School at the tender age of twenty eight. That was when the Yale Law School had a stellar reputation and being the Dean of it, meant something. Sadly, that is no longer the case today.
Hutchins wrote this book in 1952, one year before I came to the world in my own first edition. As I see it, Hutchins believed that the American education system had come untethered from its foundations, i.e. Western Civilization as handed down to us through the thoughts and arguments of our ancestors. These were vital parts of what Hutchins called The Great Conversation which has been taking place in the West for over two thousand years.
Even though it was written almost 70 years ago, many of the observations Hutchins makes are still pertinent to our educational system. They will sound very familiar to most who read this blog.
Although I don't agree with every thing he writes, I think this book might be one of the best critiques I have every read as regards to getting at the fundamentals of what is ailing the West. It is short. Hutchins uses only 82 pages to make his point. Yet, virtually each page contains powerful thoughts which we need to be reminded of.
In future days, I will try to critique each chapter and chose various quotes to demonstrate Hutchins' ideas.
I first encountered this series sometime in the 1970s and have always wanted to include it in my library. Unfortunately, I could not afford it back in the 1970s. In between then and now, I traveled so much that I thought it impractical to schlep it around the world with me. Now, I feel it a bit late to be buying such a set. Nevertheless, I did have a couple of volumes which were given to me over the years. I finally sat down and started reading The Great Conversation last week.
The Great Conversation was written by Robert Maynard Hutchins, who was also the Editor-in-Chief of the project to publish the complete set of books. I looked into his biography and there is no doubt that the man was brilliant. He became the Dean of the Yale Law School at the tender age of twenty eight. That was when the Yale Law School had a stellar reputation and being the Dean of it, meant something. Sadly, that is no longer the case today.
Hutchins wrote this book in 1952, one year before I came to the world in my own first edition. As I see it, Hutchins believed that the American education system had come untethered from its foundations, i.e. Western Civilization as handed down to us through the thoughts and arguments of our ancestors. These were vital parts of what Hutchins called The Great Conversation which has been taking place in the West for over two thousand years.
Even though it was written almost 70 years ago, many of the observations Hutchins makes are still pertinent to our educational system. They will sound very familiar to most who read this blog.
Although I don't agree with every thing he writes, I think this book might be one of the best critiques I have every read as regards to getting at the fundamentals of what is ailing the West. It is short. Hutchins uses only 82 pages to make his point. Yet, virtually each page contains powerful thoughts which we need to be reminded of.
In future days, I will try to critique each chapter and chose various quotes to demonstrate Hutchins' ideas.
