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THE GREAT IDEAS ONLINE A Syntopical Approach to the Great Books
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Max, In a recent article in Commentary Magazine Norman Podhoretz said of Isaiah Berlin something to the effect that Berlin, in the interest of pleasing everyone, had permitted his pluralism to deteriorate into moral relativism (my restatement of Podhoretz). Regardless of the truth or falsity of Podhoretz's observation concerning Berlin, I find the suggested distinction between moral relativism and pluralism intriguing. Maybe I am reading more into it than Podhoretz intended, but as I think about it, a reasonable meaning of pluralism is that it is a stance which recognizes that there is an objective truth but insists that the process of finding it is long and arduous and that one should be ready to give respect to various points of view until, let me project, one so clearly establishes itself that there is little reasonable that can be said to the contrary. In a sense this seems to be a statement capturing the essence the thought behind the "Great Conversation" which I have heard from M.J.A. Moral relativism, on the other hand, gives up any hope of finding an objective truth. I am curious whether MJA has ever had positive thoughts about pluralism. If you know where I could look to find them I would certainly follow the lead. Maybe other members can provide some enlightenment on this. Sincerely, M. Thomas Murray, Esq.
The world, certainly, is multicultural, and so we should be taught about its cultural diversity. But this, it seems to me, is the time to ask whether society as a whole or its educational institutions should be multicultural in all respects, or only in some. If only in some, I propose that the word transculturalism should be employed for those respects in which multiculturalism or cultural pluralism should *not* be safeguarded or promoted. Confronting the antithesis of the multicultural and the transcultural, we should seek to understand what determines the line that divides the one from the other. What do "transcultural" and "multicultural" mean? Should we expect the domains they characterize to shift their boundaries in the years to come, the one expanding, the other contracting? Should matters that are now regarded as multicultural become transcultural in the future? Let us begin by considering the cosmopolitan cities of the world, both in the United States and abroad -- the cities whose populations are ethnically and culturally heterogeneous. What I am about to say concerning Chicago is true of New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles. It holds also for London, Paris, Toronto, Sydney, and Hong Kong. For example, Chicago is multicultural in its restaurants but not in its hardware stores. A ruler or tape measure, in centimeters or inches, does not differ from one ethnically special neighborhood to another; nor does the candlepower of a light bulb and the difference between direct and alternating electric current. There is no difference between the tools used in Eurocentric and Afrocentric measurements as there are differences in French, Italian, Japanese, and Thai cuisines. Clocks and calendars are the same in all sections of the city. They are the same everywhere in the world. Chicago is multicultural in its churches but not in its engineering schools. If it's educational institutions have courses in geography, in anthropology, or mythology, these are likely to be, or certainly should be, multicultural, but that is not the case with their courses in mathematics or physics. The mathematics and physics taught in the schools of Japan, China, India, Egypt, and South America have the same scientific content as the mathematics and physics taught in Europe and North America. There are worldwide international journals in these fields, and the leading experts face no obstacles in communicating with one another. Chicago's international airport is multicultural. The airports of London and Los Angeles are multicultural to an even greater degree. The planes that leave or land represent a large number of the world's diverse cultures in their interior fittings, the dress and the manners of their cabin attendants, but their pilots all communicate with the control towers everywhere in English and the technical jargon of ground-to-air talk is uniformly the same. With these examples of the multicultural and the transcultural before us, what determines the line that divides the one from the other? The dividing line is the same line that separates statements which contain such words as "I like" or "I prefer" from statements which contain the words "I know," or "my opinion is." About likes or preferences there is no point in disputing. One set of likes or preferences does not exclude another. But when individuals differ in their claims to know, or believe, they are obliged to submit to criteria for judging which of the conflicting claims is correct and which incorrect, or which is more correct than the other. The line that divides the multicultural from the transcultural is the line that separates all matters of taste or preference from all matters concerned with the truth and falsity of the propositions being entertained or judged. --M.J.A.
Max, I saw this summary today and I thought you might be interested: Wednesday, March 3, 1999 A glance at the winter issue of The American Scholar: A call for the liberal education of medical students. Medical schools should collaborate with their universities' other academic departments in order to more liberally educate medical students, writes Sherwin B. Nuland, a contributing editor to the journal and a clinical professor of surgery at Yale University's School of Medicine. Medical education in recent decades increasingly has focused on laboratory and clinical studies, and as that research has become more sophisticated, medical schools have become more specialized and compartmentalized, he says. At the same time, the cultural values of medical schools have evolved toward an emphasis on science, and faculty members are rewarded more for molecular research than for teaching well or caring for patients, Dr. Nuland writes. Those trends in part stem from the history of medical schools in the United States, which generally did not become part of universities until the early 1900s. When they did, they felt pressure to "view their university affiliation as the foundation of a scientific approach to medical thought" and then "committed themselves to a course of action that would forever link education to research," Dr. Nuland says. But medical schools now churn out doctors who are ill-equipped to treat their patients as human beings, he says. "Unless the liberating influence of the entire university can be brought to bear, we in the medical profession will continue to deserve -- now more than ever before -- the pejorative description of *doctor-technicians*," he concludes. The journal may be found on newsstands and in libraries. Copyright © 1999 by The Chronicle of Higher Education Very truly yours, Forrest Jack Lance, Esq.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
The 43rd Annual Wachs Great Books Summer Institute
at Colby College A week of reading, discussion, fun, and friendship on the beautiful campus of Colby College in the hills of Waterville, Maine *Do Unto Others* An examination of the nature of morality, in theory and practice, fact and fiction. The readings are:
Moliere - Tartuffe There is a science, lately formulated, Whereby one's conscience may be liberated, And any wrongful act you care to mention May be redeemed by purity of intention. --Tartuffe The spectacle of the Tartuffery of old Kant, equally stiff and decent, with which he entices us into the dialectic by-ways that lead (more correctly mislead) to his *categorical imperative* makes us fastidious ones smile, we who find no small amusement in spying out the subtle tricks of old moralists and ethical preachers And What Is A Great Books Discussion? A group of readers, sharing their understanding of a stimulating work of literature or philosophy in a well-conducted discussion, can reach a level of insight rarely achieved by those who read alone. Great Books is for people who love to think and talk about the world's great ideas, and whose greatest pleasure is to spend time with others who share that joy. Cost: $438 per person covers dormitory room (single or double), meals (the new Dana dining hall is air conditioned), discussions, and books, as well as swimming, tennis, a film, group social activities, the warm hospitality of the Colby staff, and a real Maine lobster bake at Johnson Pond. Boating, golf, music, and summer theater are nearby. The cost for commuters is $135 (including the lobster bake). Application and refunds: A deposit of $138 per person is required with application, $63 of which is refundable for cancellations before July 1. The balance is due at registration on August 1. Books and additional information will be sent upon receipt of deposit. We can accommodate children between the ages of 4 and 15 at a reduced fee. Children over 15 are registered in the adult program. If there is sufficient interest among the children, a discussion program will be arranged for them. In any case, activities will be planned while you are in your discussion groups and at other times during the week. A fact sheet about the junior program is available from Kim Beam, (978) 526-4262, who can also answer any questions. Any questions may be directed to Dan Kohn, 516-727-8600; Fax 516-727-7592; or by e-mail to Cheryl Groeneveld. What is it like to spend a week at the Wachs Great Books Institute? Have you ever closed a book after finishing the last page, and wished you had someone to discuss it with? Someone who had also read it, and was as eager as you to talk about it and try to discover what it meant, what it had to say to him or her? Every summer, readers gather for one week at Colby College in Maine to discuss six works, some long, some short, sometimes including plays and poetry, and to enjoy the company of others who have at least these six readings in common. This alone is a wonderful basis for friendship, relaxation, discovery, and a unique and meaningful experience. Participants live in the Colby residences, eat together in a College dining room, and are assigned to a discussion group for the week. Formal discussions take place in the morning, and follow the rules of the Great Books shared inquiry method, no outside sources are allowed! The emphasis is on the reader and the text. Most discussion groups are assigned a leader; leaders rotate, so that although you will stay with the same discussion group all week, you will have a different leader every day. Participants may also request a leaderless group. Informal discussions go on over bridge, after tennis games and out at the lake. There is a wide variety of planned and unplanned activities, from a talent show (strictly voluntary) that often proves that a love of reading is not a predictor of musical or theatrical ability, to a clambake, a movie related to the week's theme, and sporadic sing-a-longs. The Great Books Institute takes over a section of the Student Union each night for the *Wachs Works* (named after our founding father, Is Wachs), our version of a neighborhood pub, used for socializing, bridge and various other activities. Living arrangements at Colby are very comfortable, and various amenities (like fans or bedboards) are available. Participants have private rooms; towels and linen are provided. The food is good and plentiful. Special arrangements can be made for participants with special needs. Books are mailed to participants soon after registration. Most people have already read the texts when they get to Colby, which leaves more time for all the other activities offered. Colby College has a great library, art museum, and bookstore, as well as first-class athletic facilities, all of which are at the disposal of participants. The Maine countryside is lovely, and the College has facilities at a nearby lake, which are frequently used by Great Books participants. For those without a vehicle, rides are always available. Many of the participants in the Institute have returned to Colby for decades, but there are also many newcomers, people of all ages and from all walks of life. Everyone is welcome and, in discussion, everyone is equal. The goal is shared inquiry, shared laughter, and shared experience. The results are often friendship and fun, and sometimes even glimpses of the truth.
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