Nick, it occurs to me that central to the malaise in the academy today
are prevalent liberal notions of pluralism, inclusiveness, tolerance.
Surely these have some "value," but like most values they may be
integral to a priori belief systems. A familiar dilemma when
undertaking rational problem solving, as you propose, is that we soon
encounter a priori positions that are not subject to rational critique.
They are matters of belief--of which we are supposed to be tolerant
and inclusive. It is difficult to be inclusive of positions that are
contradictory. This accounts for much of the passivity of the academy
these days.
It appears that your direction, as I intuit it, would lead us to
secular humanism--or perhaps I simply intuit my own sense of direction.
Are we hesitatant to identify ourselves this way:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=secular+humanism&btnG=Google+Search
What is our instinctive wariness? It would not be inclusive, or
tolerant, we may suppose, to alienate those of faith whose values
differ from ours. But I suspect that there are those among us who are
indeed opposed to many rational courses of action--let's take those
stem cell, or end of life, issues, for instance. Or if you want other
hot-button issues (here in the US) let's consider abortion or gay
marriage.
What's our reaction? Stay away from those burning topics, because they
are devisive. This is case-in-point. We in the academy, in order to
maintain the VALUE of collegiality, may refrain from addressing the
very issues of current concern. It's not very civil, here (in many
circles, certainly) to bring up such "sensitive" matters as abortion.
I suspect that this instinct accounts for much of the academic malaise
that you and I sense.
I am a secular humanist who regards "faith" as less a virtue, or
solution, as much it intrinsic to the problem we address.
Paul
On Oct 9, 2005, at 8:27 PM, Nicholas Maxwell wrote:
> Dear Friends of Wisdom,
>
> Here, attached, is a further
> suggestion for another page of our web site, giving an argument as to
> why academia needs to change so that it takes up the task of seeking
> and promoting wisdom. Comments welcome.
>
> All the best,
>
> Nick
> www.nick-maxwell.demon.co.uk<Basic Argument for the Need for an
> Intellectual Revolution.doc>
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