[lit-ideas] Re: What, then, is wanting to know?

From: Andy Amago <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:50:27 -0500 (GMT-05:00)

-----Original Message-----
>From: Walter Okshevsky <wokshevs@xxxxxx>
>Sent: Feb 27, 2007 10:06 AM
>To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: What, then, is wanting to know?
>
>Just want to clarify that my commentary on John's questions assumed the
>accuracy of the positions attributed to A and N respectively. I make no
>comment on the validity of these attributions at all.
>
>Only a suicidal Education student would ask the prof teaching a required
>(or elective) course in philosophy and education such a question.



This speaks to the political nature of formal education that any question would 
be suicidal.  



 It's a
>sure mark of a failure in professional accountability and a lack of
>respect for one's own personal well-being. 


Committing suicide usually is.  Well, maybe not always.  Socrates, you see ...  
I'm always struck that college graduates are supposedly valued for their 
ability to think.  Obviously for their ability to think the correct things, and 
for learning to play the game, never challenge a prof.  Those skills are then 
transferred to the real world ... one says the right things, never challenges 
one's boss ...  Formal education is about making connections and getting jobs.  
It has little or nothing to do with learning.  




(The latter are not
>themselves needs, wants or desires - or any other kind of heteronomous
>motive.)
>
>In the spirit of Liberal Education across personal values and cultural
>difference,
>
>Walter O.
>Memorial U
>22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222
>On Mon, 26 Feb 2007, Robert Paul wrote:
>
>> I wrote
>>
>> >> Why do you want to know things, in general? is a strange question. Why
>> >> do you want to know how to change a light bulb, or what the
>> >> conjugation of 'savoir' [is] won't ordinarily be puzzling. Why do you want
>> >> to know anything at all? seems hopeless.
>>
>> John wrote
>>
>> > It's a strange question, but not a bad one.  I take on board Professor
>> > Paul's comment that the answer will often be specific. When knowledge
>> > has an instrumental value, failure to know may imply the inability to
>> > perform the task at hand. And Walter is right that, logically
>> > speaking, the answers suggested have nothing to do with the epistemic
>> > quality of knowledge.
>>
>> 
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[lit-ideas] Re: What, then, is wanting to know?

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