My Exploring and Issue topic is focused on the "Great Books" and the canon of great works. What I chose to explore is the controversy over the use of great books in the higher educations curriculum. These books are works from authors like Aristotle, Plato or Charles Dickens. The text "The Great Canon Controversy" explores the question of whether these books should be continued to be taught as part of the college curriculum or be replaced by newer more recent texts. The author of the text William Casement wrote his book to provide an overview of the canon controversy, as well as provide what he thinks is a sensible resolution to it as well. Casement takes a nonpartisan position on the subject but at the same time is supporter of the canon. Casement's book is divided into three parts and an conclusion. In part one Casement explores the history of teaching the great works in the past and how it has changed. He points out that in the twentieth century the main justification for teaching the great books was the development of critical thinking, and an understanding of the universals of human nature. Part two covers the anticanon movement and its claims that the western canon is not as beneficial as the supporters of the canon claim it to be. In part two Casement claims that anticanonism is faulty in many ways giving specific examples of why he believes this. Part three is Casement speaking on how the canon that is taught should be reformed to be practical in current college curriculum.
Questions:
What importance does the canon serve in modern times?(Why do people continue to study Shakespeare?)
How important do you think the great works are to higher education? Who would you side with, defenders of the canon, anticanonists, or someone like Casement who speaks for revision of the canon?
I believe these texts are essential for higher learning. I believe we definitely learn a lot from these great texts of philosophers and great thinkers of the times they came from, and they have shaped society today. It is always important to understand the past as well as the lessons they have told us. The Odyssey taught us the consequences of pride. Tale of Two Cities allowed me to understand the Terror that befell France. Descartes presented me with the argument of radical skepticism, which no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to find doubt in its logic. What's to say we can't compare these great individuals and their works to people like Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein because they are from a different time?
ReplyDeleteI believe that these works can still be useful in today's academic setting. Just because a message or idea is old does not mean that it is useless. At the very least, they can be compared to contemporary works to show how philosophy has changed over the years.
ReplyDeleteI feel if we, as a society, decides to replace the older texts with newer ones, the risk of great texts being lost to history. How I envision it, I see the newer texts starting to reference the older text less and less until they completely stop. I also agree with Frankie that the older texts pretty much shaped society today. Life has taught us that when people forget events in the past, it almost never works out well for the future. Besides, we need to know these great minds simply out of respect.
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