Tomorrow, I am speaking at the Southwestern Conference for Classical Christian Educators on the topic of Great Books. Below is my introduction to my speech.

“Due to neglect of our rich heritage in the West our civilization is crumbling. Powerful and seductive ideas have gripped the minds of the Western man and have caused him to worship the creation instead of the creator. Darwinism, utopianism and Freudian psychology, to name a few, have lured us away from pursuing a life of virtue in an intellectually and emotionally robust Christianity.

“Not surprisingly, these ideas have focused their attack on our educational system. What better way to radically change culture than to affect the hearts and minds of our young? Today, the standard approach to education assumes people do not have souls and that the highest end of man is to do a job well and fit in with the rest of society. The virtue most emphasized in our schools, therefore, is…tolerance.

“Our high school curriculum quite clearly reflects these aims. (more…)

This June 15 Rolling Stone article had my stomach doing flips in sadness and disgust. The attitude toward sex at Duke – and probably many college campuses – is heart-breaking. The emptiness and brokenness of the “hookup” culture should make our American culture in general and Christians in particular do some soul-searching about what sex and relationships are for.

Here’s a tidbit of the powerful article, which features some telling quotes and an astute reference to Tom Wolf’s I Am Charlotte Simmons:

The vagaries of sex on campus have created a specific ”hookup culture” at Duke, one that Charlotte Simmons fans might quickly recognize. As one male student describes it, it ”exists in a whirlwind of drunkenness and horniness that lacks definition — which is what everyone likes about it [because] it’s just an environment of craziness and you don’t have to worry about it until the next morning.”

But this culture has its downsides, say some students. ”I think the ease of hooking up has, like, made people forget what they truly want,” says Naomi. ”People assume that there are two very distinct elements in a relationship, one emotional and one sexual, and they pretend like there are clean lines between them.”

Or at least boys do, she believes. Girls fake it. If so, they’re faking well. One male student I met told me he’d ”never seen some of the catty, cougarlike behavior like I have at Duke, even in the clubs of New York City” — where he’s from, he adds. There, he says, ”guys have to go all-out” to get girls to go home with them. At Duke, ”there’s kind of a mutual acceptance that stuff can happen in one night, on your way back from Shooters.” (more…)

Jessica Hatchigan’s How to Be your Own Publicist is an invaluable resource for anyone who owns a business or wants to promote themselves in some capacity. Written for the novice, Hatchigan’s work is intelligent without being technical or obscure. Her prose is extremely readable (it took me barely any time to read her work, which is a good sign), and her content is filled with practical examples and additional resources for managing news and generating publicity around your venture.

Hatchigan’s work, though, was most beneficial for expanding my “marketing horizons.” For programs or people on limited budgets, publicity can be an easy, effective way of getting the word out about your product or service. News stories, after all, are free, but crafting the story in such a way as it (a) is news-worthy and (b) reflects positively on the product or business is an art. Hatchigan’s work explains the techniques and tools professionals use to create “news” for their programs.

While Hatchigan focuses on disseminating information through traditional news outlets, much of her content applies to blogs as well. I have been a part of several attempts at using blogs to generate interest around events, and several times they have fallen flat because there was no “news” to link to. While crafting “press-releases” doesn’t seem an effective way of reaching bloggers, Hatchigan’s principles about how to capture an audience through writing are clearly applicable. What are these principles? For those, you should read the book. I did, and no doubt will return to it often in the future.

Why Volumes? I have no idea. It just seemed right.

I missed last night’s session due to grading, but these are a few thoughts from tonight.

Socrates’ relationship to Theaetetus is as a midwife to a person in labor, or so the famous analogy goes. It is curious, though, that rather than only asking questions to bring Theaetetus’ ideas to birth, Socrates gives Theaetetus a long exhortation that is more sermon than question. It is as if Socrates is inducing labor in Theaetetus through his sermon, as he says in 149D: “And what’s more, the midwives by giving drugs and signing incantations are capable of arousing labor pains…” If there is no room for articles of faith in purely Socratic education, there is room for rhetorical challenges to pursue knowledge. The ruse works, as Theaetetus finally accepts the task of saying what knowledge is. He is en-couraged. Socrates has “manned” him with his words.

Unfortunately, Theaetetus’ definition is not very sound. He derives it from Protagoras, and it is essentially a post-modern approach to knowledge: knowledge is simply perception. As the dialectic unfolds, Theaetetus (and by extension, Protagoras!) is trapped in an obvious contradiction, recognizes it, but to escape it affirms the ridiculous (154D). The rebuke from Socrates is swift. The scene is troubling. Theaetetus’ claim that “it’s shameful not in every way to be eager to say whatever one has,” which he had uttered just after Socrates’ incantation, is forgotten when Theaetetus realizes that what he said was nonsensical. Why? It’s quite possible that Theaetetus is not willing to break ranks with Protagoras, a man of no little distinction. For the young learner, association with “the right people” is more valuable than actually understanding the truth.
The lessons are many: one, “waking students up” to the dialectic can be done through exhortation and incantation. Rhetoric is a useful tool for education, but obviously not sufficient, as Theaetetus reverts to his old ways very quickly. Though Socrates proclaims no ‘article of the faith’ to Theaetetus, he does move the learning process along through a long exhortation that is centered around Socrates’ role as midwife. (150C-151). Additionally, learning sometimes demands departing from those who taught us, particularly if they taught us badly. It is no easy task, especially for young people who may still be very much attached.

Theaetetus’ demonstrates an “a-rational” attachment to his ideas, an attachment grounded more in his affective state than in his perception of the truth. Overcoming these affective roadblocks is difficult, but necessary. It will be interesting to see whether Theaetetus becomes the sort of man who is able to become the sort of learner Socrates thinks he might be.

I came across this encomium to logic and thought it was very worthy of a post:

Logic is very beneficial because it frees our minds from faulty reasoning. It is with ease that I can praise logic, because of its obvious design: to use our intellectual powers correctly and to improve others and ourselves. In this essay I will praise logic because of its expediency to mankind. Reason has made the minds of men clear, even in the most difficult and stressful situations. Logic is the best tool we can use to reach the truth; therefore, it should be held in high esteem.

To have rational and truthful arguments we must first discuss and critique them with others; thus, communication is the “nation” in which reason dwells. To communicate our ideas we must use syllogisms and arguments. Although God did not create logic, it is an attribute of Him. Because man was made in God’s image, reason is reflected in the minds of people.

The goal of logic is to service mankind. When one gains reason, his character is strengthened and he turns from any faulty ideas he may have had. As a result, right judgments about common and sacred ideas are produced.

Logic does a triumphant deed in a world that is filled with fallacies. It vindicates and defends the truth in order to sort out reality from fabrication. Once someone has mastered logic, he can do this.

Logic is the stairwell up to the truth. Each rational action dutifully enables one to think more clearly in his pursuit after truth.

The learned and prudent are made wise and insightful through reason. For the rest of their days they will carry these qualities because the Lord granted these attributes to the men who love learning.

Who would compare false rhetoric to logic? This kind of “flattery”, as Plato calls it, may draw people over to the rhetorician’s point of view, but it does not reveal any of the truth that reason brings. Just as outward beauty and vanity are worthless compared to inner beauty and truth, so false rhetoric is rubbish compared to logic.

Though many more things could be said about the magnificence of logic, it is here that I will end my praise.