I have often wondered over the years what it is like to be Ralph
Ellison – an author who wrote a great book young and then spent the rest of his
life giving readings from the book, and listening to people wondering what he
was going to write next. Our perception of
such an author is completely different from our perception of an author who
writes his or her great work late in life.
And yet, in each case the authorial output is the same.
What on earth got me thinking about this today? Well, if you leave aside the fact that I am
not a great author, I was brooding during my morning walk about the big college
admissions scandal. I wanted to write
something serious about it, and then it occurred to me that in fact I had. Some years ago, I gave a talk at Teacher’s
College at Columbia, in which I said – rather well, it seemed to me – some things
I had thought about education for a long time.
“Why don’t I post that today?” I reflected. So when I got home, I reread the talk. I still liked it, though I did think I could
leave out one or two of the stories. But
out of an excess of caution, I checked to see whether I had ever posted it
before. And by God, it turned out I
had. Twice! AND THE LAST TIME ON MAY 30, 2018, ONLY TEN
MONTHS AGO.
Socrates remarks to Callicles that he does indeed talk about
the same things, and in the same way too.
Kant responded to critics who said the Moral Law was nothing more than
the Golden Rule by observing that since the truth never changes, of course what
he says has been said before. And
Kierkegaard built an entire book around the thesis that although the essence of
the aesthetic is novelty, the essence of the ethical is repetition.
But the blogosphere cares nothing for Socrates, Kant, or
Kierkegaard. It asks only, What have you
tweeted in the last nanosecond?
So I shall remain silent about the admissions scandal,
having had my say.
3 comments:
This post brings to mind not Salinger and, I presume, The Catcher in the Rye, so much as Vanevar Bush and his, in my opinion, mysteriously admired "As We May Think." Therein he utters such platitudes as, "There is a growing mountain of research. But there is increased evidence that we are being bogged down today as specialization extends," and "Professionally our methods of transmitting and reviewing the results of research are generations old and by now are totally inadequate for their purpose," to cite just two random examples in a lengthy article typically cited as a salutary anticipation of and inspiration for the Internet and World Wide Web, to which we owe the blogosphere, not to mention pop-up ads and "fake news." Bush had a vision, but it was a blinkered vision.
For convenience, here's a link.
https://robertpaulwolff.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-teachers-college-speech.html
Our good fortune in a way. I love some of these short "throw away" blogs. Crisp, well crafted, dotted with little surprises that inform and cause one to reflect. A gem.
Post a Comment