The degradation of the study of classics is symptomatic of the overall degradation of our education system in general.
It used to be that an emphasis was placed in universities on an understanding of history, and of the ancient debates that form the foundation of our modern society. The better your understanding of the past, it was thought, the better your understanding of the present would be. Under this way of thinking, western civilization was built and maintained, using governmental and economic systems with their roots 2000 years in the past.
This has all changed in the past century. Our focus myopically shifted to the here and now, with any study of history mocked as "irrelevant." The result has been that university is now seen exclusively as a pathway to employment. It fulfills this function well enough, but now graduates are too specialized to comment on general issues with anything approaching wisdom.
Those who favor the practical realities of the world study STEM fields and ignore everything else, but the humanities have not been spared from this trend either. Because those studying them now do so because they want to commit their entire life to them, it has become necessary to invent practical uses where previously none existed. So humanities has splintered into many separate "studies," which teach that something is wrong in the world, that human nature can somehow change, and that it is their job to do it, no matter how many traditions must be upended.
Thus the study of classics perishes, and the result is an ever-increasing tide of SJWs, and an inexcusable acceptance of Marxism.
>>56641262
Those who dont study history are doomed to repeat it.
Like the fall of Rome --> Western Civilization
I've realized that as an electrical engineer I'm guilty of destroying society
>>56641262
>>56641320
Philosophers, artists, clerics, politicians, and bankers are the most guilty professions, but all are in some way or another.
>>56641545
In a way all of us engineers and scientists are.
We all have a duty to be culturally literate, so that those who have devoted their lives to tearing apart the system that's brought us this far do not take over society with no resistance.
>>56642460
not only culturally illiterate, but I'm starting to feel that technology as a whole (as far back as electricity) degrades society and morality by nature.
fuck it's hard to reconcile this with the fact that I love building and programming things but I guess I'm a degenerate failure
is there any way to reconcile with my love-hate and just read some classics to become good at both things, or do I need to repudiate it and go Amish. Every day I fear that rejection of technology entirely is the only way to be a good man
>>56643586
>>56643402
Balance should be the goal. Human nature never changes no matter what technology is available, and what's been lost is an understanding of human nature.
>>56643402
So it is when the tools dictate purpose.
>>56641262
I wish we would have studied more Philosophy in high school, and less "Afrikun Ameriken studees"
>>56647952
let it snow
Speaking of "Classics", several people on here have said before that people should learn Latin and Ancient Greek. But why?
>>56647952
LET IT SNOW
>>56647116
I feel like there's no point in inventing anything anymore because EVERY worthwhile purpose was solved a century ago. For every invention since AC power the purpose has been to benefit the elite and centralize their power
>>56647952
It's already snowing in Germany.
>>56641262
I had a 2 hour argument with a fellow STEM major about this very thing. He said that history is totally irrelevant and won't help him in any way. I failed to convince him otherwise. Personally I don't think that humanities should even be offered as a major but should be required courses for any degree.
>>56648215
That's probably not necessary. It's perfectly acceptable to read Latin and Greek works that have been translated. Actually knowing the languages was used to weed out posers back when this knowledge was important socially.
>>56647308
What purpose does teaching doctrine like that serve? Why do children need to learn not to be hateful of a certain group? They'll just hate someone else.
Philosophy and particularly classical philosophy seeks to find questions that will always be relevant.
I went from thinking that I can help the weak or disabled by making technologies for them (which was a goal of mine for a long time), to realizing that everything good has been done and everything I ever make would be another weapon to go against mankind. Hell maybe the disabled are that way for a reason to teach them a lesson.
Only people can help the suffering, and the more tools they use the more it just benefits middlemen and distances the process from being human. Every single thing I studied was fucking worthless and no better than studying how to get good at a video game
>>56648426
Give winter-chan more power!
>>56648523
You should tell him that the shit happening in American universities now is just like what was happening in Mao's China and in Russia. No one expects the Cultural Revolution.
>>56648523
I went to an ivy league university with a tradition of teaching classics, the SJW's destroyed it by forcing the core curriculum to include african studies and such, and making the discussions about classical greek literature focus on women and other bullshit like that. And it's not even required for engineers, I completely regret not taking it anyway back when I was a sophomore. I read a decent amount of classic lit in high school actually but I need to get back to it.
>>56648905
What is wrong with these people? They're ruining university.
I read some African literature as part of a Cultural Studies class but it was terrible...literally terrible. The sermons from the freed black slaves were nice enough to read in American Lit, but there was a focus on all the traditional literature. They just did one class on women and one class on blacks in history and literature classes so they could get the progressives to shut up. It worked well. Poor Ivy league. ;_;
>>56647952
Let it snow!
>>56649398
I just satisfied my enrichment quota by studying Chinese history from a prof in the History department (NOT the Asian studies department which was full of libtarded California Asians hell bent on dragging the only successful US minority down to nigger levels of victimhood)
>>56648798
It literally is though.
It was nice being able to objectively learn about how some of the powerful Chinese dynasties were ruled by Steppe Caucasians or at least empowered by their inventions). The guy who overthrew the Tang dynasty for example was a Persian named Roksham (An Lushan in mandarin)
>>56649924
I didn't really have an enrichment quota to have, I just had to have different areas of the world to study. I took Chinese history from a Korean professor that the whole class laughed at. He would literally draw a shitty map of China on the board while talking about military conquests. It was hard keeping a straight face at that tbqh
Any stories about Asian studies in California?
>>56650106
Pretty soon they'll be calling themselves the Red Guards.
>>56641262
benis
Good idea. Balance of pursuits and pondering of big questions is something everyone capable should do. People need to understand that everything they learned has perspective and that they themselves have perspective and bias. Read Politics, for example, which espouses a democracy of those who are educated enough and having enough free time to think properly and NOT damn near everyone, which is the doctrine of equality that we see today. The origins and variants of democracy need to be investigated by every capable westerner for his own benefit and that of his people.
>>56651805
18 year olds that listen to Justin Beiber and Miley Cyrus that vote based on the hotest one do not have any right to vote.
i think the problem is modern societies moved too fast and expected its peoples to play catch up or get left behind and bit the dust hard. I actually can't word what I want to type out like how I want it to come out and makes me feel retarded :/
>>56652503
That may very well be true for a lot of average working/poor/agrarian populations, but I wonder just how much genetics also plays a role in creating tiers of people based on how much they can do for a society. Or maybe it has something to do with being born in the right place at the right time with the right environment with the right genes...who knows?
>>56642460
Same here. Was comp eng, turned to humanities (PhD). I completely subscribe to what OP said. I actually heard a coworker actually say that there's no point in reading the "historical stuff" since it is so obviously wrong. Having a hard time hiding my power level.
