[Hamlet, Act 2, ii]
Good entry. Thanks for writing so quickly. If you keep going quickly, you can build up freebies for later dates.
Good entry. Thanks for writing so quickly. If you keep going quickly, you can build up freebies for later dates.
Okay, it sounds like you want to learn things. We can do that. What exactly you want to learn is... a little bit less defined. You don't know what you don't know to learn...that's how we're supposed to start with wisdom. Socrates ran around ticking people off because he said we should admit that we don't know much. Solomon said that in even better terms too... The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Admit that you're... not the Lord. You're a human.
So... education. Learning. When you start walking, you might not know where you're going to end up, but you do have to pick a direction to go. Do you have any idea where to start? I have some ideas of what's important to learn, but I want you to think about it out loud (in writing), so that you know how to verbalize it. And verbalizing it, that's an important part of education, because the ability to speak and reason is part of what it means to be a human being.
So... education. Learning. When you start walking, you might not know where you're going to end up, but you do have to pick a direction to go. Do you have any idea where to start? I have some ideas of what's important to learn, but I want you to think about it out loud (in writing), so that you know how to verbalize it. And verbalizing it, that's an important part of education, because the ability to speak and reason is part of what it means to be a human being.
Wait. stop. Go read this. Your assignment is to write 1500 words about that article. In the first half explain what she said, and then explain in the other half whether you agree with her or not, and why. (Obviously, you're going to agree with her, so try to match up what she says with your life experiences and reasoning skills.) If you want to comment on what I say next, do that in an additional 500 words. Do so by Saturday evening before you go to sleep.
Then, in a hilarious note, listen to this: the greek word logos means "word," "speech/speaking," or "reason/logic." If you look at all of the things that came from this word, you might notice that they're all kindof related. When you have to put something into words, you have to make some kind of sense (logic) out of it. Being able to put things into words means being able to make sense of them. Our words might not be all that great, and our logic might not be all that correct about what we're talking about, but we still tried, and that's better than animals.
For example, if I say: "Winston Churchill is a carrot," I am somehow linking those two things together and making a statement about reality. I am clearly wrong, but i can describe it. Go ahead and try to find something that can't be put into words. You might think of something, but I bet you can't tell me what it is with words, you have to sort of kerfuffle around the edges and use similes and analogies and experiences and stuff. Good luck. Speech and Reason go together, and that's one thing that God gave us that makes us distinctly human. Being better at those makes us better at being human beings as God has made us. Education, particularly the Trivium* (grammar, logic, rhetoric), develops that aspect of our God-given humanity.
Humanity. What does it mean to be a human being? Who ARE you? You walk around all goofy on two legs, covered with patches of hair in weird places, and make noises at other hairless bipeds. We run and jump around and dress up in funny hats and assemble together to listen to other moderately hairy bipeds make funnier noises. What IS THIS? WHY? This is a good question.
This reveals two goals I have for us.
a) get good at grammar, logic, and rhetoric so we can
b) learn more about what it means to be a human being (anthropology = anthropos [human] + logos [words/reasoning about])
a) get good at grammar, logic, and rhetoric so we can
b) learn more about what it means to be a human being (anthropology = anthropos [human] + logos [words/reasoning about])
c) learn why human beings do some of stuff we do
and eventually,
d) learn more about the world in which God placed us. (cosmology = cosmos, [world] + ology [words/reasoning about])
What's missing from that list?
e) learn more about God. (theology = theos [God] + logos [words/reasoning about])
Why? Cos your pastor does that pretty regularly. And I'll dither around talking about God and how He connects to the rest of all of this, but your pastor is the primary one to trust for the God-teaching.
So. Go read, then write things.
So. Go read, then write things.
-Keaton
<><* This is a great book that explains and teaches those tools of learning. It's $6 online. get it while it's that cheap... usually it costs $20 or so.
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