Comments on: From Around the Web: Worth a Look

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:19:49 +0000

From Kimball;
“To some extent, we owe the infestation of “critical thinking” to that great twentieth-century movement to empty minds while at the same time inflating the sense of self-importance, or, to give it its usual name, Progressive Education. It was John Dewey, after all, who told us that “education as such has no aims,” warned about “the vice of externally imposed ends,” urged upon his readers the notion that “an individual can only live in the present.” (The present, Dewey said, “is what life is in leaving the past behind it,” i.e., a nunc stans of perfect ignorance.)”

Just so.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:22:29 +0000

Wiggenstein’s Poker was a fun book.

By: Morning's Minion

Morning's Minion — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:58:42 +0000

Elizabeth went to to become Wittgenstein’s literary executor.

By: jonathanjones02

jonathanjones02 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:19:02 +0000

Wiggenstein’s Poker has a story similar to that one. He was a strange character.

By: blackadderiv

blackadderiv — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:06:00 +0000

The story about the Albanian virgins reminds me of a story I once heard Cardinal George tell about Wittenstein and Elizabeth Anscombe (talk about statistically improbable sentences!) According to the story, Wittgenstein didn’t think women should be philosophers, and didn’t want women in any of his classes. When Anscombe first started attending his lectures, he was apoplectic. Eventually, though, he decided that he would deal with the problem by acting as if Anscombe was a man. So one day he went into class, looked around, and said something to the effect of “okay, now that all the women have left, we can begin.”

Strange guy. On the bright side, though, at least he didn’t make Anscombe swear an oath of lifetime virginity (she had seven kids).