Classical Tradition and Liberal Education

Author: Liu Xiaofeng / Chen Shaoming, Editors
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Liberal education liberates one from vulgarity. The ancient Greeks had a wonderful term for "vulgarity": they called it apeirokalia, describing a lack of experience with beautiful things. Liberal education bestows upon us experiences of the beautiful. Based on the nature of things, we can expect more direct help from a correct understanding of humanity than from science, and more direct help from sensitivity and refinement than from the spirit of geometry. If I am not mistaken, this is why contemporary liberal education is almost synonymous with reading ancient Greek classics. Just as others are delighted by a fine horse, a good dog, or a clever bird, I find greater joy in good friends. The wealth left behind by the ancient sages through writing it down, I explore with my friends, and we wander through it together. And if we discover something good, we pick it out and regard it as a rich harvest, provided it benefits us mutually. One must choose between the peace of mind brought by pleasant falsehoods and the peace of mind brought by vexing truths. Philosophy always longs for the walls of the world to fall, it breaks through the walls of the world, renounces attachment to the world (attachment to the world), and this renunciation causes pain. On the other hand, poetry, like religion, is deeply rooted in attachment to the world, but at the same time, poetry differs from religion because it can be used to serve detachment. Since poetry is rooted in detachment before philosophy, and since it strengthens and deepens attachment to the world, the philosophical poet is both world-loving and detached, a perfect mediator between these two.