I propose that all "philosophy" has hitherto been an evolution of specialized language predicated on fortifying a master-slave relationship between the educated and the uneducated. — whollyrolling
why don't you point out some of the dirt poor, destitute, starving, uneducated and socially outcast philosophers you speak of? — whollyrolling
I felt compelled to fill in the blanks because you were so vague. — whollyrolling
Descartes, Aristotle, Kierkegaard, Kant, Marx, just to pick a few at random off the top of my head. They were all born into affluent families and received "higher education" that was expensive and unavailable to a vast majority of people at the time. — whollyrolling
I propose that all "philosophy" has hitherto been an evolution of specialized language predicated on fortifying a master-slave relationship between the educated and the uneducated. — whollyrolling
They were all born into affluent families and received "higher education" that was expensive and unavailable to a vast majority of people at the time. — whollyrolling
It overlooks, and often even suppresses, the potential genius of the slave population. — whollyrolling
I propose that all "philosophy" has hitherto been an evolution of specialized language predicated on fortifying a master-slave relationship between the educated and the uneducated. — whollyrolling
Its primary directive has been to lend a label of "lesser being" to all who exist outside its pages--based on a subjective view of what is greater and what is lesser. — whollyrolling
It has far more often than not been a domain of birthright. It has been little more than a justification of hierarchies set forth by whoever inhabits the pinnacle of those hierarchies. — whollyrolling
That philosophy has once in a while happened upon a rational position is a Casino Royale of "intellect". It is to subscribe to the echoing voices of a few members of a dismally minute portion of civilization and to treat them as though they were the best the world had to offer at the time while it's statistically highly improbable.
It is mental gymnastics, a game of dice or straws until a position is empirically demonstrated. — whollyrolling
Its impact on intellectual pursuits and on innovation is especially hindering. — whollyrolling
War and finance, and sometimes art, have at least been dependent on "common people". — whollyrolling
Except that the education model we practice today was conceived in ancient Greece as a way to manipulate young impressionable minds, turn them into copies of a master intellect, copies which would in turn repeat this practice. It was specified that only the affluent should be involved in the process, and there wasn't much variance for quite some time.
I'm not talking about opportunity for the individual, I'm talking about progress for the society, I'm talking about diversity of intellectual resources. Philosophy from its beginning was overtly aimed at educating the elite, there are written records of it, there's nothing absurd in what I've said. The model still exists today.
We have written records of educated men from affluent families, that's what we have. Again, I'm not talking about personal circumstances, and I'm not talking about individual opportunities. I'm talking about stunting overall intellectual progress by limiting the pool from which it's drawn by intentionally leaving the majority of people in ignorance for the sake of governance.
Throughout history, the educated have been the master, the uneducated have been the slave. This relationship works in some ways, but there are other ways it has caused major setbacks for our species.
And yes, Aristotle and those before and after him did precisely what you're saying they didn't do. Education began with the notion of "philosopher kings", a concept of creating an educated ruling class to control an uneducated servant class. By the time Kant came around, who was also from an affluent family, the concept had been fixed firmly in place.
To this day, education, especially "higher education", is unavailable to countless people. My point is not that this was "unfair", but that it was inefficient. — whollyrolling
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