Combining Texts

Ideas for 'Against Coherence', 'Fragments' and 'The Ethics'

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2 ideas

25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 5. Education / c. Teaching
The best use of talent is to teach other people to live rationally [Spinoza]
     Full Idea: There is nothing by which a person can better show how much skill and talent he possesses than by so educating men that at last they will live under the direct authority of reason.
     From: Baruch de Spinoza (The Ethics [1675], IVApp 09)
     A reaction: Speaking as a retired philosophy teacher, I think this is an excellent idea, but then I would, wouldn't I? What if you turn a nice warm-hearted friendly young person into a chillingly detached heartless reasoner?
25. Social Practice / E. Policies / 5. Education / d. Study of history
Dividing history books into separate chapters is disastrous [Weil]
     Full Idea: The division of history textbooks into chapters will cost us many disastrous mistakes.
     From: Simone Weil (Fragments [1936], p.131)
     A reaction: Nice observation. The point is that we fail to grasp what really happened if we draw sharp lines across history.