What does Nicholas Wolterstorff make of Richard Sennett's The Craftsman (Yale University Press, 2008)? About half-way through the review, Wolterstorff critiques Sennett's advocacy of animal laborans' (i.e., the laboring human being, who asks How?) ability to function separate from homo faber (i.e., the human being who asks Why? and assumes the role of guide/critic to animal laborans) or at least a conversation in community regarding the ethics of particular crafts. In particular, Wolterstorff uses Sennett's … [Read more...] about Thinking with Your Hands: Part II
end of education
Thinking with Your Hands: Part I
In the March/April edition of Books & Culture: A Christian Review, Nicholas Wolterstorff's review of Richard Sennett's The Craftsman (Yale University Press, 2008) raises concerns of particular relevance to Emerging Scholars. First, Wolterstorff digs into Sennett's critique of the lower status given to animal laborans (i.e., the laboring human being, who asks How?) in relationship to homo faber (i.e., the human being who asks Why? and assumes the role of guide/critic to animal laborans). Some quotes from The … [Read more...] about Thinking with Your Hands: Part I
What Life and Higher Education Asks of Us
HT to Arlene Miller, retired nursing faculty at Messiah College (Grantham, PA) and co-author of two InterVarsity Press Books (Called to Care: A Christian Worldview for Nursing and Values in Conflict: Christian Nursing in a Changing Profession), who shared with me What Life Asks of Us. What do I find of interest regarding David Brooks' NY Times Op-Ed piece? The individualism of modern culture reinforced by groups of professors, such as those at Harvard, who define the purpose of liberal education as … [Read more...] about What Life and Higher Education Asks of Us
Reaching “The End of Education?”
While posting Colleges ignore life's biggest questions, I was reminded of Neil Postman's The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School -- a book which I believe after a dozen years still remains a must read for those involved in education. In my review of The End of Education, I conclude: Postman's The End of Education provides an excellent critique of the current approach to schooling and education, but fails to assert a compelling alternative for the follower of Christ. In the end, a sense of the … [Read more...] about Reaching “The End of Education?”
Colleges ignore life’s biggest questions
Last fall Anthony Kronman, Sterling Professor of Law at Yale, kicked off the academic year with a Boston Globe op-ed entitled Why are we here? Colleges ignore life's biggest questions, and we all pay the price. In response, Comment hosted an excellent on-line mini-symposium with several scholars including Steven Garber (Director, Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation and Culture), Dr. James K. A. Smith (Associate Professor of Philosophy, Calvin College), and Greg Veltman (Ph.D. Student, University of … [Read more...] about Colleges ignore life’s biggest questions