Author JD Cowan recently shared a post inspired by a video from author Hilary Lane that cuts straight to the heart of modern cultural decay: Our institutions don’t train creators; they manufacture content producers.This Substack is reader-supported.
C.S. Lewis talked about this in Screwtape Proposes a Toast. "The basic principle of the new education is to be that dunces and idlers must not be made to feel inferior to intelligent and industrious pupils. That would be "undemocratic." These differences among the pupils--for they are odiously and nakedly INDIVIDUAL differences--must be disguised." "The few who want to learn [i.e., excel] will be prevented--who are they to overtop their fellows?" This is in action now. See articles about Fairfax County, VA schools that WITHHELD merit awards earned by high-achieving students because it might have hurt the feelings of the "dunces and idlers" in their classes. In the past, failing to get a merit award would have been considered motivation to do better next time. Now we have to round off all the edges so no one gets hurt. "Let no man live who is wiser, or better, or more famous, or even handsomer than the mass. Cut them all down to a level. All equals. Thus tyrants could practice, in a sense, 'democracy.'"
Overall, congratulations on the text. However, from the second half onward, I find some differences. I don’t agree that beauty is something objective, nor that the creative act is related only to the sacred, the divine, or directly to God. I also find it too bold to claim that the 20th century was a complete failure. The 20th century represented a complex web of exchanges, discourses, and movements that we still cannot fully understand today, as we lack the necessary historical distance. I believe this text takes advantage of a crisis (that of creativity and art) to revive and legitimize an old, elitist discourse that sets us back as human beings. Art and creativity are human matters, not divine ones; they are within everyone’s reach, and it depends on us how deeply we develop them and how we relate to them.
I was homeschooled and graduated in 2022. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me. My parents, who are both Christian Conservatives, helped to ensure that my beliefs aligned with Scripture and that I wouldn't twist it to my own desires. I had some troubles such as being bad with word problems and not being good at critical thinking. But nonetheless, I am solid in my beliefs especially because I have been listening to solid Christians and more recently, YouTube channels that give me the info I need on nerd culture.
Hey, great read as always. Your insights into the educational system's evolution are truly brilliant. Do you believe AI could offer a path to geniune creative formation, or just optimize content production?
C.S. Lewis talked about this in Screwtape Proposes a Toast. "The basic principle of the new education is to be that dunces and idlers must not be made to feel inferior to intelligent and industrious pupils. That would be "undemocratic." These differences among the pupils--for they are odiously and nakedly INDIVIDUAL differences--must be disguised." "The few who want to learn [i.e., excel] will be prevented--who are they to overtop their fellows?" This is in action now. See articles about Fairfax County, VA schools that WITHHELD merit awards earned by high-achieving students because it might have hurt the feelings of the "dunces and idlers" in their classes. In the past, failing to get a merit award would have been considered motivation to do better next time. Now we have to round off all the edges so no one gets hurt. "Let no man live who is wiser, or better, or more famous, or even handsomer than the mass. Cut them all down to a level. All equals. Thus tyrants could practice, in a sense, 'democracy.'"
Overall, congratulations on the text. However, from the second half onward, I find some differences. I don’t agree that beauty is something objective, nor that the creative act is related only to the sacred, the divine, or directly to God. I also find it too bold to claim that the 20th century was a complete failure. The 20th century represented a complex web of exchanges, discourses, and movements that we still cannot fully understand today, as we lack the necessary historical distance. I believe this text takes advantage of a crisis (that of creativity and art) to revive and legitimize an old, elitist discourse that sets us back as human beings. Art and creativity are human matters, not divine ones; they are within everyone’s reach, and it depends on us how deeply we develop them and how we relate to them.
This must be why I hate all the new crap. I was raised before the brain dead conditioning and indoctrination hit full swing.
I was homeschooled and graduated in 2022. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me. My parents, who are both Christian Conservatives, helped to ensure that my beliefs aligned with Scripture and that I wouldn't twist it to my own desires. I had some troubles such as being bad with word problems and not being good at critical thinking. But nonetheless, I am solid in my beliefs especially because I have been listening to solid Christians and more recently, YouTube channels that give me the info I need on nerd culture.
Hey, great read as always. Your insights into the educational system's evolution are truly brilliant. Do you believe AI could offer a path to geniune creative formation, or just optimize content production?