In the Future

The more I have conversations with my friends about dead people, the great men and women of previous generations, the more I realize that we have a skewed view of ancestors, that we see them as iconic, and while there might be something to that, it creates a pretty unrealistic worldview.

I mean, the average high school graduate knows more about the way the world works than Aristotle. There are many great things that Aristotle said and did, but if he were alive today, talking about the theories presented in Politics, or in Physics or Metaphysics, he would be laughed out of a general education course.

No one accepts Aristotle's political morals anymore, and the modern ethicists (guys like Peter Singer) are so far beyond that it's incredible. Aristotle was a brilliant man, idolized by many, but why? Because he was at the peak of innovation, seems like the obvious reason, but that leads us to totally jump past his shortcomings.

Sitting in a seminar at Saint John's College, touring, I remember listening to students talk about Aristotle's Politics, the section on slavery. I was so sure I wanted to go to Saint John's that I was literally telling complete strangers where I was going to college next year (I had already been accepted, and was looking for a way to pay for it), but watching these students jump through hoops to make Aristotle seem like a modern ethicist was just ridiculous.

There were a lot of reasons why I decided not to go to Saint John's, or at least a lot of reasons I rationalized that decision, but this is one of the biggest.

Every classic has some value to it. Every great book has something to offer, whether fiction or nonfiction, ancient or modern. That doesn't mean it is a revelation from cover to cover. That doesn't make the author, or his philosophy, immaculate.

I like Dave Matthews' song "Where are You Going." I think it's a fantastic song with a great sound and beautiful imagery. Does that mean everything he's written is fantastic? No. I think most of his music is, but I acknowledge the songs that fall short, the couplets that don't quite work.

This isn't a stretch because we don't treat our musicians like messiahs, we don't treat them like prophets who's work is eternal, all transcending. This is how some people treat Aristotle. They love Ethics, and so they apologize for the failures of Politics. This is a mistake, and it's the same one that religious fundamentalists make.

Find the beauty in the context. Find the elegance in the time and place in which the theory was fabricated, but don't expect perfect, all consuming wisdom from individuals long gone. They were, after all, only people.