Nussbaum and de Botton agree about the value of the humanities, but disagree about the way they are taught at university
Click here to listen to Martha Nussbaum in conversation with Alain de Botton
We are in the midst of a crisis. But, according to the philosopher Martha Nussbaum, this crisis is not financial. It is a crisis of education. Governments worldwide are cutting back on funding for humanities courses, both at school and university level. In her recent book Not For Profit: why democracy needs the humanities Nussbaum passionately defends the importance of the humanities at a time when they are increasingly under threat.
By contrast, the writer Alain de Botton has questioned the way the humanities are taught at university level. Writing in Varsity last year, de Botton claimed that “the humanities have been forced to disguise, both from themselves and their students, why their subjects really matter,
Bob
Why do you only make your podcasts available to iTunes users? Some people neither use (nor want to use) iTunes. Some people are running operating systems (on desktops, laptops and mobile phones) that can’t run iTunes. Why not make your podcasts available to everyone as a straightforward mp3 download? Seems pretty exclusive for a magazine that promotes the free and open circulation of ideas.
David Wolf
Hi Bob, our podcasts are available as a direct mp3 download here:
http://inconversationwith.libsyn.com/rss
Bob
Thanks David. That’s great. Will bookmark the link for future reference. Perhaps you could post it on other podcast pages for the benefit of iPhobes.
Susan Greenberg
Interesting, but I am not sure de Botton’s criticisms of UK HE teaching are up to date; also, despite snobberies of current government, teaching in elite universities are often worse than in newer institutions.
(via facebook)
Paul Hebden
Yes, I wonder if de Botton is out of his depth a little. In some ways it’s not his fault. To use a sporting analogy he’s a ‘go to’ philosopher, for journalists. He crops up all over the media. Wayne Rooney performs a similar role for England (always available to take the ball) though is much better qualified.
(via facebook)
Prospect Magazine
@Susan: de Botton agrees with you on the subject of teaching – in the podcast he says that Oxford and Cambridge are among the worst offenders when it comes to bad teaching
(comment via facebook)
Susan Greenberg
Yes, he does – thanks for pointing that out. I should add that I generally enjoy and admire De Botton’s interventions, and agree with him that the academic world needs to do much more to explain itself, and foster public discussion.
Martha Nussbaum is right however to question his idea of replacing disciplines entirely with “themes” – not because the impulse has no validity, but because I think it has already been tried, and constant fiddling with structures is not the solution.
(via facebook)
Paul Hebden
I’d just like to temper my cynical comment above. De Botton’s willingness to participate in the public space is clearly a good thing. And I imagine that it is not always a simple thing for magazines, including Prospect, to secure contributions from a wide range of philosophers. It’s a shame because philosophical training is excellent for spotting the types of bad arguments and contradictions that regularly pop up in the public sphere.
(via facebook)