Once we recognize the values dimension of civic debates about proposed legislation and proposed courses of action, then we have thereby established that the reason why American voters should be philosophers, because adjudicating value claims involves the branch of philosophy known as ethics.
In a previous essay published at OpEdNews.com, "Whereforth Are Thou, Harvard?" I have explained that according to Walter J. Ong, S.J. (1912-2003), we need both closeness (proximity) and distance to understand something. The humanities provide us with the distance dimension that we need for understanding. I stand by the argument I presented in that essay, and I would recommend that essay to Nussbaum.
Instead of shucking off the humanities, Americans today should shuck off religion and religious traditions of thought. Americans today should go up to Athens for instruction in philosophy not up to Jerusalem for instruction, Isaiah the prophet to the contrary notwithstanding; not up to Rome and the Vatican for instruction; not up to Mecca and Medina for instruction or to any other purportedly religious source of instruction. Purportedly religious traditions represent pre-philosophic thought that should be shucked off in favor of philosophic thought as exemplified in Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Conclusion
So let's have a national debate about Nussbaum's new book.
Perhaps Rob Kall should invite Martha Nussbaum to talk on his radio show about her thesis that democracy needs the humanities, and to answer questions about it and objections to it.
Will liberals support her thesis that democracy needs the humanities? After all, Nussbaum herself is a liberal. Or will liberals endorse Obama's praise of career education?
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