Ethical Cultivation for Contemporary Citizenship
Location
Beaman A&B
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
27-9-2012 1:00 PM
Description
Epictetus warned: “It is the easiest thing in the world to slide imperceptibly into vulgarity,” which is understood literally as “lacking experience of the beautiful/noble.” This paper begins on the premise that we have collectively allowed ourselves to slip into vulgarity, about which the Roman Stoic warned, as evidenced by the current state of incivility dominating public discourse today. The challenge of the restoration of civility becomes the formulation of a method of effective resistance to the ever-rising tide of the legitimization of the base and profane. Reversing our collective giving sway to this movement will involve what is most difficult: undertaking a close examination, each of us, as individuals, of ourselves. In this talk, Dr. Lee aims to offer a model of understanding civility that ties it to individual responsibility and the courage of philosophical self-reflection. He finds the sources of his insight in the foundational pillars of Western Civilization, Plato and Aristotle, whose efforts to define and aspire to the good life are argued to have much to teach us today. Most importantly, he connects incivility with vulgarity and thus finds its antidote in a model of philosophical reflection that creates room for experience in things beautiful, thus acknowledging the aesthetic component of public discourse.
Recommended Citation
Lee, Clifford, "Ethical Cultivation for Contemporary Citizenship" (2012). Humanities Symposium. 14.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2012/2012/14
Ethical Cultivation for Contemporary Citizenship
Beaman A&B
Epictetus warned: “It is the easiest thing in the world to slide imperceptibly into vulgarity,” which is understood literally as “lacking experience of the beautiful/noble.” This paper begins on the premise that we have collectively allowed ourselves to slip into vulgarity, about which the Roman Stoic warned, as evidenced by the current state of incivility dominating public discourse today. The challenge of the restoration of civility becomes the formulation of a method of effective resistance to the ever-rising tide of the legitimization of the base and profane. Reversing our collective giving sway to this movement will involve what is most difficult: undertaking a close examination, each of us, as individuals, of ourselves. In this talk, Dr. Lee aims to offer a model of understanding civility that ties it to individual responsibility and the courage of philosophical self-reflection. He finds the sources of his insight in the foundational pillars of Western Civilization, Plato and Aristotle, whose efforts to define and aspire to the good life are argued to have much to teach us today. Most importantly, he connects incivility with vulgarity and thus finds its antidote in a model of philosophical reflection that creates room for experience in things beautiful, thus acknowledging the aesthetic component of public discourse.
Comments
Convo: AL