We live in a world of society who reveres intelligent people. This is the reason why we perceive intellectualism as the one sure thing that can lead us to success.
Talking about intellectualism itself is an area of subjectivity. I am in no position to either define or classify what intellectualism is. Everyone is free to label anyone as intelligent; no one is ever going to be bothered to check or verify his/her IQ test scores, exam result, how many books he has read, how many quizzes he has won so on and so forth.
I have no problem with the fact that society cherishes smart people, as they deserve the credit for their hard work, and most importantly it is gift from God. My worries are on how a person’s attitude towards acquiring knowledge can be damaging to the individual itself as well as the society as an aggregate. A person who places extremely high emphasis on ‘gaining knowledge’ will somehow unable him/her from reacting to the world in a more 'fair' manner. It follows, by having intense desire to become smart or knowledgeable, there will be other aspects of life that has nothing to do with intellectualism, to...
[More]
Tags:
academic, ethic, university
Posted at: 09:00 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
I’m already 18. But I still can’t justify why university education is important. How pathetic is that? Here I am, in Victoria University of Wellington. It feels really good to finally be in uni – a great place to gain knowledge, meet intelligent people, develop and exchange ideas – everybody knows that. But why should we go to university in the first place? Peter November, my FCOM lecturer once posed the question "Why are you at university?" The first thing that crossed my mind was a degree – the target set by most parents and teachers. Contradictorily to my answer, his answer was “to ask questions”. Peter is a rather philosophical guy, therefore his answer was meant to be somewhat philosophical too. Regardless of what he meant by that, I am keen to disagree to it. It did not sound quite right to me. Imagine paying a total of NZ$70,000 for tuition fees. Coming here just to ask questions is simply inadequate.
My father was sent to university by his parents so that they could overcome poverty. So is that why people go to university? To get a degree, earn high salary and live an extravagant life, if...
[More]
Tags:
university
Posted at: 06:39 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
