479: What’s the point of the university? Have they become subversities?

The boys drink and review Lucky 7 Porter from Evo, then discuss the purpose and role of universities.

Why do we have so many majors in university? Why not have a basic education, then specialize at the masters and doctorate level?

Early on, universities were “finishing schools for nobility.” They taught how to think critically, how to communicate, how to be a cultured person, and how to fit in with the rest of European society.

There is a cultural good to having an educated population, which is why we provide publicly funded education.

Many of the universities were originally founded to train preachers and pious, civic-minded people. They’ve changed their emphasis over time. They still want to train people to be good citizens, but they’ve lost the concept of virtue and a common culture with common values. Often the universties are a hotbed of hostility towards our culture. They’ve become “subversities.”

There used to be a common understanding of “the good.” There isn’t anymore.

The boys then discuss the recent changes, where students are protected from ideas that might make them uncomfortable. They’re given “trigger warnings” and cry rooms.

We’re not producing free thinking, emotionally mature grown-ups who can go out into the world.

Jon Haidt recommends that universities focus on “anti-fragility,” which requires stress and pressure.