Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Beginning

January 25, 2010


Culture in the Least Likely Form

As an anthropology major, I am taught that culture is everywhere and everything. Humans live in a never-ending cycle of culture; we use, eat, create, and are affected by culture. Culture can be written, seen, or experienced. That is why, for my essay, I am choosing to write about the quote in the atrium of the Liberal Arts Building. Firstly, it serves to define the purpose of a liberal arts college. The quote is in large gold letters and is visible as soon as one walks into the building from the main entrance. It is the Socratic quote: “There is only one good knowledge and one evil ignorance.” It can be considered art, or decoration. Mainly, it is a literally spelled out symbol of the college. The purpose is to educate wholly, from many perspectives. Socrates was a philosopher of Ancient Greece; he is considered a founder of Western philosophy. Although Socrates represents Western ideas, he also represents classical knowledge and inquiry into the sciences and humanities. Each floor, containing two or more academic departments, in the Liberal Arts Building has its own quote concerning the disciplines housed on the floor. However, as a whole, Liberal Arts majors are being taught that all knowledge is good and to stay, willingly or not, ignorant is evil. In a sense, it is evil because one lives socially, interacting with this culture.

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