Adding more not to defend myself, but to keep the conversation going:
I think that many Enlightenment ideas are great and valid regardless of their creatorsâ typical-for-their-time ideas.
Education increasingly includes rather radical components of critical race theory. Students are taught that if someone is racist, then all of their political and philosophical views are tainted. By extension, many people learn that the Enlightenment itself is tainted. Like Charles, I think that this âproduces misguided perspectivesâ.
Iâmâapparently badlyâtrying to communicate the following. These students, who have been taught that the Enlightenment is tainted by association with racism, who (reasonably!) havenât bothered to thoroughly research this particular historical movement to come to their own conclusions, who may totally make great EAs, would initially be turned off.
Itâs quite plausible that it shouldnât be the case that Enlightenment aesthetics might turn people off. But I think this is the case, and I argue that itâs likely more important to make a good first impression than to take a stand in favor of a particular historical movement.
Thanks very much, that helps!
Adding more not to defend myself, but to keep the conversation going:
I think that many Enlightenment ideas are great and valid regardless of their creatorsâ typical-for-their-time ideas.
Education increasingly includes rather radical components of critical race theory. Students are taught that if someone is racist, then all of their political and philosophical views are tainted. By extension, many people learn that the Enlightenment itself is tainted. Like Charles, I think that this âproduces misguided perspectivesâ.
Iâmâapparently badlyâtrying to communicate the following. These students, who have been taught that the Enlightenment is tainted by association with racism, who (reasonably!) havenât bothered to thoroughly research this particular historical movement to come to their own conclusions, who may totally make great EAs, would initially be turned off.
Itâs quite plausible that it shouldnât be the case that Enlightenment aesthetics might turn people off. But I think this is the case, and I argue that itâs likely more important to make a good first impression than to take a stand in favor of a particular historical movement.
Hope that makes sense!