Willis, Rob: Paglia

Camille Paglia published an article, “Revalorizing the Trades,” in the Chronicle of Higher Education.  Paglia decries the state of higher education, stating, “The idea that college is a contemplative realm of humanistic inquiry, removed from vulgar material needs, is nonsense.”  Paglia contrasts humanistic teachings with her art students who are possessed of a “Zen-like engagement with the physical world....”  Paglia's observations could not be further from the truth.

Paglia argues that in order for students to escape the cubicle farm of corporate culture, universities should focus on tangible skills at the expense of more intellectual course offerings.  Paglia is correct in as much as our society places little value on what it cannot physically possess.  Knowledge is only valued as much as the monetary compensation it can provide.  Trade-skills are valued because they produce tangible items we can hold, admire, and, ultimately, sell.

Individual perspective may be all we have left in this increasingly globalized economy.  Paglia alludes to an earlier age when young men were apprenticed to guilds to learn the trades that would support them throughout their lives.  As idyllic a return as this may be, these days are gone; we now live in a world where hundreds, if not thousands, of other people possess the same skills as their peers.  We must now define ourselves in other ways:  how we look at the world; how we interact with others; where do we go from here?

These questions are the proverbial “big questions,” and the only way to provide meaningful answers is to utilize our own unique perspectives.  The most valuable tools I have been provided to tackle these questions in my own life came from a foundation in philosophy.  The first day I sat down in a college classroom, I was confronted by a challenge – how does one know that he exists?  This line of questioning was reinforced later in the day when I was confronted with a language puzzle – if one states that “nothing” is in a desk drawer, can one then remove “nothing” from the drawer?  This may seem frivolous, but these were defining moments in my life because they planted a seed which continues to grow questions daily.

To be more specific, I see that we have two choices – allow higher education to continue unchanged, or accept Paglia's proposal and “revalorize” the trades by disposing of all parts which do not provide a tangible benefit.  The first to go should be philosophy; it is polluted by “pretentious postmodernist theory,” anyway.  Next, let's be done with creative writing of any sort -  no one need think further along than the next strike of the hammer.  In fact, we can simplify the whole process.  We could institute a caste-based system where trade-skills (highly valued, of course) are assigned from birth. 

I value the material work as much as any other.  I could not live my life without a veritable army of plumbers, electricians, carpenters, welders, roughnecks, policemen, firemen, and soldiers providing products and services I need.  But there will always be a division – a choice made by young men and women as they become adults.  Will they work with their hands, or work with their minds?  I see neither as less important than the other, but they are separate sets of skills.  As such, they require separate places of learning.  Leave things as they are, lest we lose what little perspective we have left in an increasingly homogenous society.