Newman’s essay “From Knowledge Its Own End”, stresses the importance the learning of not just practical knowledge but also liberal knowledge for enjoyment sake. He quotes Cicero “for we are all of us dwawn to the pursuit of Knowledge; in which to excel we consider excellent,whereas to mistake, to err, to be ignorant, to be deceived, is both an evil and a disgrace.”(Newman 515) I agree with that statement because with all the things I have learned or been taught, there has been a good proportion that I have never applied in life. I am still glad that I have learn those things even though I have not used them. Maybe someday I’ll put that knowledge to good use. I also find it pleasurable to be able to say sometimes ”I know what you are talking about”, about a random subject. Therefore I am always willing to learn something new, practical or not, except for math, which just confuses me.
Marie: Newman post September 5, 2007
This text has many things about it that make me respect Newman. First of all, he changed his religion in the midst of a time when catholicism was not socially acceptable in England, but still managed to succeed with his life and his goals. He still wanted to teach, but just in a different method, so he opened a school. These accomplishments show me that even though Newman had obstacles, he was never brought down and this “Catholic Education” theory was very interesting. The text quotes on page 513, “Newman understood “Catholic” in it’s broadest sense, including the meaning “universal” and he believed that a “Catholic Education” involved all branches of knowledge.” This idea led him to open his own private Catholic school so that he could teach others his revolutionary education system.
Newman September 4, 2007
I believe that knowledge is obviously easier to obtain when you enjoy learning it, however, learning only what you are interested makes you a very narrow person. Newman did not care so much about how you learned, but by what you were being taught. He says “Useful knowledge, has done its work; and liberal knowledge as certainly has not done its work.” He believed that people need to be trained for their future careers and make their lives more fulfilling. He thought that knowledge is its own reward.
lmccabe September 4, 2007
i feel like Newman is correct in his saying that knowledge need not serve any social purpose to be worth acquiring. One self is only going to learn something if they want to, if they dont it is pointless to educate them. If its not valuable to you then why learn it??
Caleb Deciphering Newman September 4, 2007
B) Newman says enjoyment plays a role in motivation to acquire knowledge. His point is that it can be enjoyable to learn new things without a hidden agenda, but for the fun of it. By knowledge being “of its own end”, Newman is saying that the need of human nature(to feel excellence and accomplishment) is being satisfied. Therefore, learning can be enjoyable without having any practical motivation driving it.
I find learning something for its own sake satisfying, but more enjoyable, for me to learn something that I know will have certain value or purpose later in life. Maybe this is because I am a right brained person, a logical thinking person, or maybe it is because I am a middle class person still pursuing a career and material things.
from Anne September 4, 2007
I think Newman is correct in saying, that not every kind of knowledge needs to surve a purpose. There have to be some people, which want to leave the cave (referring to Plato) and see the reality, come back to the rest and teach or lead us. Therefore we need Philosophers, Theologians and so on. Of course does the majority have to learn useful knowledge, otherwise our whole system would be break down, but we also need others to think for us and provide us with backgrounds to so many topics. A person can not live his whole life under the purpose of being useful, there are moments when a person needs to believe to a bigger plan or have to have some kind of comfort. And with things like this the liberal knowledge can provide us.
Newman September 4, 2007
When one enjoys what they learn they will continue learning and be motivated to learn further. In my opinion learning is most important for its use. We learn to help us in our lives. We need to obtain information to get jobs, graduate from school, and be able to continue with the demands from society. Although, from what I understand, Newman believes this information is useful rather than liberal because I am using this knowledge to gain honor or wealth not for enjoyment. But if I were to only learn what I enjoy, I would not be a well rounded person or a well mannered person.
Posting Two– Newman By Julia. GK September 4, 2007
B) I think Newman thought that motivation is key people seek for knowledge. Everyone has their own purpose for getting knowledge. Some of them want higher education then find good jobs. Some of them just like to study, because they are enjoy this moment. In my opinion, I feel getting knowledge is an enjoyable moment, because I can solve more problem by myself and no need to ask other people’s help.
Tommy Domingo Vs. Crazy Newman September 4, 2007
Just to set the record straight this was not the easiest read for me and believe me I took some time on it. What I got from Newman was that Knowledge needs to be sought whether it is enjoyable or not. He also said that knowledge is sought by most right after thier essential needs have been met. Once the human has aquired food, shelter, and water he will start to seek knowledge. But then there is two types of knowledge there is useful knowledge and then there is liberal knowledge. In the reading it says that either of these knowledges comes easy for different people. Like the slaves that were known for thier curing power in ancient times. They achieved this by honing thier craft into an art so they had gained liberal knowledge. At least a small aspect of what liberal knowledge is. Also Olympians and a historian named Xenophon had also gained some aspect of liberal knowledge. But for the people that possesed useful knowledge they could not obtain liberal knowlegde as easily. I’m not sure is that really answered the question. I think that knowledge personally is more enjoyable to me becuase of its use value. School is great and all but most of the time it’s not actual class time that gets me through the day it is the thought that I’m setting up my future through what I am doing in the class room. Just in closing this doesn’t have to do with the question I just wanted to say that I really liked the quote in this story, “;then may you hope with such keen and delicate instuments as human knowledge and human reason to control against those giants, the passion and the pride of man.”
posting two- newman September 4, 2007
Newman should be a guide to us all, his insight into what education should be is now the guide for modern colleges. Because of Newman we get the liberal education which we all deserve. Todays way of teaching, i.e. a liberal style is beneficial to far more people. this way of teaching is ultimately the reason that many of us find our true desire in life, whether it be finding the correct career to finding the right religion. i accredit many of the personal choices i have made over the years to the fact that i received a liberal education and was thus enlightened about many things i would not have thought of otherwise.
The Value of an Education September 4, 2007
B.) I really enjoyed Newman’s views on acquiring knowledge and how he thinks that motivation is key in acquiring knowledge. I feel as though all of us have a driving force or motivation to be in this institution of learning, maybe for some the motivation is not there and we have all seen those and they do not last long. Motivation propels us to take what knowledge is presented to us from institutions, from teachers, from life and value those ideas, after we have satisfied our materialistic needs.
I really feel as though the second part of this question is hard to answer. I feel as if I am sitting on the fence as to whether or not I feel that learning is most enjoyable for its own sake or for its value. I feel that education and presenting yourself as a intelligent well educated intellectual in this world is far more valuable to me than anything. I respect an intelligent person and it pleases me to know that there are people out there who value intelligent individuals. Having an education these days is more valuable than it has ever been. An education generally means more money in the future, higher social class, the possibilities are endless. However, the road is generally long and without this motivation that Newman talks about, it sometimes may just seem impossible to attain this knowledge and learning.
Newman by Mariko September 4, 2007
Question B:
I think Newman tries to say that the role of enjoyment in the motivation to acquire knowledge is to make people wise and keep them seek knowledge . Because it is fun , people continue it, if it is not , they don’t . In my opinion learning could be most enjoyable for its use value. For example, to get some certification, we do need to acquire knowledge for it . As we learn , we start to understand how to solve the problems and then we are getting close to pass the exam for the certification. At this point, learning could be enjoyable moment .
pip’s crazy thoughts on newman September 4, 2007
newman- useful knowledge (knowledge that has a practical application) liberal knowledge (knowledge that is pursued for its own sake) (p. 513)
reading this with the interruptions of two little boys, and as far as my brain was willing to function tonight, i figured new is saying useful knowledge is one where one would use for a particular study. such as we are stuyding for one particular field of interest in college. this liberal knowledge is like, how to flyfish. a personal preference. knowledge for leisure. plaots “allegory of the cave” to me just merely represented people who are looking for something more. the beginning of knowledge. those who seek more knowledge, who want to learn is the first step. newman is just saying there is more than just one type of knowledge. knowledge for personal use to make self “happy” like a hobby. then theres useful knowledge, one that helps you get a career and provide for a life to help maintain liberal knowledge. this is just how i see it. i could be wrong ya know.
Newmans education, by christian September 4, 2007
Education can be used for many different reasons. there is knowledge that can be applied to daily life such as completing tasks and getting jobs done. knowldege does not need to serve a higher purpose to be useful in life. Newman is correct about education, he says, “liberal education makes not the christian, not the catholic, but the gentleman”. this means that knowlegde doesnt need to doing anything but make you more educated on subjects. being a gentleman means having a well rounded view on the world. not everything must help you aquire weath or power. learning can be purley for enjoyment
Cam on Newman September 4, 2007
Answering question B:
For myself, I couldn’t figure out half of what Newman was trying to explain. All I caught was “liberal” this and “liberal” that. Somewhere in between I lost the point he was trying to make. To take a stab in the dark for the simply for purpose of posting for posting’s sake would be wrong of me, yet I shall do so anyhow. I think what Newman is saying is that for someone to pursue “liberal knowledge” there must a reason, a purpose or some sort. I think enjoyment could be a great motivator for the pursuit of liberal knowledge–I also think that’s what Newman thought as well.
For myself, I think that learning is most enjoyable when pursued on my own time. However, being forced through the public school system made me realize there is a lot of useful, applicable knowledge to be obtained that would not be pursued if I were on my own. So I think both cases are valid because it can enjoyable for its own sake and still have use value in every day life.
newman September 4, 2007
For thousands of years philosophers and mathmatitians and poets became famous because of their veiws on education and their different approaches. So what exactly makes Newman, “a man from the eighteenth century”, so much of revolutionalist when it comes to newer types of education. While reading Newman’s “from Knowledge Its Own End,” It became very clear to me that he did not so much as come up with a completly new idea of education. He mearly held education extremly high and felt that different theories and methods needed to be combined in order to create a highly intelectual person. Newman acknowledges greek philosophers in the idea that knowledge is everything and you must persue it, but how to persue it and why is where he is slightly different. Sacrates and Plato for instance felt that knowledge was something you must persue for a personal gain and that knowledge and wisdom were the key to life. Plato expresses that idealogy in the story “Allegory of the Cave,” when he explains leaving the cave and walking into the light, which is an allegory of leaving ignorance and begining to understand and learn more. Newman on the other hand never once dismisses Plato or any ancient Philosophers, but he does explain that you need more than just wiseman knowledge. He explains that you also need gentalmans knowledge and you must be able to comunicate and know how to come accross as an intellectual and mature person. Newman on the other hand is more of an upper class intellectual person who wants people to see him as a highly intelligent person, which is different from Plato and Sacrates who want to gain their own personal knowledge and try to understand as much as they can in their lifetime, but do not consider themselves any higher than any others because of their education.
Newman is also slightly different because he feels you must go to an institution and and learn about many different subjects “art, math, writting, ect…” and Pato feels more that you must study your own and question different people and learn from the world and people and texts around you. So Newmans idea basicly helped to change colleges and schools around the world into teaching multiple things rather than just one occupation such as a tech school.
by the way this is kinda based off the roughdraft off my short paper, so if anyone has any critasism or ideas please let me know so i can work on it and make my paper stronger. my email is Budluce@msn.com, or if you know how to message on this then thats cool too.
Coleridge Hand “it’s cool to stay in school” September 4, 2007
What are some of the practical applications of different kinds of knowledge, you ask? Well, we need knowledge to do anything, and when I mean anything, I mean anything. Take breathing for example, we know how to breath, because we learned it when we were born, and we have the knowledge of breathing. Now we breathe all the time. Same with walking, eating, and seeing. We learned these things to survive, I would count that as practical, wouldn’t you? Newman and Plato both agree that knowledge is important, but they have different applications for it.
I think Newman doesn’t want us to learn just to be popular at the Sunday morning book club meetings, but just because we can. In Plato’s allusion we need to find knowledge for ourselves, to become enlightened, or to overcome a task; such as leaving a “cave”. We all learn things, but we need the “want to learn” instead of the “It’s cool to learn” is what I believe the message is here.
Posting 2 – Newman – Due Wed 5 Sept September 1, 2007
For this posting, please answer one of the following questions. PLEASE PUT YOUR FIRST NAME IN THE TITLE.
A) What are some of the practical applications of different kinds of knowledge? Is Newman correct in saying that knowledge need not serve any “useful” social purpose to be worth acquiring? Why or why not?
B) In Newman’s opinion, what role does enjoyment play in the motivation to acquire knowledge? In your opinion, is learning most enjoyable for its own sake or for its use value? Explain your answer.
