From: sanjiva@ecrc.de (Sanjiva Prasad)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: The trouble with gurus
Date: 13 Nov 92 17:35:10 GMT
Reply-To: sanjiva@ecrc.de (Sanjiva Prasad)
Organization: European Computer-Industry Research Centre, Munich

In article <BxKELG.I8p@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca> msmorris@watsci.UWaterloo.ca (Mike Morris  writes:
>
>Sanjiva Prasad writes:
>                   I attended this talk, Mumble actually, by Bloom where
>   he said the usual things about there being no non-Western literature, 
>   only to be met with a torrent of "But what about Indian and Japanese
>   and ...?" 
>
>I've heard some mumbling myself, especially about it being *usual*
>to say there's no non-Western literature. No doubt it's very commonly
>said, but I must admit I've never heard anybody actually say it.
>Also no doubt Bloom in person was very different from Bloom in print,
>but I must say that if _Closing of the American Mind_ were any gauge
>the notion that no non-Western literature exists would be a bizarre
>thing to attribute to Allan Bloom.

Bloom's talk was mostly an attack on Deconstructionists, and about the
attacks on classical liberal arts curricula.  I had no real problems
with most of his prepared talk -- I actually enjoyed the parts that
were not mumbled, especially since they angered this English Literature
student sitting next to us whom I quite heartily disliked.  But it was
the kinds of things he said about non-Western cultures that I found
quite ridiculous.  Yes, he started by saying that precious little
literature in the past came  from outside the West.  Then he had to
hastily clarify that he meant written literature.  When that was met
by another furious protest, he said that, of course, he wasn't talking
of India and Japan and China in when he used the term non-Western.  But,
he then added, the literature from there (India, Japan, China) was
either religious scripture or epics, and *some* philosophy (mainly 
metaphysics and ethics), but not analytical philosophy.  He certainly
didn't seem to have known much about classical Sanskrit drama, and even
vaguely suggested Greek literature may have influenced Indian.   A few
minutes of this stuff is quite enough to make you feel that he was bloody 
ignorant or silly.

Of course, he may actually have mumbled something else, and I misheard this
whole exchange.  I will agree that the people arguing with him were often
miscontruing what he said, but this was mostly due to his sloppy choice of
words.  And his stubbornness in not conceding that he had misspoken. 
Gurudom and too much time on the idiot box certainly eroded his grey cells.

I didn't refer to _Closing of the American Mind_, did I?  I haven't read the
book, other than skimming through it and deciding not to buy it because I
frankly don't care much about its subject.  The little Bloom I have seen
in print is a couple of short articles in papers or magazines, and then I
have seen him on TV.  I do agree with Bloom feeling concerned about Americans
not getting a good classical education, but it does trouble me if a classical
education means deliberate ignorance and disinformation about other 
literatures.

--
Sanjiva Prasad,  Guest Magus				E-mail: sanjiva@ecrc.de
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