The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-09-13
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION


eral interesting gyrations, feebler
and feebler as its strength was being
Slapped by numerous collisions and
humdrum needs. Experimental sci
ence has gained apace. The marvels
of the universe (no longer idly adj
ored as holy mystery are being
utilized for common drudge's sake.
A socio-political metamorphosis is
everywhere fermenting. Socialism
has leaped to the front These rat
Ting changes have necessitated a
newer culture: The socio-scientifc or
sociologic culture. BY a series of ter
ribly wasteful conflicts, the dawning
culture has emerged partly tri-
umphant, shining too often by the re-
flected light of the older resistant
cultures
Though Professor James Harvey
Robinson smartly defines theology as
an imaginary subject, many intelligent
persons still cling lovingly to its con
selling mysteries. Mystery worship
maketh ignorance at home in a hos
tile world! Metaphysics is still the
exclusive delight of those merry men
who are so bored by the sordid prob
lens Of workaday life that they needs
must romp and frisk in the green
fields of Ell Dorado. They corrupt"
youth by shunting its limited capabili-
ties from immediate ineligible things
to remote, largely meaningless alb
stractions. Still, peace be with them!
Bad habits do not die in a day.
The ancient linguistic culture has
so demoralized the educated snobs,
they actually believe science to be
of secondary, possibly tertiary i'm
portance in a welLbalanced curricu-
lum. Schopenhauer made the hys-
terical prophecy that the world Of cul-
ture was committing suicide by per-
hitting the supersession of Latin and
Greek by modern" languages. He
forgot that before Greek and Latin
had become transcendent cultures,
great civilizations had fourished and
vanished, like the Minoan in Crete,
the Hittite, Egyptian, Babylonian, Az
tee, ct. al. What exasperating non
sense it is to claim that there is only
one royal road to Salvation by Cul-
turee A scholar may be chock full of
linguistics and yet be a pathetic dull
lard in Analysing his own emotions
and prepossessions. What babbling
incompetent such a scholar really is.
More poetry, more drama, more
knowledge, more reverence and wis
dom are to be culled from the study
of embryology or geology or any 9TH
err of the marvelously stimulating olo-
gies than the most incorrigible lin
quist could ever garner from his wor-
shipful, memoriter studies. Languag-
es should not only not be studied as
desiderata per se," but solely as aids
to understanding the scientific
achievements of man. The whole
evolution of life is our star witness
to prove that language stumbled in
to the world as an aid to recording
and facilitating useful inventions.
Language itself is a useful invention.
Excessive leizure, dwelling on a
mount Of security, remote from the
afflicted vulgus, prostituted scholar
ship by its too exclusive worship of
culture for cultures sake, /. g. for
the sake Of prestige.
Our immediate inference is that the
logic of cultures evolution unmistak-
ably points to the ascendency of a
socio-scientific culture, professor
Robinson called it anthropologicaD as
the best adapted to an understanding
Of the age in which we live. Shortly
we shall witness in high school and
college Qater in university and ele-
mentary school radical change in
curriculum. There will be either no
absolutely required subjects at all or
more probably social sciences will be
gladly accepted in lieu Of linguistics
We shall all learn as of necessity to
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