Quote:
Originally Posted by anamardoll
Sure, agreed. But -- as you pointed out -- it's very Western thought. And most of it is fairly well directed at the people on top of the pile, as it were. 
If the point of reading "classics" is to broaden one's horizons, seems like it would be better reading from the POV of the disadvantaged in societies...  |
I don't see the point of reading the classics as being broadening one's horizons. I see it as a workout for the mind. Sure, reading the Classics will increase your knowledge, but that's a byproduct. The point is to increase your understanding.
Nor do I agree that the Classics are directed at the people on the top of the pile. They are directed at the people who think. The pile is not static, at least in the West. And people at the top and bottom of the economic pile at any one time are not necessarily the people at the top or bottom of the intellectual pile.