meaning

Must read. Classic.

Victor Frankl

Think, for example, of how words “community” and “conversation” are now employed by those who use the Internet. I have the impression that “community” is now used to mean, simply, people with similar interests, a considerable change from an older meaning: A community is made up if people which may not have similar interests but who must negotiate and resolve their differences for the sake of social harmony… As to “conversation”, two (or more) people typing messages to each other are engaged in activity quite different from what is usually called a conversation.

Neil Postman

These ideas - that people create meanings by the names they use, and we are free to rejects the names that are given - are central to language education, and are one’s principal source of defense against a culture in which propaganda is the largest industry.

Neil Postman

I write for those who are still searching for a way to confront the future, a way that faces reality as it is, that is connected to a humane tradition, that provides sane authority and meaningful purpose… Where should we look for such a way? Well, of course, one turns first to the wisdom of the sages, both near and far. Marcus Aurelius said, “At every action, no matter by whom preferred, make it a practice to ask yourself, ‘What is his object in doing this?’ But begin with yourself; out this question to yourself first of all. ” Goethe told us, “One should, each day, try to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if possible, speak a few reasonable words.” Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living. ” Rabbi Hillel said, “What is hateful to thee, do not do to another.” The prophet Micah: “What does Lord require of thee but do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with The God.” And our own Henry David Thoreau said, “All our inventions are but improved means to an unimproved end.”

Neil Postman

With the assistance of modern contraceptives, the sexual appetite of both adults and children can be satisfied without serious restraint and without mature understanding of its meaning. Here, television has played an enormous role, since it not only keep the entire population in a condition of high sexual excitement but stresses a kind of egalitarianism of sexual fulfillment: sex is transformed into a product available to everyone - let us say, like mouthwash or under-arm deodorant.

Neil Postman

Without a narrative, life has no meaning. Without meaning, learning has no purpose. Without a purpose, schools are houses of detention, not attention.

Neil Postman