Based on Professor Bao Pengshan's speech.
Martin said that day, why is the United States strong? The United States is strong not because it is politically strong, not because it is militarily strong, nor because it is economically strong, but because its people are strong.
What is the strength of the nation? It is the strength of the people's creativity and the strength of the people's value judgment, and the people's ability to make correct judgments in the face of major issues of right and wrong. If we are faced with the same major issues of right and wrong, will our people be able to make the right judgment?
So, why do we read? Why read the classics? Why study Humanities? Why do all universities need a liberal education in addition to professional education?
Liberal education is humanistic education, and humanistic education is actually to tell you a value and inspire your own beliefs.
With such values and beliefs, gradually improve your judgment.
When something happens in this world, you will be able to judge right from wrong independently, rather than following the crowd or sensationalism.
▌Gentleman is not a tool: A person who thinks independently will not become a tool
Confucius has a saying, "A gentleman is not a weapon".
The meaning of these four words is that a gentleman is not only a professional and technical talent, but also a value judgment in order to become a gentleman, in addition to understanding some professional knowledge.
A gentleman must be able to judge not only his own professional issues, but also right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness in public affairs.
A sharp kitchen knife, you can use it to cut vegetables, or you can use it to cut people - this is called a "device". If you let this kitchen knife cut vegetables and it cut, let it cut people, and it resolutely refuses, then this kitchen knife should not be called a "device", it should be called a "gentleman's knife". In fact, we all know that this is impossible, the knife is originally a tool without subjective will, it can only be a "tool" forever.
But we are human beings, creatures with will and dignity, and we should not be worthy of the fate of tools alone. If a person is only very professional, but does not have his own independent judgment of right and wrong, let him do good things, and let him do bad things, then he is not called a gentleman, but can only be called a "device".
A person is not only very professionally capable, but also able to judge right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, does not reverse black and white, does not harm innocents, does not be a vassal of power, does his best to uphold justice, and discovers and creates truth, goodness and beauty - such a person is a sound person and worthy of being called a "gentleman".
▌Humanities education, let us distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness
Humanities education is not for us to memorize some pale humanities knowledge, and that function can be completely replaced by tools. The goal of humanities education is to give us a belief and a judgment to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, and beauty and ugliness. With such judgment, we are truly qualified to say that we are in college.
What is a university?
"University University", read it backwards and you will understand, "learn the university is big", the scholars are big. What is a man who has not grown up? Call the villain; What is the name of the one who grows up? Called a gentleman; Who is a gentleman? The unscrupulous.
If a person does not have a humanistic education, does not have humanistic cultivation, does not have the judgment of right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, and does not have the courage to stick to justice, no matter how strong your professional ability is, you cannot be regarded as a person who has studied in college.
▌Three realms of life: man must get rid of the fate of tools and animals
We can divide life into three different levels.
The first level is making a living. To live, one must earn a living. But we must not spend all our time earning a living, otherwise your life will remain at a low level forever.
You have to set aside a little time for the heart, a little heart for faith.
If you're just making a living all your life, you're no different from an animal. Animals also have "specializations", spiders are textile specialties, and rats are tunneling specialties.
If you only think about making a living, if you only think about learning a skill, if you come to college for four years, and when you graduate, you get a diploma, and nothing else improves, then your pursuit is essentially no different from that of an animal.
What really separates people from animals is the second level above making a living, which is called resourcefulness. It means that in addition to basic survival needs such as food and clothing, human beings should also have the need for intellectual improvement and knowledge refinement.
But this kind of pursuit is not the highest level of human pursuit. What is the highest level? It's a way of seeking. What is the Tao? In ancient China, there were two families preaching, Taoism and Confucianism. Taoism focuses on objective laws, while Confucianism focuses more on humanities and physics, referring to a kind of values.
There is a difference between good people and bad people, whether your talent is excellent or not, whether your situation is accessible or not, do you want to choose a good person or a bad person? This is called values. After you have values, you have to learn to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, which is called value judgment.
How do you judge what you do? How to avoid doing bad things with good intentions?
Only when you have the ability to make value judgments and know right and wrong, good and evil, can you ensure that your knowledge and intelligence are used in the right place, and you can know how to revere life and nature, so as not to threaten the survival of yourself and others, and bring disaster.
Therefore, the core of the humanities, the highest level of humanities education, is to equip us with a value of "human beings", to free us from the fate of tools and animals.