This is an enormously important observation and commentary on our system of “higher education“, which had never occurred to me until I just read this now. And I write this as somebody who has a PhD in engineering.
What was crystal clear to me even before this article, is what the article states at the beginning, higher education has never been more useless to the people who participate in it than it is now, and yet participation rates are indeed at an all-time high. The thesis outlined here explains why that is so, and as it points out - it details an alternative that we do not yet have that must be put in place so that this completely destructive system of “higher education” that we now have in the US may be replaced by something more valuable and meaningful to not just the students participating, but for our society is a whole, if we are to survive .
I achieved a BS in History from Arizona State. To me, the entire process was a sham. Pay your money, barf up what you are told on the tests, move to the next course. There was no crafting, no guidance. Times I SHOULD have failed or had troubles, I didn't.
I got a head full of historical trivia and 21 years of debt, which I was not allowed to pay off early. Nope. They had to get every dime in interest. BS, that.
I have been to enough college graduations to see the ritual is merely a self conscious parody of one. A degree confers status to some but for many it is a hollow exercise layered with the hangover of a brutal debt load.
Is a directionless rite of passage based on extending one’s adolescence enough to sustain it?
Liberalism acts as a solvent even on, or especially on itself. Turns out 4 years of nihilism produces a despairing degree holder.
Yes we must make more public our own rituals; Eucharistic processions, prayers before meals, reverent wedding and funeral services, but that was always true.
The college & lending industry swindles are cannibalizing their futures. Whether we provide alternative initiation rites or not, a reckoning is coming.
As someone who is currently in university, the thought of it being a sort of ritual never occurred to me. I guess it is because I am not what you would call a "true believer" in the ritualism, I am just there to obtain credentials that are required for entry in the field I am planning to enter. Perhaps I am an unknowing participant? Interesting to think about.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. This is why I am pushing to create a gap year project for my sons after they graduate from high school. This is still a work in progress and I have two years to firm it up (before my oldest graduates). I would like it to fulfill a rite of passage, especially for a young man. My sons currently don't get why I'm all for this, so I appreciate your words so that I might be able to share it from your point of view.
This might sound crass and hickish, but a distinctly American rite of passage for young men could involve killing a deer, because real men are hunters. Thoughts?
The myth of the universities is the myth of the enlightenment. Reason is god and reason is triumphant.
The reason they have descended into an expensive transaction is because the myth that human beings can control reality through the scientific method is failing.
We’ve decided as a culture that data is everything and that reason is impossible. Universities cannot reconcile this.
So now what was an initiation ritual is now a cadaver wearing a skin suit. Pay 100000 to party and take a course on 20th century Spanish film and we’ll give you this piece of paper at the end.
This is also why the vitalist and traditionalist collaboration ultimately cannot happen. The founding myth and its meaning is so fundamentally conflicting.
We need to let these two communities develop their own rites and see who wins over time.
Terrific first guest post. Might be the first thing I’ve read that tries to explain the persistent attraction of educational institutions that provide less and less value with every year, to the point that the experience is now almost a liability.
I went to college in the early 90s. Actually had a class called “Western Civilization I” (also II the next semester). Everyone, including me, more or less hated it. What lucky fools we were, at the end of an era.
I think you’re on to something here. My uncle (mother’s brother) was a WWII veteran and, although he could have gone to college on the GI bill, got out of the Army and started a family and a career in business, and never got around to getting a college diploma. Like your highly successful acquaintance, my uncle was always slightly embarrassed and regretful about not having been to university. My mother and my other uncle both matriculated at the same university. They were from an upper middle class family. Conversely you can still see people from less privileged backgrounds showing obvious pride at being the first in their families to have a college education. Colleges and universities still play an important role to many, even if objectively speaking they are not remotely worth the cost any more.
Really enjoyed this piece. Spot on with your analysis of university as an initiation ritual / rite of passage- one of the very few that western secular society has (and it does a poor job at it). The lack of these transitionary experiences and boundaries they define results in a lot of misdirection in the process of leaving adolescence and growing up. Not to mention a gaping lack of meaning left by a spiritually bereft culture and cosmology.
If you haven’t, check out Byung Chul Han’s book “The Disappearance of Ritual”. I think a lot of it pairs well with the thinking in this piece.
I think this insight is related to a thread NRP highlighted last week on catering to the bottom quintile. If high schools cannot expell disruptive or low effort students, then those of curiosity are dragged down. Elevating the expectations of high school, will increase the reputation of a diploma and give credence to the ritual of graduation. Colleges would follow by preening nonsense.
And high schools could be experimental in its purpose: 2023 iPad curriculum, 1970s afternoon autobody shop, 1770s Latin and French tutoring, 1370s josting and chivalry, or Athenian gymnasium and socratic dialogues.
Thanks for having me Auron!
This is an enormously important observation and commentary on our system of “higher education“, which had never occurred to me until I just read this now. And I write this as somebody who has a PhD in engineering.
What was crystal clear to me even before this article, is what the article states at the beginning, higher education has never been more useless to the people who participate in it than it is now, and yet participation rates are indeed at an all-time high. The thesis outlined here explains why that is so, and as it points out - it details an alternative that we do not yet have that must be put in place so that this completely destructive system of “higher education” that we now have in the US may be replaced by something more valuable and meaningful to not just the students participating, but for our society is a whole, if we are to survive .
I achieved a BS in History from Arizona State. To me, the entire process was a sham. Pay your money, barf up what you are told on the tests, move to the next course. There was no crafting, no guidance. Times I SHOULD have failed or had troubles, I didn't.
I got a head full of historical trivia and 21 years of debt, which I was not allowed to pay off early. Nope. They had to get every dime in interest. BS, that.
I have been to enough college graduations to see the ritual is merely a self conscious parody of one. A degree confers status to some but for many it is a hollow exercise layered with the hangover of a brutal debt load.
Is a directionless rite of passage based on extending one’s adolescence enough to sustain it?
Liberalism acts as a solvent even on, or especially on itself. Turns out 4 years of nihilism produces a despairing degree holder.
Yes we must make more public our own rituals; Eucharistic processions, prayers before meals, reverent wedding and funeral services, but that was always true.
The college & lending industry swindles are cannibalizing their futures. Whether we provide alternative initiation rites or not, a reckoning is coming.
As someone who is currently in university, the thought of it being a sort of ritual never occurred to me. I guess it is because I am not what you would call a "true believer" in the ritualism, I am just there to obtain credentials that are required for entry in the field I am planning to enter. Perhaps I am an unknowing participant? Interesting to think about.
College education has been de-sacralized. A victim of its own success as a machine for delegitimization and demoralization.
I had never thought of it this way before. Eye opening for sure, great piece!
Thank you for sharing your perspective. This is why I am pushing to create a gap year project for my sons after they graduate from high school. This is still a work in progress and I have two years to firm it up (before my oldest graduates). I would like it to fulfill a rite of passage, especially for a young man. My sons currently don't get why I'm all for this, so I appreciate your words so that I might be able to share it from your point of view.
This might sound crass and hickish, but a distinctly American rite of passage for young men could involve killing a deer, because real men are hunters. Thoughts?
The myth of the universities is the myth of the enlightenment. Reason is god and reason is triumphant.
The reason they have descended into an expensive transaction is because the myth that human beings can control reality through the scientific method is failing.
We’ve decided as a culture that data is everything and that reason is impossible. Universities cannot reconcile this.
So now what was an initiation ritual is now a cadaver wearing a skin suit. Pay 100000 to party and take a course on 20th century Spanish film and we’ll give you this piece of paper at the end.
We can do better, team. We really can.
This is also why the vitalist and traditionalist collaboration ultimately cannot happen. The founding myth and its meaning is so fundamentally conflicting.
We need to let these two communities develop their own rites and see who wins over time.
Terrific first guest post. Might be the first thing I’ve read that tries to explain the persistent attraction of educational institutions that provide less and less value with every year, to the point that the experience is now almost a liability.
I went to college in the early 90s. Actually had a class called “Western Civilization I” (also II the next semester). Everyone, including me, more or less hated it. What lucky fools we were, at the end of an era.
I think you’re on to something here. My uncle (mother’s brother) was a WWII veteran and, although he could have gone to college on the GI bill, got out of the Army and started a family and a career in business, and never got around to getting a college diploma. Like your highly successful acquaintance, my uncle was always slightly embarrassed and regretful about not having been to university. My mother and my other uncle both matriculated at the same university. They were from an upper middle class family. Conversely you can still see people from less privileged backgrounds showing obvious pride at being the first in their families to have a college education. Colleges and universities still play an important role to many, even if objectively speaking they are not remotely worth the cost any more.
Really enjoyed this piece. Spot on with your analysis of university as an initiation ritual / rite of passage- one of the very few that western secular society has (and it does a poor job at it). The lack of these transitionary experiences and boundaries they define results in a lot of misdirection in the process of leaving adolescence and growing up. Not to mention a gaping lack of meaning left by a spiritually bereft culture and cosmology.
If you haven’t, check out Byung Chul Han’s book “The Disappearance of Ritual”. I think a lot of it pairs well with the thinking in this piece.
We have a number of Dark Rituals of pseudo-initiation. On the brighter side and absolutely morally serious: The 12-Step Program.
I think this insight is related to a thread NRP highlighted last week on catering to the bottom quintile. If high schools cannot expell disruptive or low effort students, then those of curiosity are dragged down. Elevating the expectations of high school, will increase the reputation of a diploma and give credence to the ritual of graduation. Colleges would follow by preening nonsense.
And high schools could be experimental in its purpose: 2023 iPad curriculum, 1970s afternoon autobody shop, 1770s Latin and French tutoring, 1370s josting and chivalry, or Athenian gymnasium and socratic dialogues.