Recently Butler's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has
adopted a statement of Core Values. As a thoroughly interdisciplinary
field, Classics has much to contribute to the pursuit of the goals
laid out in this statement.
The foundations of our concept of the Liberal Arts and Sciences
begin with the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks referred to any
individual who pursued only private affairs as anidiotes, from
which we get the English word "idiot". The Romans had an
overwhelming sense of officium, a sense of duty to the larger
community which involved discipline and self-education. Both Greeks
and Romans sought intellectual pursuits that would give them
insight on "the human condition in its pains and joys." In
following their intellectual curiosity, the great minds of Greece
and Rome hoped that the pursuit of a self-reflective life would
"foster in us compassion and respect for those whose lives we share
in our own communities."
Inspired by the literature, art, and history of the Greeks and
Romans, we in Classics embrace the opportunity to explore a
multitude of voices from a wide span of time. We believe that each
period of time has something to say to us, and yet, we are not
content with one final and absolute understanding of the world.
Whether in agreement or in criticism, we can look to the ancients
to spark our "critical judgment", as we "scrutinize sacred truths
of every sort." We embrace the potentials of these ancient ideas,
while at the same time we acknowledge the failures of these people
to live up to the ideals that they set out for themselves. By
looking at the gaps between ancient potential and ancient reality,
we seek to critically examine our words "through the eyes and ears
of others."
These Greeks and Romans, although living in a different time,
were caught up in many of the struggles we find ourselves working
through. It is not a coincidence that the American Forefathers
chose to name one of the houses of Congress the Senate. Seeking a
turn away from royal rule, but wary of the radical democracy of
Athens, the Forefathers modeled their new government on the Roman
system. As we read the historical accounts of Herodotus,
Thucydides, or Tacitus, we engage with issues that do not have
simple solutions, "a moral world that is neither black nor white."
As we read the political speeches of Demosthenes or Cicero, we are
confronted with the challenge of seeing through the rhetoric. Our
efforts will enable us to "unknot claims of teachers, politicians,
advertisers, scientists, preachers, columnists and roommate[s]."
Though the material is ancient, Classics offers us a home in a
world that requires us to respond to a wide array of issues.
Like the Romans and Greeks before us, we do not pursue knowledge
simply for the sake of knowing. Following our own sense of
officium, we Classicists seek to draw connections between current
social issues and those of the past. The study of the thoughts and
lives of the ancients is of no use unless we make efforts to
participate in the discussions of our current times, bringing with
us the lessons of the Greeks and Romans. We pursue Classics as part
of "a community with venerable roots; a community still evolving in
space and time; a community of thought, imagination, value, labor,
and action."