Philosophy and the Ethics of Reading
Dr. Jeffrey Centeno
“Take up and read.”
Saint Augustine, Confessions
“Read your fate, see what is before you, and walk on into futurity.”
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
The following reflections are occasioned by my recent encounter with two contemporary influential literary achievements that bring to light the ethical challenge of reading. These are Harold Bloom’s How to read and why (2000) and Nancy Malone’s A spirituality of reading (2003), respectively. Both works are significantly timely in this age of internet, of online games, that, as one editor quips, “threatens to eclipse the practice of reading,” most especially among young people today. World-renowned educational theorist Howard Gardner is most astute in his observation, thus: “Too many children have a little sense of why one should read, because they reside in environments where adults do not read.”
Dr. Jeffrey Centeno
“Take up and read.”
Saint Augustine, Confessions
“Read your fate, see what is before you, and walk on into futurity.”
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
The following reflections are occasioned by my recent encounter with two contemporary influential literary achievements that bring to light the ethical challenge of reading. These are Harold Bloom’s How to read and why (2000) and Nancy Malone’s A spirituality of reading (2003), respectively. Both works are significantly timely in this age of internet, of online games, that, as one editor quips, “threatens to eclipse the practice of reading,” most especially among young people today. World-renowned educational theorist Howard Gardner is most astute in his observation, thus: “Too many children have a little sense of why one should read, because they reside in environments where adults do not read.”