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David J. Blacker (1997). Dying to Teach: the Educator's Search
for Immortality. New York: Teacher's College Press
135 pages
ISBN # 0-8077-3592-2 (cloth)
Reviewed by Stacy J. Stoyanoff, University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign*
April 21, 1998
In Dying to Teach: the Educator's Search for Immortality, David J.
Blacker explores the philosophical relationship between teaching and
immortality. The title itself suggests that teaching is tantamount to
death. For me, it initially echoes the old adage of Erasmus: Aut mortuus
est aut docet litteras (A person is either teaching or dead). Recently,
this book has served as the centerpiece for a round table discussion at the
1997 Philosophy of Education Society Annual meeting, where an esteemed
panel produced three critical essays on education and the longing for
immortality.[Note 1]
The author's basic thesis is that "when one educates or is educated, one
does so outside of time; in teaching and learning one is immortal (p. 82)."
Blacker is unknowingly following in the footsteps of Gilbert Highet--the
famous twentieth century classicist and teacher. At the end of his life,
Highet wrote a book with a very similar theme. He collected together some
of his various essays on education and published them under the title, The
Immortal Profession: the Joys of Teaching and Learning. In fact, I
expect
that Blacker himself would concur with Highet's basic philosophy: "The
chief aim of education is to show you, after you make a livelihood, how to
enjoy living; and you can live longest and best and most rewardingly by
attaining and preserving the happiness of learning."[Note 2]
Using both ancient and modern sources, Blacker weaves together bits and
pieces of the Western world's understanding of education and immortality.
He defines his argument through Platonic, Sophistic, and Epicurean
philosophy, and then searches for answers in Heidegger's existentialism,
Eliad's mythic ritualism, and Gadamer's hermeneutics. Filled with
contemporary and personal anecdotes, this masterfully written little book
introduces its readers to some of the intellectual perceptions behind the
educator's search for immortality. The book itself is divided into four
article length chapters.[Note 3] Through my examination of the individual
chapters, I write this review with a twofold purpose: (1) to examine the
treatment of such a novel thesis, and (2) to suggest some further areas for
investigation.
The first chapter investigates the classical roots of education as
immortality. Blacker begins where Western philosophy began--the ancient
Greeks. Though not discussed in Blacker's study, the greatest tribute to
these early teachers and their students is Diogenes Laertius' Lives and
Opinions of Eminent Philosophers. It is in works such as this and through
the doxographical tradition that ancient philosophers achieve immortality
by their connection to prominent teachers and various schools of thought
(e.g. Plato, a student of Socrates; Aristotle, a student of Plato; the
Cynic, Diogenes; the Epicurean, Lucretius; etc). Interestingly enough, the
study of philosophy has itself evolved into a form of immortality. This
immortality can be achieved by simply taking part in the ongoing dialogue
that spans human intellectual history.
For some reason, we sometimes forget that philosophers are both teachers
and students. Blacker refers to this dual role by using the term
"teacher-learner" throughout his monograph. With respect to antiquity,
Blacker limits his investigation in his first chapter to the relationship
between Plato and the Sophists. To outline his argument, Blacker employs
the standard philosophical dichotomy that has existed between these two
schools of thought: the mystical Platonists who preach the search for
episteme and the pragmatic Sophists who teach students what they need for
life. The Platonists gain immortality through their association with
Truth, while the Sophists become immortal through others. For Blacker,
both of these ideals deserve merit, but taken alone neither can explain the
complex nature of immortality. As a result, there must be a synthesis
between the immortality discovered through Truth and the immortality
achieved through Others. Though not endlessly perilous, these are the
idealistic Scylla and Charybdis that face educators in their search for
immortality. As the monograph develops, it is none other than Socrates
himself who emerges as the archetypical figure successfully able to
navigate the strait of immortality.
However, Blacker does neglect to address a very key metaphor in his
analysis. I am referring to the ancient metaphor of "passing the torch".
This metaphor evolves and describes a variety of educational relationships
that include parent to child, generation to generation, and teacher to
student. At the beginning of Plato's Republic (328a), Socrates
and his
companion Glaucon are enticed by Polemarchus and Adeimantus to attend a
dinner party at Polemarchus' house. The enticement was the promise of a
torchlight race, where the torches are passed from one to another on
horseback in honor of the goddess. This notion becomes a metaphor in the
Laws (776b), where Plato describes the begetting and rearing of
children as
"passing the torch of life". In addition, the symbolic representation of
knowledge by light is most apparent in Plato's parable of the Cave
(Republic, 514ff.).
Similarly, Lucretius describes the generations of living creature as
runners passing the torch of life (De Rerum Natura, 2.79). In
addition,
this metaphor also finds its way into Cicero who quotes Ennius: "A man who
kindly shows the path to a wanderer acts as if to ignite a light from his
own light. When he gives light to another, no less does he illuminate
himself (De Officiis, 1.16.51)." If anything, such
passages--particularly
the last one--must be considered essential to the development and
understanding of Blacker's basic thesis. Even Blacker himself makes a very
similar statement in his synthesis: "It turns out that 'having an
influence' as a teacher, or 'being influenced' as a student (all of us
teachers are always both), is, in fact, after all, a means to an end:
immortality (p. 102)." The notion of "passing the torch" is almost as
interesting as Blacker's "dying to teach".
In chapters two and three, the author explores various perspectives on
immortality and living through others. Even though he focuses on the
Judeo-Christian heritage, Blacker does not attempt to create an
intellectual history describing the Western notions of immortality. If he
did try his hand at such a task, he would surely have to examine many other
philosophical treatises from Aristotle to Augustine, William of Auvergne to
Thomas Aquinas, Erasmus to Henry Moore, along with various other
intellectuals throughout history. Instead, Blacker does use modern sources
like Heidegger to explain two basic approaches for understanding
immortality and human finitude: (1) ontically being a more distanced
understanding and (2) ontologically being a more internal understanding.
For the most part, Blacker strives for a more ontological understanding as
he explores questions like, "What might it mean to do this [confront
mortality] as an educator (p. 30)?"
He investigates this question by returning to his earlier division of
Platonist and Sophist. Blacker extends his argument to view the Epicurean
through the "Truthful" eyes of Plato and Care theory through the
"Other-ness" of the Sophist. With respect to the Epicurean, Blacker
attempts to make a connection with Plato by examining the Hellenistic ideal
ataraxia or "calmness" and Martha Nussbaum's fictional account of a student
named Nikidion in The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in
Hellenistic Ethics. The Epicurean could achieve ataraxia by
confronting
mortality. Blacker concludes that the Epicurean, like the earlier
Platonist, cannot achieve immortality alone; but instead there must be an
additional concern for the Other. This is the dilemma of Nikidion, because
"The Epicurean, by contrast, armed with a concern for the whole, but too
godlike to have the motives for creation that come from the fear of death,
will not give her own other-regarding goals the best sort of service."[Note
4]
From this analysis, the author begins to build a partnership between the
Epicurean ideal and Care theory. It is at this point that Blacker launches
into a critique of Care theory. He cautions his readers that, "The voice
of the Other, even when it is urgent and soothing, can sometimes drown
out...Truth, that same idol so mesmerizing to Plato, in their own way, to
the Epicureans (p. 47)." Blacker is right in his belief that Care theory
has its limitations. Nel Noddings herself concedes this fact: "As we
become aware of problems involving time, intensity, and formal
relationships, we may be led to reconsider the requirement of engrossment.
We might instead describe caring of different sorts, on different levels
and at varying degrees of intensity."[Note 5] For Nodding, engrossment is
required for all forms of caring. It is a very ontological way of
understanding the basic mechanism of Care theory.
However, Blacker goes on to warn us about Care theory anyway, "Taken to its
extreme, I shall argue, care theory is literally contentless (p. 64)." I
am not sure why Blacker wants to investigate extreme interpretations of
Care theory, because there is no need to do so in dealing with the
educator's search for immortality. If anything, Care theory is just the
opposite of Blacker's portrayal, because it is based upon a morality and
ethic that binds teachers and students together. For Blacker's thesis,
Care theory simply and creatively assumes the role of the Sophist and
attempts to explain the dynamics behind the teacher-student relationship.
I do not see how Blacker's criticisms of Care theory have any relevance
toward understanding teaching and immortality. However, he is correct in
that Care theory should not be characterized as the only key unlocking the
door of immortality.
Blacker insightfully defines immortality as "something that we 'do' as
teacher-learners, but we can neither do it alone like the Epicureans nor
exclusively through other people, our students, like some care theorists
might (p. 80)." It is here that he begins to build his synthesis, and he
uses Heideggerian authenticity as his model. By being able to come to
grips with Heidegger's mood of anxiety, teacher-learners are able to
confront their own mortality (Epicurean) without neglecting the Other (Care
theory). This application of Heidegger is very unique and deserves praise,
because it allows us to determine immortality based on our authentic
self-hood. In fact, it is a reality check for humanity. The synthesis
that Blacker proposes is actually a return to Socrates. He asserts: "For
the character of Socrates, at least as he is represented in Plato's early
dialogues, is as close an exemplar as I can imagine of Heideggerian
authenticity in the context of teaching and learning (p. 77)."
It would be interesting to take this synthesis a step further and truly
characterize Socrates authenticity. The enigma of Socrates is without a
doubt both Sophistic and Platonic, and Blacker is correct to refer to
Plato's earlier dialogues. In fact, the Euthydemus and Hippias Minor are
particularly supportive of Blacker's interpretation of Socrates, because in
these dialogues Socrates uses Sophistic technique to sway his position.
Since Blacker is using Socrates as his synthesis, I can only suggest that a
more descriptive picture be painted of Socrates' pendulum swing between
Truth and the Other. It could prove quite revealing if we view Socrates as
the true Sophist instead of simply being Plato's Mentor.[Note 6]
In his final chapter, Blacker brings his thesis full circle by
investigating the mechanics of immortality. He describes the traditional
views of immortality as: "(1) a personal matter involving the persistence
of the soul or personality, and/or (2) a linear phenomenon involving
temporal permanence (p. 87)." Simply, Blacker searches for a nonlinear
approach in his understanding immortality. By following the archetypes of
Eliade, the author reacts against the notion of in illo tempore (in that
former time). He feels that immortality can be achieved in the here and
now. This is a very exciting position, but it really could be enhanced
through historical examples. I suggest an investigation into actual
teacher-student relationships as they exist in history and literature. Two
historical examples from antiquity come to mind. The first is Augustine's
letter to his student Dioscorus, and the second is Cuthbert's letter to
Cuthwin describing the death of the Venerable Bede. The former can provide
some non-linear evidence, while the latter is more temporal. In addition,
the Renaissance is filled with a wealth of evidence of this sort,
particularly surrounding famous teachers like Barizza, Guarino, and de
Feltra.
From a more modern perspective, the scholarly tradition of
Festschriften
acts as a very tangible means of showing how students honor their teachers.
Sterling Dow writes: "For such a life [the life of a professor], a
Festschrift is the most honorable and the most appropriate of all possible
rewards, because it serves, or rather is intended to serve, the grand
object of all scholarly devotion, namely the increase of scholarly interest
and knowledge. At the same time a Festschrift is personal: a public and
tangible tribute to one scholar by other scholars."[Note 7] One of the
more interesting classical Festschriften is that of Ernst Vogt. This
volume has its contributors immortalizing their various teachers through
personal reminiscences of their education.[Note 8] Probably, the richest
evidence for teacher-student immortality exists in the subsequent
correspondence between teachers and students. In recent years, the
relatively new field of Wissenschaftsgeschichte (the history of
scholarship) has began to regularly publish the collected letters of
various teachers and their students. This new wealth of tangible evidence
could prove rather useful to Blacker's innovative endeavor.
Through hermeneutics, particularly Gadamer's use of Hegel's notion
Bildung,
Blacker implements a dialogic treatment of immortality that justifies his
use of Socrates as the interlocutor between Truth and the Other. From his
application of Gadamer, the author defines Bildung as "development,
culture, and education all rolled into one (p. 103). Socrates becomes
Bildung through dialectic. Such an open-ended definition mirrors to a
certain extent the Greek notion of paideia. Blacker mentions
Isocrates (p.
5), but he ignores his greatest contribution to education: "the people
called Greeks are people who are the same by paideia not by blood
(Panegyricus, 50)." This is the first real reference for a
universality of culture and education.
In his unsurpassed three-volume work, Werner Jaeger describes the
development of paideia with the following words: "Originally the concept of
paideia had applied only to the process of education. Now its significance
grew to include the objective side, the content of paideia--just as our
word culture or the Latin cultura, having once meant a process of
education, came to mean the state of being educated; and then the content
of education, and finally the whole intellectual and spiritual world
revealed by education, into which any individual, according to his
nationality or social position, is born. The historical process by which
the world of culture is built up culminates when the ideal of culture is
consciously formulated."[Note 9] Jaeger's understanding of paideia has an
implicit notion of Bildung within it.
Blacker ends his last chapter with some rather inspiring words: "Educators
are well situated for achieving immortality (though not uniquely so)
whenever and wherever we can make a harmony of the tension between Truth
and the Other. This is our Holy Grail (p. 103)." Instead of making some
grand conclusion, Blacker appropriately closes his book with a couple of
Socratic questions that both inspire and warn us about teaching and
immortality. These questions have really pushed me to engage my own personal Socrates, so that I can take my place among the other teacher-immortals in
the world.
Overall, I believe that David J. Blacker has given the world a
scholarly gem that will continue to shine as teachers strive for their own
immortality. If the mark of good scholarship is that one wants to read
more, then the author of Dying to Teach: the Educator's Search for
Immortality has definitely hit the mark. Every time I read this book, I
discover something new and interesting. My only regret is that I did not
think of such a marvelous topic myself. Across-the-board, my only real
criticism is that a topic of this nature really needs a more extensive
treatment. I take delight in how the author connects antiquity with the
modern world, but there are still many other intellectual bridges to build.
Consequently, I hope that Professor Blacker will continue to pursue this
topic and expand upon his many unique ideas.
I thought that I would end this review with one of my favorite death
scenes. The scene is from James Hilton's Good-bye Mr. Chips. On his
deathbed, Mr. Chips spoke these final words: "I thought I heard you--one of
you--saying it was a pity--umph--a pity I never had--any children...eh?...
But I have, you know...I have... Yes--umph--I have... Thousands of
'em...thousands of em'...".[Note 10]
Notes
*This review was produced under the editorship of
Nicholas C. Burbules because of the potential conflict of interest
occasioned by the fact that David Blacker is the Area Editor for this topic.
[1] Rene Vincente Arcilla, "Education of the Undead?" (p. 449-451), Pradeep
A. Dhillon, "Teaching to Death" (p. 452-456), and Alven M. Neiman,
"Teaching and Eternal Life: the Love of Learning and Desire for God" (p.
456-460), in Philosophy of Education 1997, Susan Laird (Ed.), Urbana, IL:
Philosophy of Education Society, 1998.
[2] Gilbert Highet, The Immortal Profession: the Joys of Teaching and
Learning. New York: Weybright and Talley, 1976, p. 19. This book is a
sequel to his highly successful publication, The Art of Teaching (New York,
1950), which has gone through fourteen English printings and been
translated into sixteen languages.
[3] The themes and contents of chapters 1 and 4 were published earlier by
the author in the following forms. "Education as the Normative Dimension
of Philosophical Hermeneutics" (p. 212-221), in Philosophy of Education
1993, Audrey Thompson (Ed.), Urbana, IL: Philosophy of Education Society,
1994; and "Education as Immortality: Classical and Contemporary Pathways"
(p. 198-207), in Philosophy of Education 1995, Alven Neiman (Ed.), Urbana,
IL: Philosophy of Education Society, 1996. The author also has a
forthcoming publication in Religious Education entitled, "Education and
Immortality: Toward the Rehabilitation of an Ideal".
[4] Martha C. Nussbaum, The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in
Hellenistic Ethics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994, p. 237.
[5] Nel Noddings, Caring: a Feminine Approach to Ethics & Moral Education.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984, p. 17.
[6] In his study, Blacker uses the Homeric relationships between Athena,
Mentor, and Telemachus as a metaphor for understanding the transmission of
wisdom from teacher to student. The wisdom of Athene is transmitted to
Telemachus through his teacher Mentor. It is interesting to note that
Athena specifically describes her advice as teaching (I, 279). In this
context, the Greek verb hupotithesthai actually means "teaching" (see
Werner Jaeger, Paideia: the Ideals of Greek Culture, Volume 1, translated
by Gilbert Highet, New York: Oxford University Press, 1965, p. 32).
[7] Sterling Dow, "Dealing with Festschriften" in Articles on Antiquity in
Festschriften, compiled by Dorothy Rounds, Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1962, p. 556.
[8] Festgabe für Ernst Vogt: zu seinem 60. Geburtstag am 6. November
1990, Eikasmos 4 (1993): 1-430.
[9] Werner Jaeger, Paideia: the Ideals of Greek Culture, Volume 1,
translated by Gilbert Highet, New York: Oxford University Press, 1965, p.
303.
[10] James Hilton, Good-bye Mr. Chips. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company,
1935, p. 125.
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