The crisis of high level illiteracy
What is the connection between the Bible and contemporary American culture? The common charge among religious teachers and practitioners is that there a widening chasm between the content of Scripture and the contemporary American audience. However, I would contend that the contemporary American is not deficient of the content of the Bible (and other religious texts), rather than average American is deficient in his ability to read through these ancient texts with proficiency.
Mortar J. Adler reported that in the 1970s the average American reader was only educated to read up into the eighth grade level.[1] This means that the average American could read English at an elementary level with great ease, but fumbled with texts when it came to areas of analysis and Synopsys. In other words, when the average American asks a friend or colleague, “have you read book x?,” there is no clear understanding about what is meant by the word “read.”
I would further suggest that most people assume one meaning when it comes to the term “read.” The implied definition is: the process of moving one's eyes over every word with in a book. According to this definition, a book can only be read or not read. If one has suffered through this painful word by word experience throughout the whole book, then one can consider oneself a master of the book.
The Task of ReadingNow most people can and do talk intelligently about what (i.e. content) they have read, however few people intelligently about how they read any given book. In other words, most people can provide the answers to questions about the books they read, but few can answer the question about how we read books.
what kind of reader am I?If a reader seriously wants to improve their reading ability, then they must first ask themselves the question: what kind of reader am I? There are two different types of readers: the nugget Hunter and the gold miner.
The Nugget HunterThe nugget Hunter is somebody who possesses all the enthusiasm to be a reader, yet possesses no defined understanding of the task at hand. The nugget Hunter read books for the sake of finding small easily digestible pieces of information. He does this for the purpose of having a large bag full of party tricks. This means he is able to sound intelligent at social gatherings by spouting off obscure pieces of information or perhaps a counterintuitive conundrum.
The problem with these people is they lack intentionality and discipline for the task of reading. They do not have a clearly defined timeline for reading except in their spare time. As a result, they read only bits and pieces of masterful works like the first chapter out of Moby Dick or perhaps section 2 of Being and Time, or even excerpts from The Iliad. These type of readers can quote a line out of Hamlet, but when it comes to discussing themes of madness, they have little to say.
The nugget Hunter also has no realistically achievable goals for reading. So, even though it is possible to read John Calvin's Institutes of Christian Religion in two years by simply reading two pages every night, the nugget Hunter only reads Calvin's model statements on the nature of the soul, or perhaps the Holy Spirit's relationship to the inspiration of Scripture.
The nugget Hunter is also very gluttonous when it comes to obtaining books. Since he does not divide his time wisely or set up realistic goals, he also buys books that he will never set aside time to read no realistically work through. In addition, he will waste of money buying books he will never need. This means he will waste money and space in the process.
The nugget Hunter also has no criteria for evaluating the books he does read. This means he will criticize The Iliad for not giving enough airtime to Achilles, or he will apply anachronistic criticism to Calvin for not being more sympathetic to Jews, or even worse he will reject Karl Barth for not properly applying the historical critical method, when clearly for Barth historical critical method itself is in question!
Another very striking feature about the nugget Hunter is his ability to maintain clean pages on all his books. The nugget Hunter refuses to mark up his books because he cares more about the aesthetic value of his books rather than the informative content within them. In the end, the nugget Hunter does not know why he reads books so as a result he is unable to feel any accomplishment with the task of reading itself. The nugget Hunter is simply as his name implies: he is somebody that pushes around in the soil hoping to find a valuable gem. However, when he finds his gem he believes he's satisfied with what is found, not caring about how he obtained it. In the end, he becomes quickly bored with the Nuggets he has found and tosses them aside with no further thought.
The Gold Miner-- the active readerThere is in other kind of reader, which I would suggest the ideal reader. This reader can be compared to a gold miner. This reader understands that he does not have all the time the world and therefore he must defy his time accordingly. He cannot let all his important reading be done nearly in his spare time. He must make time. This kind of reader purposes to read with a clearly reflected upon criteria for the task of reading. In fact, he also is purposeful about the environment he reads. He always chooses an environment conducive to the task. While he is reading, he keeps all the proper tools in hand (i.e. a notebook and a pen). His goals for reading are clear. He is there can engage the book in a kind of dialogue, the dialogue may be indifferent to any social gathering is going to.
I hope I have made the choice abundantly clear. It should be more preferable want to be a gold miner rather than a nugget Hunter. However, how does one get there? A reader who wants to become a better reader should ask himself the following question:
· How much time do I have to read? (This is especially important for Talmud)
· Why am I reading this book?
· Where will I be reading this book?
· What is my frame of mind? (I.e. do I have a teacher to consult or am I independent of any outside assistance)
· how am I planning to read this book? (I.e. at what level? Elementary? Inspectionally? Analytically? Syntopically?
· What kind of notes am I going to take? (I.e. structural, conceptual, dialectical)
After one plans out there timeline for reading, one should immediately consider the purpose for motivation for reading any given book. There are three main purposes for reading: entertainment, information, and understanding. Obviously, one can read Talmud for its sheer entertainment. There are many stories and humorous anecdotes throughout the entire corpus, however this will not keep one reading with any consistency. Additionally, there is much information within the Talmud, however that information is difficult to access without a ready knowledge of Talmud.
The purpose for reading Talmud should be to understand. However, this goal should be more clearly defined itself.
- Does one want to gain religious understanding into Jewish law?
- Does one want to understand the historical development of Judaism?
- Does one want to try to gain a philosophical understanding of Talmud?
- These questions must seriously be reckoned with before one can even dream to glean the riches of Talmud.
After one has wrestled with the question of purpose, one should be intentional about the environment in which he or she reads. This environment should be comfortable, well-lit, and above all persistently used.
Next one should deal with the question of frame of mind. Is one learning in a synagogue, University, or perhaps privately at home? Ideally one should always read with reference to the presence of the community whether one is actually present or not. If one is reading with reference to an actual synagogue or Jewish studies program, then this question has are pretty good answer for you.
However, if one is reading privately at home, then he or she must not forget that Talmud is a document with living significance, which present the functions as a source for religious dispute among Jewish religious adherence both in
Next one should deal with the question about how to read Talmud. According to Mortimer J. Adler, there are four types of reading: elementary, inspectional, analytical, and Syntopical. Now, I will not go into too much detail here, but it should be stressed that all books can be read using roughly the same set of principles.
I realize that there is a great emphasis placed on reading instructional manuals for specific type of books. This is especially true for reading Talmud. However, these instructional manuals tend to confuse the difference between content and method. It is true that the Talmud employs some discussions that are heavily content specific. In addition, it is true that it employs some methods or verification that do not exist outside Talmud. However, by and large, the basic method of Talmud makes use of universal rules of reasoning and argumentation (i.e. non-contradiction, coherency, causality). This means that many of the rules that one would be employed to read wealth of Nations also apply to the Talmud. So, one must be intentional about method.
Are you going to read at an elementary level? This would mean that you are reading it like a child. This is easily achievable if your first language is English and did not Hebrew or Aramaic. In fact, this is the way I read scriptures. To read the scriptures in the original languages is simultaneously profound and childish. One has to read very slowly as if they were a child, and yet because of this slower pace one is able to perceive the profound beauty of the Scriptures in their original languages.
Second, is one going to simply read inspectionally? This would mean that one is trying to gain an overall feel for the book itself.
Is one going to read it analytically? I'll talk about this type of reading later on. Suffice to say, analytical reading is a way of reading which makes use of a clearly defined criteria for the task of reading as well as for the task of analysis.
If one going to read syntopically. Syntopical reading is basically reading two books about the same subject. This is much more difficult than it sounds and yet if one is to be the scriptures with a proficiency and full benefit, one must read syntopically because the Bible is many books about a singular topic. The problem with Syntopical reading is defining that topic. If the topic is ill-defined, then the entire effort is abortive. The task of Syntopical reading makes use of all levels. It understands the humility and benefit of elementary reading. It knows when to employ inspectional reading and when to employ analytical reading. Needless to say, if one has not mastered the first three levels of reading, one cannot adequately read at this level.
Finally, one should deal with the question about taking notes. In other words, you have the freedom to markup your Talmud, then by all means do so! However, if one is not free to mark it up, then one should be taking notes with a notebook. The intentional reader knows that there are three basic ways to take notes. First, there are structural notes that focus on the genre, theme, and sequence of thought. In other words, it looks for the basic shape of the book. Second, there are conceptual notes that focus on the content, method, scope, and basis of the book. Third, there are dialecticall notes that focus on the book in relation to history of thought as well as the significance of the book in relation to other authors and historical/political events. I will make in other post that goes into greater detail about the nature of notetaking within Talmud.
Conclusion
Basically, readers need to understand that there is more to reading than simply running one's eyes over every word within a book. The task of reading is demanding upon everyone who wishes to practice it with greater intention and definiteness. The task of reading demands that the reader understand his time constraints as well has his purposes for reading. in the case of Talmud, one should be clearly aware of how one wants/needs to understand it. In addition, if a reader wants to become a gold miner, he should be more aware of the different methods that are available for the task of reading: namely, elementary, inspectional, analytical, and Syntopical. The reader of the Talmud should bear in mind that although there are many helpful introductions to reading it, these introductions are only helpful to the degree that they are informative. The task of reading applies to all areas regardless of its content. Finally, the intentional reader should be aware of the various types of nodes that one can take during the process of reading.
[1] Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren’s, How to Read a Book: Revised and Updated, (New York, Simon & Shuster, 1972), 3
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