Literature I (Tidbit)

Literature is less of a resting place for thought than a launching pad for it. It doesn’t treat any question or topic with as much depth and rigor as the specialized disciplines, such as the sciences, history, anthropology, psychology, linguistics, philosophy, or theology. The study of literature creates generalists rather than specialists. The disadvantages are that it is hard to avoid sloppy thinking, and hard to find a niche in a society that operates by the division of labor. The advantages are that it treats all of these issues as interconnected with each other and interwoven with human life, it gives a kind of “what it is like” window or vicarious account of other people’s experiences, and teaches something like wisdom rather than just knowledge.