Of all the skills we can be taught the Trivium is the most important. It is the art of testimony – of teaching all children to judge the truth or falsehood of statements. Why would you no longer teach Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric? Unless you wanted children to lie?
The Trivium Gives Us Skills in Truth Telling
(Not my definitions)
1) Grammar teaches the mechanics of language to the student. This is the step where the student “comes to terms”, i.e. defining the objects and information perceived by the five senses. Hence, the Law of Identity: a tree is a tree, and not a cat.
2) Logic (also dialectic) is the “mechanics” of thought and of analysis; the process of identifying fallacious arguments and statements, and so systematically removing contradictions, thereby producing factual knowledge that can be trusted.
NOTE: I would replace logic with ‘testimony’.
3) Rhetoric is the application of language in order to instruct and to persuade the listener and the reader. It is the knowledge (grammar) now understood (logic) being transmitted outwards, as wisdom (rhetoric).
The Quadrivium gives us Application of truth telling which is absent morality and cooperation
arithmetic – accounts
geometry – Spaces and distances.
astronomy – Physics
music – composition (Aesthetics)
Note that these are all statements of measurement
Philosophy and Theology ended one’s education.
You can also lie in philosophy simply by choosing the standard in-group categories rather than the full set of categories.
If you start with this list:
Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Politics, Aesthetics.
You will produce very different conclusions from this list:
Existence (physics)
Metaphysics (actionability)
Biology (reproductive strategy)
Psychology (biases and limits)
Family (organization of reproduction)
Epistemology and Truth (Testimony)
Ethics (Logic of Cooperation)
Sociology (Organization of Production)
Politics and Institutions (Organization of production of commons)
Group Evolutionary Strategy
Warfare
Economics
Science and Technology.
Religion and Mythology
History and Aesthetics
Education.
Why would you write Dr Seuss instead of using our Fairy tales?
The socialists lied to our people, taught our people to lie, and ended their education in defense against lying.
