News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Why are some of the greatest thinkers being expelled from their disciplines?. Parent comment

Re:Why are some of the greatest thinkers being expelled from... by mojonixon on Saturday July 19, 2008 @07:01PM (#250950)
Bad example. Fortran and Pascal aren't required knowledge for Java or Python. How can one understand contemporary philosophy, economics, or psychology without being familiar with Hegel, Marx and Freud? A liberal arts education is about context.

I read all three in political science classes. I think philosophy might be a dead academic discipline, at least in the US. Most of the big names seem to have moved to more focused disciplines; e.g political science and women's studies.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Why are some of the greatest thinkers being expelled from... by Prrometheus on Sunday July 20, 2008 @06:19AM (#251273)
Marx was never as influential in Economics as he was in Politics. His political philosophy is interesting and challenging while his Economics always seems chosen to suit his politics. It wasn't bad compared to the Economics of his contemporaries, but it had a short shelf-life. He lost the battle of ideas pretty rapidly, and fairly in my opinion.

True, one will be a better Economist if he understands the evolution of Economic thought in the 19th century, but there is no reason to single out Marx for particular study by the average student.

[ Parent | on HN ]