/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.12282789]

>At the age of three he was taught Greek. By the age of eight, he had read Aesop's Fables, Xenophon's Anabasis, and the whole of Herodotus, and was acquainted with Lucian, Diogenes Laërtius, Isocrates and six dialogues of Plato. He had also read a great deal of history in English and had been taught arithmetic, physics and astronomy. At the age of eight, Mill began studying Latin, the works of Euclid, and algebra, and was appointed schoolmaster to the younger children of the family. His main reading was still history, but he went through all the commonly taught Latin and Greek authors and by the age of ten could read Plato and Demosthenes with ease.

How the fuck am I supposed to compete with this?

[Anonymous No.12282799]

>>12282789
What do you expect, his dad was James Mill

[Anonymous No.12282820]

You don't. Embrace your mediocrity and hope you get better parents in the next life.

[Anonymous No.12282822]

>>12282789
by not being a cucked liberal

[Anonymous No.12282853]

>>12282822
J S Mill was a founder of liberalism

[Anonymous No.12282861]

>>12282789
Read Kripke's biography if you want to feel dumb

[Anonymous No.12282889]

>>12282789
These give him a leg up for sure, but original thought is not the same as being well-read. An eight year old regurgitating Plato is amazing, but it says nothing about how well he'll be able to think critically or creatively as he ages

Mill is still a genius. But for others who want to use this kind of argument as a measuring stick, it doesn't always work.

Not saying you're smart either or that you're even competitive. Just that we cant always compare ourselves to savants.

[Anonymous No.12282896]

>>12282889
>we cant always compare ourselves to savants.

You're mediocre whether you do or not. It is of no matter.

[Anonymous No.12282920]

>>12282789
>How the fuck am I supposed to compete with this?
Why do you care about "competing"?

[Anonymous No.12282939]

>>12282789
You have the fucking internet

[Anonymous No.12282946]

>>12282789
By actually trying?

Have you been learning Latin or Ancient Greek? Have you been doing proofs? Have you been playing piano? Are you even reading? Conquer yourself before try mastering anything.

[Anonymous No.12282975]

>>12282789
He has probably never watched Evangelion though.

[Anonymous No.12282991]

>>12282789
OP thou art in luck, for I, God, on this most holy of eves, have deigned to deliver unto thee a most bountiful bargain. I shall give thee the linguistic, academic, and mental prowess of one John Stuart Mill. In exchange, only one condition: thou must look like John Stuart Mill for the rest of your life. Dost thou accept?

[Anonymous No.12283001]

>>12282789
Yeah but look at that shit in his forehead

[Anonymous No.12283006]

Yeah but he's John Stuart Mill for Christ's sake. Only a semi-big name in the grand scheme of things and one that doesn't inspire much feeling either way, love or hate. Surely you can do better?

[Anonymous No.12283047]

>>12282975
this

[Anonymous No.12283060]

didn't all that studying give him a mental breakdown in early adulthood though

[Anonymous No.12283070]

>>12282789
And yet he was a retarded utilitarian with no actual improvement on the world.

From his auto:
>It seems proper that before embarking on the following biographical sketch I should explain why I think it desirable that I should leave behind me such a memorial of a life as uneventful as mine. I do not for a moment imagine that any part of it can be interesting to the public as a narrative, or as being connected with myself. But I have thought that in an age in which education, and its improvement, are subjected to more (if not deeper) study than at any former period of English history, it may be useful to have some record of an education which was unusual and remarkable

[Anonymous No.12283076]

You don't, just do your best. Many prominent thinkers wouldn't become prominent until they were already old men.

[Anonymous No.12283078]

>>12283070
wow that is sad.

[Anonymous No.12283083]

>>12282789
yeah he also suffered from crippling depression, resented his upbringing, and came up with some of the most flawed ethical and logical theory in Western philosophy, go figure.

[Anonymous No.12283088]

>he learned a language (something every fucking baby in the world does on its own anyway) and read some books
WHOA

[Anonymous No.12283089]

>>12282861
I feel justified in knowing how multiple women’s vaginas feel whereas im certain kripke has almost felt none. He is literally autistic to the point of seeming subhuman in all other aspects of his life. He doesn’t even seem to respect his own genius he’s such a retard.

[Anonymous No.12283097]

>>12283089
seething bugman

[Anonymous No.12283265]

That doesn’t mean anything except that he had a great memory. Carlyle, Lincoln, Dickens, Tennyson, had much more ordinary childhoods but went much further.

There were very many young people in those days with such attainments who went nowhere. Child prodigy meme is fake and gay, only proof is the final result.

[Anonymous No.12283413]

>>12283088
You're right. We should raise babies on classical languages again.

[Anonymous No.12283431]

>>12282820
Sadly this is the correct answer

[Anonymous No.12283551]

David fucking Ricardo would take little Stuart on walks where they would discuss economics and philsophopy. Lucky bastard

[Anonymous No.12283569]

>i wish to be Bentham's and James Mill's child experiment
I couldn't think of anything worse

[Anonymous No.12283604]

>>12282991
I do, but I'm not OP. I'd look like John Stuart Mill for his knowledge.

[Anonymous No.12283641]

>>12283413
That is my aim, actually, to find ancient Greek speaking femme and raise children with her so children's native language will be Greek

[Anonymous No.12283663]

>>12282889
>but it says nothing about how well he'll be able to think critically or creatively as he ages
I do not think so.
Imagine a person who did not learn how to read and write as a child —this person is handicapped in terms of intelligence, now if you imagine the opposite, a child who learnt ancient greek along with other languages during his childhood will have some brain structures extremely developed, which gives a child extreme boost in comparison to others, who as they age, undergo neuron pruning and weakening of synapses

[Anonymous No.12283674]

>>12282889
A man who is well read is always more capable of forming new thoughts and critiquing than an illiterate lazyfuck. A well-read man has more tools than the lazy dumbfuck.

[Anonymous No.12283734]

>all that education
>ends up as brainlet utilitarian
LMAO

[Anonymous No.12283756]

>>12282789
By not being a massive autist and embracing the fact that you haven't been programmed by your fucking dad to suck up classical languages while you were not having any contact with people the same age as you because it will prevent you from being the "radical utilitarian over-philosopher."

Fuck, I mean, education within this circle of people back in the day was sad and cringe-worthy. Try to appreciate the fact that you weren't purposefully made a psychosocial retard by antiquated educational psychosis of your equally psychosocially disabled father figure.

Classical languages are nice and cool, start learning them, but also try not being a massive autist. My life is oscillating between these efforts and it's pretty comfy desu

[Anonymous No.12283768]

>>12283641
They'll resent you for your implicit expectations

[Anonymous No.12283785]

>>12283641
Latin would be more doable and valuable too probably.

[Anonymous No.12283788]

>>12282789
I went to the school of hard knocks. This birch wouldn't last a day.

[Anonymous No.12283796]

>>12282789
by logging of the internet and reading more books.

[Anonymous No.12283847]

Are you aware that younger children can learn languages quicker? Ancient Greek was almost as native as English for him most likely. If you force your son to learn ancient Greek from age 3 then he will probably end up similar. Besides, it's not like he had anything better to do at the time. He was the fruit of a strict upbringing which was normal for the time among educated people

[Anonymous No.12283936]

>>12283847

Actually it's the complete opposite: Studies suggest that children growing up bilingually often have one dominant and one recessive lsnguage and often aren't even learning one lsnguage properly

[Anonymous No.12283986]

Learn to appreciate how brilliant people can be without desiring to be them.

Everything and every person has its place.

[Anonymous No.12283990]

>>12283936
Source?

[Anonymous No.12283994]

>>12283936
Very true, my parents always told me to focus on English over my native language. Even my inner monologues are in English.

[Anonymous No.12283997]

>>12283847
>younger children can learn languages quicker
Where did this meme come from? Average baby needs a fucking year to say anything beyond gugu gaga, an adult should be halfway to fluency at that point.

[Anonymous No.12284005]

>>12283089
>I feel justified in knowing how multiple women’s vaginas feel
FUCK YOU ITS CHRISTMAS DAY WHY YOU GOTTA REMIND OF WHAT ILL NEVER HAVE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH BABY JESUS HELP ME

[Anonymous No.12284007]

shakespeare, besides going to a local grammar school until he was 15, didn't have much education & he was the greatest writer who ever lived

[Anonymous No.12284016]

>>12283997
It's been a ready excuse for at least a decade for why adults think they shouldn't/can't learn a second language, at least in the U.S.

Of course, it is very convenient for monolingual Americans to have someone else to blame for their lack of personal development.

[Anonymous No.12284035]

>>12283070
His version of utilitarianism is pretty great. He drew on the maximum happiness principle as a way to condense other ideas he saw as valid into one principle. He used it primarily to determine whether rules and virtues were good and worth pursuing as opposed to rejecting them altogether, and his criticism of Kant is that despite claiming to deduce moral imperatives from what rule sets would lead to absurdity, he never actually found logical contradictions. He just pointed to undesirable consequences unsystematically.
Whether people admit it or not, when rules or virtue conflict, there needs to be a higher principle you call to decide what to do, and this is absent in other systems without being arbitrary.

[Anonymous No.12284332]

>>12284016
Why ought Americans learn a second language?

[Anonymous No.12284337]

>>12284332
Americans should all study Gujarati so they can make new pen pals in India. Are you fucking retarded?

[Anonymous No.12284345]

>>12284332
Because they will otherwise be obsolete in about 10 years.

[Anonymous No.12284552]

>>12282789

All of this humanitard masturbation is vacuous and amounts to nothing intellectually non-trivial. Except the maths, which is so basic (assuming algebra means basic algebra, not the upper level undergrad stuff) it exposes the whole thing as intellectual posturing.

[Anonymous No.12284573]

>>12283756
But then I won't make me daddy proud nor will I be a third rate philosopher discussed by neet 25 year olds in a Japanese anime imageboard 200 years after my death.
If this isn't worth sacrificing the happiness of your only life in this world for, I don't know what is.

[Anonymous No.12284923]

>>12282991
Yes, is there supposed to be any downside?

[Anonymous No.12285019]

>>12284007
Black women didn’t have much education back then

[Anonymous No.12285063]

Teaching an 8 year old Plato is like getting a dog to bark math equations. This thread is like you looking at a dog who barks math equations, then feeling bad about yourself because you don't understand the equation the dog is barking.

[Anonymous No.12285092]

>>12283097
if you are personally insulted by this, you are either autistic or still in high school.

[Anonymous No.12285103]

either have the willpower to do what you want, or raise a kid to do it for you

also just because you give a child difficult things to read, doesn't necessarily mean that they will understand it. same goes for anyone

[Anonymous No.12285107]

>>12284035
imagine being unironically impressed by the basic bitch moral philosophy. it’s really not that novel. the features you admire are found in other ethical systens that dont commit you to retarded vagueness.

[Anonymous No.12285123]

>>12283641
What's the word for the greek loving equivalent of a weeb?

[Anonymous No.12285131]

Can you even understand those books at the age Mill read them?

>>12283089
Brainlet.

[Anonymous No.12285148]

>>12282789
>His father, a follower of Bentham and an adherent of associationism, had as his explicit aim to create a genius intellect that would carry on the cause of utilitarianism and its implementation after he and Bentham had died.

[Anonymous No.12285154]

>>12284035
>Whether people admit it or not, when rules or virtue conflict, there needs to be a higher principle you call to decide what to do, and this is absent in other systems without being arbitrary.
HAHAHAHAHA

[Anonymous No.12285158]

>>12284552
This, humanities aren't even real lmao

[Anonymous No.12285227]

>>12285063
me read plato
me have a big brain!

[Anonymous No.12285251]

>>12283089
>b-but what about pussy!
lol fuck off

[Anonymous No.12285464]

>>12285123
Hellaboo

[Anonymous No.12285551]

>>12284345
Implying we can't just import more people like we've always done.

[Anonymous No.12285561]

>>12285251
Imagine having accomplished so little that you have to look to all the skanks you banged to feel good about yourself.

[Anonymous No.12285570]

>>12285561
poor guy

[Anonymous No.12285591]

>>12282853
Exactly

[Anonymous No.12285637]

>>12284007
>going to a local grammar school

You know that meant he rigorous education than any private school today, right? He read all the Greeks.

[Anonymous No.12285647]

>>12282789
I call bullshit on this

[Anonymous No.12285651]

>>12285251
>>12285561
>>12285570
sure is samefag

[Anonymous No.12285666]

>>12285561
If you think saying “muh dualism” a solid four hundred years after Descartes articulated it on the same grounds is an achievement worth perserving your virginity for, be my guest. But then again idk why I’m continuing to reply to someone who has neither read Kripke enough to understand why he isn’t that impressive and mostly just autistic nor has experienced the pleasures of another human body.

[Anonymous No.12285679]

>>12282789
You don't compete with it. You give up on your illusion of becoming an educated intellectual and try to save up as much money as you can. Then you marry a wealthy/bourgeois woman and you give your son (if it's a daughter, abort it) the erudite education that you should have had.

This is the true blackpill.

[Anonymous No.12285728]

>>12285637
it was still a free provincial grammar school, it wasn't much in the eyes of the scholarly writers of the time. ben jonson said:
And though thou hadst small Latin and less Greek