Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George F Somsel <gfsomsel AT juno.com>]

On Tue, 06 Sep 2005 16:35:20 +0100 Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
writes:
> On 06/09/2005 14:11, George F Somsel wrote:
> 
> >... While we have
> >frequently been in disagreement, I trust that in many respects we 
> are
> >united.  My remarks regarding your persistence in argument were 
> not
> >particularly meant as a swipe at you but were simply an 
> acknowledgement
> >of the fact that you are like a dog with a bone who will not let 
> go.
> >
> >  
> >
> Yes, George, you are right. I didn't mean to suggest that you had 
> said 
> anything unreasonable about me, just that I had chosen to ignore 
> it.
> 
> But I don't intend to be like that on this point, and I hope you 
> don't. 
> While I too would be interested to hear a bit more of James' story, 
> he 
> may not want to tell it, and it may go well beyond the bounds of 
> this 
> list. I'm sure we can all understand that he was under pressure to 
> take 
> courses which he didn't want to take and so decided not to complete 
> his 
> MA. That was a decision which he has the right to take. So let's 
> leave 
> it there unless James chooses to say more.
> 
> -- 
> Peter Kirk
> peter AT qaya.org (personal)
> peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
> http://www.qaya.org/
____________

I agree.  If James had said he did not WISH to take certain courses I
would certainly have let it pass.  When, however, he stated that he did
so to preserve his integrity, that calls for some explanation.  I tend to
think that an intelligent student who diligently applies himself can both
maintain his integrity as well as satisfy the requirements of almost any
institution (I'm aware that there may be some where this is not the
case).  It may be that his views will be subjected to closer scrutiny
than they might otherwise have been had he been more in line with the
prevailing thought at the institution, but that does not mean that he
cannot fulfill the requirements without sacrificing his integrity -- he
will simply have a tougher row to hoe.

george
gfsomsel
___________