New article posted to examiner.com

There are many things not to like about Examiner.com, from the odious politics of its owner to the general sleaziness of its operations and presentation. 

However, I've found that on balance the articles I've posted there seem to do better and reach further than any other efforts I've made at documenting Shimer events. 

I have thus resolved to reconcile myself to the luzerliness of playing campus reporter for a school I graduated from 15 years ago, and have posted my latest article here: Chicago's Shimer College to Shine with New State Grant.

Dangerously optimistic?

Over on the Shimer.edu redesign blog (previously), there's some controversy about the tagline used on the mockups of the new website: "Dangerously Optimistic Since 1853":

A lot of people don't like it, and I can understand why. It doesn't seem to say anything about Shimer's core product—whether you call that dialogal education, Great Books pedagogy or what have you. On top of that, it lends itself to unfavorable interpretations. Can Shimer really afford to emphasize its own precariousness in this way? Even the old and thoroughly-reviled tagline "the Great Books College of the Midwest" at least suggested stability. 

But even though I'm the sort of person who normally hates everything, this new tagline really appeals to me. I'll try to explain why (see also Adam O.'s eloquent comment).

As much as Shimer stands for the great books (and for smallness, intentional community, dialogical pedagogy, and various other good things), it stands also for a certain glorious bloody-mindedness without which the school's existence—beyond 1853, or 1855, or 1857, or 1895, or 1898, or 1906, or 1927, or 1949, or 1957, or 1973, or 1977, or 1979, or 1990, or 2010, inter alia—would be unthinkable.

There is a reason that Shimer's people have always kept going, in the face of challenges that would have  made any well-adjusted institution decide to meekly curl up and die. Putting that reason into words can be challenging, but it's there all the same.

"Dangerously Optimistic" wouldn't have occurred to me as a way of summarizing this, but I think it works quite well—and certainly better than obvious alternatives like "Telling the World To Go Fuck Itself Since 1853," which for one thing is a bit too long.

Yes. 

.
For a long time, there has been an understandable desire to  keep this crazier side of Shimer safely tucked in the attic—when that craziness isn't needed to repel the latest existential threat, of course.  But this has left me and many others with a strange sense of contradiction between the community that we identify with and the school's outward face (which is also the face presented to alumni). Some contradiction between the inward and outward faces of Shimer is inevitable, but there's been something strangely bloodless about the way that Shimer has presented itself for many years, as if Shimer were trying to pretend that it had become a scaled-down version of an otherwise normal college.

This isn't good for Shimer or its people, and least of all for students who come to Shimer expecting something completely different from what they find.

Does the "dangerously optimistic" tagline emphasize precariousness, even foolhardiness? OK, sure. But Shimer has tried over and over to try to pretend that it hasn't spent 1.6 centuries dancing (flawlessly) on the volcano's brim, only for this pretense to be given the lie when the music starts again. This is stupid and self-defeating. We need to find ways of more effectively integrating this underlying strength in the outward-facing version of Shimer.  We cannot afford to keep turning Shimer's strengths into weaknesses.

In the end, I trust that the choice in this matter rests with the people of Shimer College, as it should.

But for my part, I think this is a good tagline.

Real reviews of Shimer College

If you happened across the Shimer College entry on a certain popular review site (which will remain nameless here but which has become infamous for its dubious and extortionary tactics), you might easily think that only two people in all the world had considered Shimer worth reviewing -- both of whom apparently had quite miserable experiences.

Your eye might easily miss the gray text at the bottom of the page announcing "28 Filtered Reviews" -- which is where this popular review site has seen fit to dump every single positive review of Shimer College, despite nearly all of these in-depth recommendations of Shimer having been written by demonstrably real human beings who really attended the school.

In the public interest, then, I here present all 28 of the reviews of Shimer that are currently filtered on the aforementioned site. (NB, the total number of reviewers is slightly less than 28, as each update to a review is counted as a separate review.)

If, gentle reader, your review is among these, I hope you will consider reposting it on Google+ Local and/or Yahoo Local, which lack that other site's incentive to rig the game against the reviewee.

Real reviews of Shimer College, in chronological order

bill m.
Flower Mound, TX
5.0 star rating
7/27/2008

I went to Shimer in the late 60's early 70's
The education that the school offered has proved invaluable in my life
You did not learn a craft or trade
You learned how to research and think for yourself
You also learned to take care of yourself
I've been involved with two companies that vanished but could get on with my life because of what I learned at Shimer


Jon E.

Duluth, MN
5.0 star rating
12/23/2008

I'm sorry to hear of anyone having difficulty with financial aid at Shimer. I suspect the cause is simple shortage of admin manpower at such a small school (I would like to see Shimer achieve some economy of scale by increasing enrollment to several hundred). I nearly left Shimer after a single semester when, newly married, I thought we couldn't possibly afford double Shimer costs. Financial aid put together a package that made it possible, and both my wife and I were graduated. Years later my loans were sold to Wachovia, who put some impossible pressure on me at an especially impoverished juncture in my life. I called Shimer, who immediately called Wachovia and furnished what amounted to a character reference for me, and induced Wachovia to arrange a manageable payment schedule. I offer these anecdotes to illustrate a different facet of financial aid at Shimer. I don't wish to contradict someone else's perception, but mine is obviously one of warmth and affection.
In the matters of continuing education and job-hunting assistance I can offer no comment except to wonder what one might expect from such a small institution. A remarkably large percentage of Shimer graduates successfully pursue advanced degrees, so one can hardly fault the school for insufficiently preparing students academically. I suppose the times have changed, but it never occurred to me to seek Shimer's help in finding a job. I assumed I was on my own, but with the considerable advantage of a Shimer education and degree.
That brings me, finally, to the heart of the Shimer experience, its curriculum. Reading original source materials instead of textbooks, discussing those readings in small groups guided by skilled and experienced teachers, and pursuing the major themes of Western thought through several academic disciplines toward intellectual synthesis at the upper levels of the curriculum constitutes an educational experience attainable in very few places on the planet (Shimer is indeed unique in some important qualities). I can't claim any "success" in my life in the ordinary use of the term. I came to Shimer early in my struggle to overcome ADD (the diagnosis didn't even exist at the time) and probably some very mild form of autism. Shimer's curriculum gave me simultaneously the focus and the self-confidence I needed to learn how to overcome my deficits, and began an education which I have continued on my own to this day. I would not trade that experience for any material success I (or you) can imagine. My life began at Shimer College. I say that in complete sincerity, and it is a sentiment I have heard again and again from other Shimer alums.


Meg N.
Aurora, IL
5.0 star rating
2/6/2009

I think I should start out by saying that Shimer College is not for everyone. We are fairly open about this, and aware that it attracts a certain type of people: usually bookish, self-motivated individuals; people who were unhappy with the type of education they'd received before; and yes, some people who because of our novel curriculum thought they might get a degree with less effort than going to a normal university. These people generally leave before they are halfway through their studies.

I am going through my second year here at the college, and while I have gone through my share of ups and downs with the community and the curriculum, my overall belief in the mission of Shimer College has not diminished. It doesn't always live up to its ideals, but what university does?

The student body is small. Lack of diversity? Maybe. It's true that it tends toward the white. Male/female seems pretty equal to me (sometimes more men than women). Political? Definitely left-leaning, but I see this trend in most college students, and I definitely know students here that span the spectrum. As far as ideology goes--I've had my own ideas challenged left and right, and the same text is approached from so many angles in a single class that it turns my head sometimes. Personalities come in an extremely wide range as well.

The curriculum itself has its roots, in part, in the Great Books movement that surged in the 1950s and continues to spread small tremors even today. But Shimer continues to revise its curriculum, adding and taking away works in various classes, diversifying the material that we read. I won't deny it's mostly western. Any Eastern, African, Central/South American literature I'd want to read, I would probably take in an elective here. But the idea is to spark original thinking, to look at how the authors we read have over the ages struggled to answer the same problems we face today. For me, it got me excited about learning things again, after high school textbook memorization had all but killed it.

One of the biggest concerns that most people have is practicality, I think. Reviewers below mentioned that Shimer grads (the recent ones) are having trouble finding work, etc etc. I think a good amount of this is due to the economy at the moment, among other factors. My mother graduated from Shimer in 1975; she is now a general editor of the religion section in a publishing magazine, works for religion news sources, and has published three books. My own plans after graduation include publishing novels, volunteering and traveling, attending culinary institutes and working at starting a cafe or something similar. Will I be in debt? I don't know. It's probable, but not yet speculative. It's a much-touted statistic that two-thirds of our graduates go on to higher education; accounting for the small number of students that we have, that still speaks of some successes. The way Shimer approaches reading, writing and analytical thought serves grad students very well when it comes to taking the GRE.

As far as tuition goes--it's fairly expensive, but for a private college, it's on the lower end of the scale. Shimer has expanded its scholarships, most recently with the Michel de Montaigne scholarship competition, offering two full and two half-tuition scholarships. We may offer less financial aid than other universities do--we are small, we do have less resources. This is part of the reason we share a campus with the Illinois Institute of Technology. We are slowly building up our resources and our student body, and in the meantime taking advantage of the city location that IIT has to offer. Possibly the best thing about the campus is that as a full-time student you get a Upass, allowing you unlimited rides on CTA public transit for a single semester fee--huge savings on what you would normally pay for monthly passes.

Shimer has two programs: a weekday and a weekend college. The weekday follows a more normal school schedule of classes; the weekend college meets once every three weeks for two days of intense back-to-back classes. It's ideal for working adults that would like to go back to college but don't have the time to do it on a weekday. I've taken classes in both programs and enjoyed them both immensely. They each have their differences and their advantages.

For me, the best thing about being at Shimer is that I'm around people who are really excited about reading the things that we do, and have explosive ideas about the world. Yes, most of us are young and tend towards the ideological side without real-world grounding as of yet. But you have to grow up somewhere. I see nothing wrong with thinking you can change the world and trying. Sometimes you really can. Shimer has immensely helped my reading and thinking skills, which I know will serve me when I go to publish. I've run out of room here, but I could say so much more. Shimer has given me the freedom to think.


Marilyn M.
Libertyville, IL
5.0 star rating
2/7/2009

As a graduate of Shimer's Weekend Program, as well as a five-year student of a large state university, and someone who currently works at an excellent large suburban high school, I must dispute some of the criticisms I've read here. Shimer is far from perfect -- and it's true that one can have a less than stimulating class if one's fellow students (or oneself!) comes to class unprepared -- however, in my four years at Shimer even the worst class was better than an average class at a large university. I found at Shimer a love of learning that I had not seen in all my years of schooling. Both the professors and the students were curious and intelligent -- willing to challenge one another and themselves. The fact that the students had real control over the content of the class meant that if a class failed to engage or challenge you, you had to accept part of the blame for that -- you couldn't blame it on a lousy professor. There were many intelligent professors at my large university, but they were uninvolved with and disinterested in undergraduate students. Teaching us was a rather unsavory chore to be gotten through as quickly as possible. For several years I was convinced they had underground tunnels or secret passageways to escape the classroom buildings, as I never encountered them in the halls or on campus. At Shimer, we ate together, had wonderful conversations, and occasionally socialized on weekends. They were involved with and concerned about the students to a degree that I still find incredible.
I think much of the dissatisfaction one might have with Shimer -- or any college/university for that matter -- is a result of incomplete research. I definitely should have done more searching before I attended that large university. There are many components that combine to make a school a good fit for someone, and there should be some extensive soul searching and a good deal of on-site examination and conversation before a decision is reached. One complaint was the size of the school -- it takes very little research to find out that information, and that should definitely be taken into consideration before one commits to attending a school - of ANY size. Why didn't the student think that through beforehand and perhaps talk to Shimer students about that concern?
I cannot agree at all with the comment on cost -- you folks need to look around a bit -- as far as private schools go, Shimer is on the VERY low end. Most privates cost thousands more, and most don't even begin to approach the kind of education available at Shimer.
It is true that you may well have an English teacher as your tutor in a science class. I found that incredibly refreshing -- we were learning together, and it was exciting and energizing! We frequently had visitors to our classes, and on several occasions the visitors weren't sure which of us was the teacher. Everyone in the class -- including the tutor -- was delighted by this, as we felt it demonstrated that we were asking good questions and digging deeply into the readings.
Finally, the whole job thing is problematic for ALL graduates today. Liberal arts grads often have a tough time selling themselves, but generally, once they get that first job, their value becomes obvious. The trouble these days is getting that first job! I truly believe the faculty will help you in any way possible -- but no one will research this for you -- although they may provide alumni contacts and other sources of information, this is an every-girl/guy-for-her/himself sort of thing.
Shimer provides something rare and wonderful in higher education, and I hate to see folks tear it down for things it never claimed to have in the first place -- at a school of 100, one can scarcely expect an extensive campus and resources (didn't you visit first?) -- or for things it doesn't want to have (professors lecturing away about their field of expertise, rather than acting as questioning guides to the student's own learning). I can understand that this type of education isn't for everyone, but for those of us who jumped in and really worked while we were there, I believe it was the best of all possible worlds.


Colleen C.
Brookfield, IL
4.0 star rating
2/12/2009

Luckily, I happen to go to Shimer College, in their Weekend Program, and, as expected I love it. The primary reason Shimer is, in my opinion, a top-notch higher learning institiution is the typeof education they offer. The discussion based, Socratic method is not your everyday lecture in a lecture hall. It's impossible to say how different this is, from ordinary colleges on the whole,except that one has to experience it.


Phthalo B.
Chicago, IL
5.0 star rating
3/19/2009

What Aaron says about it being limited in diversity is certainly true but hopefully we will fix that.

Certainly it is also true what he said about laziness. I have been lazy lately myself. It is certainly true that you have to get your own education out of it: if you want to be lazy as all hell you sure can, but that is your own fault and it is possible to get a beautiful experience. But as he says this is "as with any school".

But the community for me is the most beautiful part. I can talk about beautiful academic topics all the time: all kinds of beautiful discussions all the time on feminist theories, gender theories, discussing religion, theories of how the mind works on drugs, theories of consciousness. Huge amounts of dialogue. If the teacher doesn't show up we still have class just discussing what we want to more freely. I am convinced that Shimer will save the world. I think that Aaron was in the weekend program which is less amazing than the weekday program apparently.

Here is a website that I made which contains my opinion of the school:

http://braults.net/shimercollege/index.html


Dan S.
Mill Valley, CA
5.0 star rating
12/21/2009

Shimer College is simply the most amazing school in the country. Granted, it's not for everyone, but it was far superior to UC Berkeley and the other acclaimed universities where I did graduate work. As far as getting a job is concerned, first of all, Shimer students tend to go on to graduate school--in fact, Shimer students receive doctoral degrees at a rate double that of Harvard, Stanford, Yale, or Princeton. For those who don't--like me--Shimer prepares one for almost any work. After I left Shimer, I was hired to do accounts receivable at a $100 million corporation (with $2 billion in assets). After five years, I was Controller. After I was named as the new Controller, I was asked if I had a CPA; I said no. I was asked if I had an MBA; again, no. I was asked where I received my accounting degree; I told them I didn't have one. I told them the truth: I had attended Shimer College, and Shimer graduates can do anything. I've been in corporate finance for years; I also sell used and rare books. I use my Shimer education every day. By the way, my wife, a UCLA summa cum laude graduate and a Berkeley MBA (top of her class) refers to me as the smartest person she's ever known. I had a 2.64 GPA at Shimer (4.0 everywhere else, including Berkeley. Enough said.


Samuel H.
Miller, IN
5.0 star rating
12/22/2009

I am a 1998 graduate of Shimer College, and I would recommend it to all independent thinkers. Shimer offers a blend of Great Books learning, participatory governance, and dialogical education that no other college has ever replicated. Few have even tried.

I cannot judge whether what Shimer offers is actually the best education in America, but it is certainly the best that I have experienced. You read original sources, not textbooks; you come to your own conclusions, not the conclusions your professor wants. You participate in the actual governance of the college, not the make-believe of "student government."

In sum: if you like reading and thoughtful discussion, and don't care for the mass-produced drivel that masquerades as "education" in much of the world, go to Shimer.


Matt M.
South Pasadena, CA
5.0 star rating
3/30/2010

I started at Shimer College in '01 and graduated in '07, having taken some time off. I saw the college go through various notable changes, some that took place in as little as a year, due to its small size and creative culture. I moved the college from Waukegan to Chicago the summer before my final year, working on the Buildings and Grounds crew, which no longer exists. I stay in touch with current students, former co-workers, and fellow alumni. When I started teaching, I sent an e-mail to all my facilitators asking for advice; all responded. It is a close community.

The community can also feel narrow-minded and stifling sometimes, which is why I respect the narratives of Aaron and Jeremy. The college does not suit many people's ideas of rigor and interest, and it's inability to include them stems from and reinforces its social and academic narrowness. I see this as a problem, and I want to work within the community to address it.

That said, a Shimer education is both challenging and enlightening for those who commit to it. Because each member of the community has a voice, the shortcomings of the school can be addressed by each member, and problems are often rectified. I've attended a state university, a correspondence program, and now a community college for brief stints, and none of them has begun to compare to Shimer College. The program is grueling, but interesting and rewarding. This page will be helpful for anyone interested in the specifics of Shimer's curriculum. The links from it also contain valuable information for anyone hoping to get a sense of what we do: http://www.shimer.edu/ac…
I would recommend a Shimer education to anyone who loves to read and think. But people should also know that the college faces a grave threat at the moment. The president and a majority of the board, all recently imposed by an anonymous donor, have spurned Shimer's long-standing tradition of self-governance and open dialogue. They have put the college's accreditation in danger by adopting a mission statement that lacks the support of the students, faculty, and a vast majority of alumni. Community members worry that the president may begin firing cherished faculty whom he perceives as threatening to his dominance.
Many of us are working to regain our voice at the college (though the offices of Board and President have always had legal control of the college, they have taken the wishes of the rest of community seriously). If we are not successful, Shimer risks losing its accreditation, faculty will be distracted from their academic duties by worrying about their jobs, and students will no longer be able to meaningfully participate in the decisions of the college, missing out on an unparalleled civic education. A Shimer education would still compare to that of many other universities, but it would seriously degrade. Shimer has plenty of problems, but the current regime will only exacerbate them.
To learn more about the current situation at Shimer, read the February issue of Promulgates, the student newspaper: http://www.mediafire.com…


Ron P.
Maidstone, Kent
UK
5.0 star rating
4/22/2010

Although it's awhile since I attended Shimer, I have many friends who have been there over the intervening years, and have been in close touch with those involved in ensuring the college's continuing freedom and independence. Over the years it has remained a great place for stimulating education in Western thought, close community and enduring relationships. I sincerely and strongly recommend this school.


a b.
Beverly Hills, CA
1.0 star rating
4/29/2010

This school is awful- could be the worst school ever. Ran by manipulative students and duped faculty. The faculty have absolutely no clue what is going on outside the classroom which is really bad considering that of the 5 or 10 faculty members they have, all of them have joint roles as the director's of either financial aid, dean of students, housing director, academic dean, etc. This school is very cliquish and the students that do not leave after 1 or 2 semesters are extremely manipulative, particularly to the faculty, who basically control everything. The clicks ultimatly end up determining what elective classes are taught, who gets to take them, who gets in (or out) of housing and where they stay, who gets scholarships- basically who leaves and who stays. Most students that attend (particularly the quality ones) either get fed up with all the manipulation and resulting poor administrative choices made by the faculty and transfer (which almost none of their classes do) or give up with school altogether because they are too in debt now and disenchanted to start over some were else. Those people I know who did put up with it (or were in the clicks) and have graduated had a sour experience and are typically employed as waiters.


Erik B.
Chicago, IL
4.0 star rating
5/3/2010

In contrast to the other reviews here, my Shimer experience was transformative in a lasting and positive way. In high school I didn't participate seriously because I resented being treated like a child by teachers who rarely impressed me. In contrast, at Shimer, through four years of thoughtful, rigorous, small-group discussion centered on original source texts, I was invited to share my opinions with others, to collaborate respectfully to come to a deeper understanding of the topic at hand, and to face the responsibility that comes with having strong opinions. Rather than the revered repositories of arcane knowledge, my teachers were the stewards of this complex learning process. Using some of the greatest original sources as the starting point of our discussions, my Shimer experience helped me to find my own voice in response to life's most challenging existential, philosophical and practical issues.

This experience not only prepared me for graduate school - which seemed easy after Shimer - and the workplace - where my writing and communication skills have earned me strong recommendations ever since - but it also prepared me in a much deeper way for life by refining my critical reasoning skills, cultivating the habit of active participation, and broadening my interests across the disciplines.

The comments here about "manipulation" surprise me. Elective offerings are determined by surveying student interest and then taking that together with available teaching resources - much more input than a larger school would offer. Who gets to take what class is determined like at any other school, based on prerequisites and seniority. Housing is contracted through IIT's housing services, so IIT, not Shimer, determines who gets to live there and who doesn't. Scholarships are determined by a committee that is elected by the entire community. To accuse the faculty of being 'clueless' outside the classroom, makes me wonder what particular clue "a b." has to make such a strong and sweeping judgment. As an alum ('97) and a former staff member ('02-'09), I found my colleagues on the faculty not only to be remarkable teachers, but to be remarkably informed and responsible citizens and individuals. Furthermore, the only significant administrative position currently held by a faculty member at Shimer is the Dean of Students and that's a temporary measure taken only because the former president refused to fund a full-time Dean of Students for this year.

In response to Aaron's comments (who I knew at the College), though I'll agree that the price tag is high, for the kind of education that Shimer offers, it's much cheaper than the alternatives. As for available services, Shimer students have access to all the services that IIT students do so one might look into other reviews of IIT's services to get a better sense about that.

As for the Shimer classroom lacking rigor, I simply disagree. Though it takes time for those students who aren't ready or committed enough to handle the work at Shimer to either find their own way elsewhere, get kicked out or get serious, a student who takes her or his work seriously is in for somtimes hundreds of pages of reading per night, scores of pages of writing per semester, and enough serious discussion to wear out the most energetic intellectual. And, apparently, it works. Despite a very liberal enrollment policy, Shimer graduates score in the top 1% in the country on standardized tests and are three to four times as likely to earn doctorates than graduates of such schools as Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. My own informal survey has the graduates that I'm in touch with programming at Microsoft, studying and practicing law, doing various non-profit work, teaching at St. John's College, doing graduate study at UofC, Duquesne, DePaul, Loyola and elsewhere, and on and on.

My main reservation about Shimer is that it would be better off with its own campus and one or two hundred more students. This would allow for more elective options, a larger and more diverse faculty, and a student life experience better tailored for Shimer students.

Though Shimer is certainly not for everyone, if you are ready to work hard, to read an amazing amount across the disciplines, and want an education which goes beyond simple job preparation and genuinely prepares you for a meaningful and engaged life, try Shimer. You won't regret it.

ps: Yelp's automatic filter seems to have hidden the majority of the comments about Shimer. I'd encourage you to scroll down and read the "unfiltered" comments.


Robert H.
Mill Valley, CA
5.0 star rating
7/11/2010

Shimer College is, without a doubt, the best college in the country. Shimer graduates are five times as likely as Harvard or Stanford graduates to attain doctoral degrees. Shimer graduates outperform virtually every other college or university on standardized tests. Yet Shimer accepts 90% of their applicants, some of whom are high school dropouts, others of whom only attended high school for two or three years! How do they do it? Incredible teachers (called "facilitators"), tiny classes (usually between five and twelve students), an amazingly supportive environment, teachers who know EVERY STUDENT personally (there are only about 120 students, so it is not that difficult)...I could go on and on. Sure, it's too small for some people and too difficult for others--you have to read a lot, write a lot, think a lot, and talk a lot in class. But you will achieve things at Shimer that you never believed possible--and without being miserable or worked half to death. And for the (quite reasonable) cost, you are getting an education comparable to what you would receive at Oxford University in England--where many Shimer students spend their junior or senior year. My entire education was wasted years--middle school, high school, graduate school--except Shimer. What an experience! What an education! What incredibly wonderful faculty and students! How I wish I could do it all again!


Tia S.

Chicago, IL
5.0 star rating
9/24/2011

Shimer is an amazing academic experience, one that you can't get anywhere else in the country. The facilitators care about the students and want them to really thrive, and as much as Shimer is a college, it is also a family, and a community.

I've experienced more personal growth in my last year at Shimer College than I have through any other formal education. Shimer is incredibly rigorous, but if you welcome change and put effort into your work, you will come out with so many skills that other colleges don't have the resources or care enough to teach.


Robin B.

Chicago, IL
5.0 star rating
9/24/2011

So, take this with a grain of salt as I've been attending Shimer for hardly a month as of now, but this is a fantastic place to go to school.

Known as the "other" Great Books school, (St. Johns being the primary) Shimer has a culture and a community all its own that sets it apart from all others. Reading and discussing the Western canon with a group of people who are passionately interested is what Shimer promises - and delivers. Perhaps it is really the quality of the group of people one has class with that makes the most difference in the educational benefits one receives at Shimer, but the added element of a generally friendly and open-minded character that permeates the school is what makes it special to me.

While I wouldn't say that this school is good for everyone, I believe that for the people it IS right for, it is an invaluable experience. If you love to read and dialog, and you crave that "aha!" moment of understanding, chances are Shimer would serve you well.


Danielle B.
Chicago, IL
5.0 star rating
2/10/2012

Shimer is unique, and as such, attracts unique students. I was one of them, and after attending several other college, finally found what I was looking for at Shimer: A vibrant intellectual institution; a caring, considerate community (and that includes students, faculty, staff, alumni, and even trustees); an acceptance of what each of us has to offer; and the opportunity to be challenged, and succeed, in a demanding environment. The academics are difficult--you have to really enjoy reading and thinking--but the rewards are worth it. The cost was far lower than other colleges and universities I attended, and the financial aid package was quite good. And I've never been to another college where faculty members invite you to their homes for dinner. I even had a Board of Trustees member I was chatting with one day take me--an 18 year old student--out to lunch. When I graduated, I found work quickly (maybe not the dream job I hoped for, but it met my needs) before going on to law school two years later (five applications, five acceptances). In summary, you won't do better than Shimer College. I only wish I had not wasted almost three years at other colleges.


Danielle B.

Chicago, IL
5.0 star rating
Update - 2/12/2012

Only three students who have ever attended Shimer College have anything negative to say about the college. There are about TEN TIMES as many positive reviews, except Yelp has chosen to "filter" those so you cannot see them without searching. I don't think there is another college in the country where 90% of the students talk about how wonderful their college experience is. And as a former student at Shimer (and not one who dropped out or never even attended, like one of the front page reviews), I can categorically state that the education at Shimer is unsurpassed, the students warm, thougytful, considerate, and just plain fun to be around, the faculty amazingly knowledgeable about almost anything, and the experience unsurpassed. Try it--90% of those who do so love it.
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Robert K.
Princeton, NJ
4.0 star rating
2/12/2012

I am a 1961 graduate of Shimer College, who lost touch with the institution, and has recently spent quite a bit of time at the College. I am an academic (a professor at Princeton) so I am well-acquainted with higher-status institutions. What impresses me about Shimer is not only how bright the students are, but how engaged they are in their education. They read Great Books and continue their discussions -- of Plato, Thucydides, or Durkheim -- outside of class. It is true that many of the usual amenities of US colleges are missing, such as sports, and that Shimer is housed in the campus of IIT. But if you want a truly intellectual college experience, and to play a major role in your own education through both small discussion classes and a democratic governance system, you should look at Shimer College.


Nancy N.

Evanston, IL
5.0 star rating
2/13/2012

About three years ago I decided to become a more active alum at Shimer because I valued deeply the experience of open and vigorous inquiry at the college, the commitment to thoughtful dialogue, and the affirmation that an informed life is truly possible. Alums from various decades often report the ways in which Shimer "changed their life," just as it had done for me. I am so inspired by the students that I meet on campus today. They are incredibly bright, dedicated, involved, and are living proof that the education at Shimer continues to nurture real intellectual and personal development. I have been able to be more flexible, creative, collaborative, and discerning in my professional life because of my education at Shimer. Going to Shimer was one of the best choices I ever made, and I love the fact that what was great about Shimer when I attended remains great today.


Pandora W.
Chicago, IL
5.0 star rating
2/22/2012

An incredible place. This is the second-smallest first-tier college (after Deep Springs) in America--a wholly unique place. We start with the pre-Socratics and progress all the way through to the post-structuralists, but still valuing each author in their own right; we discuss each text together, as a group, and also value everyone's opinion. The entire format is set up to be a meta-meta-modern dialectic, essentially that which teaches one to be active and yet understand.

Everyone (well, everyone who does it right) has their mind blown every single day. Most of us see Shimer as a place where you learn how to live, which is admittedly not something that can be quantified with a diploma very easily. Luckily, we have a great reputation with graduate schools and are in the top 1% of graduating seniors who go on to masters' programs.

Basically, learning to love all things makes you a better person. Doing it this way makes us a really special place. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you're reading this, it's probably worth your time to come visit and see if it's right for you.


Meep L.

San Francisco, CA
5.0 star rating
3/7/2012

Shimer is a fantastic school.

i just read 'what is art' by Tolstoy, and 'waiting for Godot' by Beckett for my humanities 1 and 2 classes respectively. i had rehearsal for a collection of David Mamet shorts, i attended a Quality of Life committee meeting where i actively participated in the governance of my school. also happening was a SMELT meeting (our student activist group), where a speaker from a local community organization conducted a Q and A session.

the reading, the community, the classes all make this a really outstanding school. i like the people and atmosphere that is created in polite and honest discourse. it is a very small school, with limited resources, but i think that it serves its mission well.

'to serve rather than be served' is the official motto, and one i love and think truly represents the spirit of this college community.

'let us discuss this' is the unofficial motto and one we see enacted everyday, in and outside of classes.

i'm really happy i came to shimer, i think that it creates a unique environment that many people could benefit from and fosters critical thinking and an active mindset.


Genevieve W.
Libertyville, IL
5.0 star rating
5/24/2012

This is an unbiased, positive review about one of the best kept secrets (that should not be a secret) in higher education. I value the rigor, antics and fun and the true sense of the community of scholars that is Shimer. The facilitators (professors in regular college speak) are some of the most committed, intellectually curious group I have had the pleasure to study with.
I am a graduate from 2006 Adult Weekend program; one of the Waukegan campus alums.
Yes, it has a number of administrative dysfunctionalities, the school is quite small and does not spend a fortune on amenities.But they continually work to improve the support systems. On some levels it is a bookish place with a no frills approach. That was just what I needed to focus my attention of the learning. My facilitators helped me or arranged for tutors anytime I made the need known.
With it being a small school I had the opportunity to serve on governing committees to do the work of the college. To have a say, so to speak.

Yes I did take on student loan debt, but I knew that going in and made the commitment to do so. But my financial aid package also had grants, some scholarships funds as I worked and attended school to keep down my personal debt. If you are willing to work out the finances, they went out of their way to help me navigate the expense.

This is not a school for the faint of heart, or pampered soul used to having everything laid out for them. But it is for the willing participant in the life of the mind, willing to work for their knowledge and continue onward in their life able to think, and not from having been told what to think

I am a part of an ongoing legacy of excellent academics and joyous reading whilst searching for the meanings of the "Great Books" and how to integrate that knowledge into real world, real time life situations. It has broadened my abilities to critically analyze and propose solutions in many areas. It is for the curious, the geeky, the independent learner who hungers for knowledge, conversation and impeccable writing skills.But you personally must put in the effort and want it enough.


Dan S.
Mill Valley, CA
5.0 star rating
Update - 6/3/2012

Amazing college. Small classes (10-15 students), brilliant faculty. I was a high school dropout who was accepted to law school at Stanford after completing my undergraduate degree at Shimer. All classes are discussions--no lectures. Half the time you don't even know who the professor is. They are not even called professors, but facilitators. No fraternities, sororities, football teams, cheerleaders, none of tat garbage. Just a small group of kids who are great to hang with (almost all really interesting and smart, including some high school dropouts and "early entrants"--kids who are 15, 16, or 17 and couldn't stand high school any more). You will read more than you ever imagined and learn more than you ever imagined. It will be the toughest four years you will ever love. If you are not a jerk, check out Shimer. If you are a jerk, go somewhere else.
1 Previous Review: Show all »


Samuel H.
Miller, IN
5.0 star rating
Update - 6/5/2012

If you like reading and thoughtful discussion, and don't care for the mass-produced drivel that masquerades as "education" in much of the world, go to Shimer.

I am a 1998 graduate of Shimer College, and I would recommend it to all independent thinkers. Shimer offers a blend of Great Books learning, participatory governance, and dialogical education that no other college has ever replicated. Few have even tried.


Tia S.
Chicago, IL
5.0 star rating
6/5/2012

I cannot make this clear enough:

Shimer is an amazing academic experience, one that you can't get anywhere else in the country. The brilliant facilitators care about the students and want them to really thrive, and as much as Shimer is a college, it is also a family, and a community.

I've experienced more personal growth in my time at Shimer College than I have through any other formal education. Shimer is rigorous, but if you welcome change and put effort into your work, you will come out with so many skills that other colleges don't have the resources or care enough to teach.


Tia S.
Chicago, IL
5.0 star rating
Update - 6/16/2013

For whatever reason, basically every positive review has been filtered, while the two negative reviews and mine stand (thanks a lot Yelp).

I suggest you read the filtered reviews in addition to the unfiltered ones to get a better idea of what Shimer is about. I have no idea why 25 of the reviews (many of which are from friends of mine) are hidden.
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »


Sam K.
Green Bay, WI
5.0 star rating
6/24/2012

The purpose of a Great Books education is to present yourself with challenging prose, meticulously deconstruct the text, and then attempt to understand. Shimer College is an accredited institute of higher education that allows you to practice this unique curriculum in the city of Chicago.

Here you'd find a big lack of hierarchy. You're not required to climb ladders to reach certain goals. You merely say, "I'd like to study this." Shimer College provides you opportunities to either get credit studying with a professor one-on-one or cross-register with Harold Washington or IIT to obtain whatever intellectual goals you have.

Shimer College, though, is a liberal arts college that focuses on general education. The students, faculty, and staff members are all deeply committed to the spirit of democracy, the socratic method, and conversation. This is perhaps the only place you can walk into and immediately expect a serious conversation.

For those who are self-driven, independent, and free-spirited, this college will not only improve you intellectually -- but would thoroughly cleanse you of any strict dogmatic belief that holds you steadily to whatever political ground you stand. That doesn't mean you will change you from an Objectivist to a Tolstoyan, but rather, you will learn how to talk about concepts and ideas in ways you probably haven't done before. The tools that Shimer will give you after days of dialogue are the ability to comprehend your own ideas, translate your thoughts into words, and then communicate yourself to any audience willing to listen.


Meybalo L.
San Francisco, CA
4.0 star rating
5/14/2013

this college has changed my life. It's thoughtful, which is rare nowadays. they don't have the best facilities. but the community is strong, and the education even stronger. we read the great books, which in itself is enough to change someones life. but the opportunity to discuss the great books, that is truly altering. I recommend this education to anyone. this environment is amazing. the people are SMART. the readings are hard (they're not great for nothing.) but totally worth it.
come to this college. it's awesome.

also note that there are 24 'filtered' reviews really praising this college. I'm not sure why they're filtered but many of them say exactly what i am saying now. this is a great college, of great books.

Blogs and RSS feeds related to Shimer College

This is a list of Shimer-related RSS feeds, including but not limited to those featured in the sidebar of this blog. I will try to keep it updated from time to time. These feeds may be useful for those wishing to keep up with Shimer happenings.

Listing criteria are that the feed be at least mostly Shimer-related, and have shown at least some activity in the last couple of years.

Official and kinda-official feeds:

• Blog.shimer
• Evocations, Susan Henking's presidential blog.
• Susan Henking's ChicagoNow blog
• "Home Page Listing" on alumni.shimer
• Shimer Alumni Calendar
• Shimer College Alumni Association (Facebook)
• QLC at Shimer College (Facebook)
• Thinking about Going to Shimer, the Great Books College of Chicago (Facebook)

Unofficial:

• New uploads to the Shimer archive on archive.org
• New pages on Shimer College Wiki
• Posts tagged "Shimer College" on Adam Kotsko's blog
• Shimer College and the Future
• Shimer Alumni Alliance
• Shimer College Alumni Speak
• Shimerians.com
• Scoop.it: Shimer College
• Scoop.it: Shimer College alumni

Happy 160!

Happy birthday to Shimer!  If you donate this month, your donation will be matched.

Sixteen full decades have now passed since Frances Wood and Cindarella Gregory greeted their first eleven pupils in the back room of the Presbyterian Church in Mount Carroll. The local papers tell us that northern Illinois was then in its third full week of heavy rains -- explaining the endless mud through which Wood and Gregory had traveled to reach the town.

"The morning was cold and dismal," according to one account written 30 years later, "and all day long the rain fell drearily on the roof, penetrating the weather beaten boards and leaving long lines of wet upon the floor." The school that was to become Shimer College was open for business, and no minor detail like the lack of an adequate building was going to hold it up.

 Miss Wood's account in her journal is fairly brief:

Very rainy, rather a bad commencement, we however had 11 young ladies; we all remain together for the present yet Mr. Gray offers his rooms for our own use. One of our young ladies, Miss Pierce, has been at Rockford Seminary one & half year, wishes to take Arithmetic, Algebra & Latin.

(Worth noting that the history of students transferring to Shimer goes back to the very beginning.)


You, too, can help keep Shimer warm and dry.  Where was that link again?  Ah, here it is.

2012: Shimer College year in review

This year has had its twist and its turns, but finally it deposits us here -- with just enough time for a quick backward glance.

Here are a few of the top forms of Shimer-related awesomeness that come to mind from the past year (not a comprehensive list):

- Awesome new Shimer College video, now over 4,000 views:



- Awesome new Shimer Colege viewbook:

- Awesome new Shimer College president. (Some representative forms of awesomeness: 1, 2, 3, 4.)

- Awesome new/old Director of Admissions!

 - Lots of awesome articles about Laurie Spiegel ('67), prompted first by her music's appearance in the Hunger Games movie and then by the expanded reissue of her Expanding Universe album. Rounding up all this coverage needs a separate blog post (hopefully forthcoming), but here a three pieces picked more or less at random: Slate, Pitchfork, New Yorker. 

- An astounding amount of historical material from Shimer's first decades has been made available online, (mostly) courtesy of NIU, for example:

• every known issue of the Oread (1869-1895),  
• every surviving issue of the Seminary Bell (1859-1862). 

- Most photos in the Shimer College Flickr stream are now licensed CC-BY, allowing them to be freely reused (e.g. on Wikipedia) as long as Shimer is credited. (If you haven't tangled with copyright issues in the digital age, it's easy to miss how much awesome is wrapped up in that development.)

Of course, the most awesome thing of all is that Shimer's extremely high baseline level of awesomeness has made it through yet another year intact.

So, then.... if, like me, you approve of the above developments (or any fraction thereof), I hope you'll join me in making a year-end donation to Shimer College.

Shimer College Open House for prospective students, October 8 2012

Via shimer.edu:

COLLEGE FOR A DAY
OCTOBER 8, 2012

The faculty and students of Shimer invite you to visit us on Columbus Day, Monday, October 8, 9:30am to about 2:00pm (or later if you'd like to sit in on afternoon classes).



You will tour the campus, meet Shimer faculty, students, and staff, and get a chance to experience a Shimer class: a class with no more than twelve students discussing a text that has been pivotal to the development of civilization.

Feel free to bring your parents, a friend, or both.

Complete this online registration form to let us know that you are coming.

Call 312.235.3504 or email us with any questions you have. We hope you can join us in the Great Conversation.

Shimer College
Office of Admission
3424 S. State Street
Chicago IL 60616

Text of David Shiner's Euthyphro lecture

Text of the lecture given by David Shiner prior to his departure to lead Shimer's Oxford program this fall.

Piety, Knowledge, and Critical Inquiry in Plato’s Euthyphro (with reference to Plato’s Apology)

David Shiner

Shimer College

August 22, 2012

Every Shimer student in the Weekday program reads Plato’s Euthyphro as their first assignment in preparation for Orientation.  This is appropriate, because Platonic dialogues such as the Euthyphro are typical of the sorts of texts that work particularly well in the Shimer classroom.  The meanings of such texts are rarely immediately obvious, or at least not completely so; because of this, they reward close reading, critical investigation, and deep reflection. By contrast, a technical manual, such as the ones included with cars and DVD players, aims to plainly communicate a single meaning that can be contradicted only by statements that are patently incorrect.  That’s one reason why we don’t study technical manuals at Shimer, or their first cousins, textbooks.  With that in mind, I’m going to explore some aspects of the Euthyphro in an effort to uncover at least part of the meaning of the dialogue.

The plot of the Euthyphro is simple, and the text is relatively brief by Platonic standards.  Socrates encounters a man named Euthyphro at the site where his (Socrates’) trial is about to take place.  Each man tells the other one why he is there.  Socrates is a defendant.  He recounts the charges against him, charges that will be familiar to readers of Plato’s Apology, including the allegation that he has committed heresy by inventing new gods and failing to acknowledge the old ones (3A).  Euthyphro is a plaintiff who is prosecuting his father for manslaughter.  When Socrates expresses surprise that Euthyphro would do such a thing, Euthyphro, who claims to be an unrecognized authority on religious matters, responds that reverence for the gods demands it.  Socrates then proposes that, since Euthyphro is such an expert on piety, he will become Euthyphro’s pupil in order to prove to his accusers that he is “eager for knowledge about religion” (5A), which will presumably undermine the charge of heresy that has been leveled against him.  During the remaining three-quarters of the dialogue, Socrates asks Euthyphro questions about the nature of piety, presumably as pupil to teacher.  Euthyphro consistently proves unable to supply an account of piety that meets the standards of Socratic inquiry, and the dialogue ends without such an account having been satisfactorily provided.

Or, to put it more accurately, the dialogue ends without a satisfactory explicitly-stated account of piety.  Is there an implicit conception of piety that reveals itself upon deeper investigation?  This is the general question I will be investigating this afternoon.  

In order to begin this investigation, I’ve selected a passage to serve as a point of departure. That passage occurs near the end of the dialogue, after Euthyphro attempts at Socrates’ request to summarize the achievements of the gods.  He does so at some length, in response to which Socrates responds, in part, as follows: “You, Euthyphro, might have answered my question in far fewer words….If you had done so, I should by now have obtained from you all the information I need about piety” (14B-C).

On the basis of that passage, the following question arises: what are those “far fewer words,” and what is that “information”?  Nothing in the Euthyphro explicitly answers those questions, so that any attempt to find the answers – indeed, even to discover whether those questions have answers – necessarily involves looking beyond, as well as at, the manifest content of the dialogue.  So let’s do that.

First, we’ll examine the evidence concerning Euthyphro’s claim to be a religious authority. We’ve already noted that Euthyphro justifies his prosecution of his father on the grounds of piety.  In explaining this to Socrates, he admits that all his relatives disagree with both his prosecution of his father and his justification for it; they have unanimously told him that “it is an act of impiety for a son to prosecute his father for manslaughter” (4D).  In response to this, Socrates asks him, “But, in the name of Zeus, Euthyphro, do you think your knowledge about the divine law and piety and impiety is so exact that, when the facts are as you say, you are not afraid of doing something impious yourself in prosecuting your father for murder?”  To this, Euthyphro responds, “I should be of no use, Socrates, and Euthyphro would be no better than the common run of men, if I did not have accurate knowledge about all that sort of thing” (4E-5A).

Plato gives us ample reason to be skeptical of Euthyphro’s claim.  Earlier in the dialogue, even before explaining the details of his pending court case, Euthyphro tells Socrates, “I have never predicted a word that wasn’t true” (3B), offering his unerring prophetic ability as evidence of his wisdom concerning divine matters. Shortly thereafter, alluding to the prosecution that he is about to undergo, Socrates says, “There’s no knowing how his case will turn out – except for you prophets” (3D).  Euthyphro replies, “I daresay it will come to nothing, Socrates, and you will conduct your case satisfactorily” (3E).  Given that readers of this dialogue would be well aware of Socrates’ subsequent conviction and execution at the hands of the Athenian court, as rendered in the Apology and other contemporary accounts, Plato could hardly have made Euthyphro’s lack of prophetic ability plainer to his audience.  This episode casts considerable doubt on Euthyphro’s subsequent claims concerning his knowledge of religious matters, which in turn implies that his self-confidence on that score is unwarranted.

Shortly thereafter, in response to Socrates’ request he state what piety is, Euthyphro recounts a well-known portion of the classic Greek foundation myth, whereby Zeus puts his father, Cronos, in chains as punishment for his misdeeds.  Euthyphro offers this and similar stories in justification of his own prosecution of his father.  Socrates’ response to that story is one of doubt – doubt not about Euthyphro’s attempted justification, but about the veracity of the myth itself.  He asks Euthyphro whether he thinks that he (Socrates) is being brought to trial because he “somehow” finds it difficult to accept such stories about the gods.  He then concedes that he might be wrong to doubt those stories, and that if religious experts - such as Euthyphro claims to be - believe in such stories, Socrates will be duty-bound to believe them too.  This, he says, is because “I myself admit that I know nothing about the subject” (6A).  In other words, Socrates’ lack of knowledge leads him not only to doubt received wisdom, but even to doubt his own doubts.

With this, Plato tacitly draws a clear distinction between the two interlocutors in the dialogue.  Euthyphro claims to know everything about religion.  Socrates claims to know nothing about it.  On the basis of his claim to possess religious knowledge, Euthyphro is certain that he can prosecute his father with total confidence, in part on the basis of the analogy of himself with Zeus, the king of the gods, the all-knowing.  On the basis of his claim to lack religious knowledge, Socrates professes himself to be certain neither of the veracity of the stories of the gods nor of his own doubts about those stories, and thus is not confident about anything at all concerning that subject.  Therefore, as Socrates explicitly states, if Euthyphro actually has the knowledge that he claims to have, that will trump Socrates’ ignorance, and Socrates will accept Euthyphro’s authority on matters concerning piety.  

The key word here is “if.”  Socrates puts every condition hypothetically, setting the stage for him to try, throughout the rest of the dialogue, to discover whether Euthyphro actually has the knowledge that he claims to have, and for Euthyphro to try to demonstrate that he does in fact have it.  

If Euthyphro had his way, it is likely that his demonstration of his self-proclaimed expertise would entail telling Socrates, in addition to the story of Zeus and Cronos, “a great many other facts about our religion, which will astonish you, I’m sure, when you hear them” (6D).  But a Platonic dialogue is not a story-telling session, but rather an exercise in critical inquiry.  So Socrates doesn’t simply accept Euthyphro’s claim, as we might put it, “on faith”: to do so would appeal to exactly the sort of unquestioning certainty to which he does not have recourse, since, as a self-proclaimed non-knower, he wouldn’t have any basis on which to accept that claim.  Instead, he tells Euthyphro that stories about conflicts between the gods do not answer his question, which is about the nature of piety.  In order to satisfy Socrates’ request, then, Euthyphro will have to try to demonstrate his religious expertise in a different way – a way, as the rest of the dialogue makes clear, for which he is ill-equipped.

Several other aspects of Socrates’ response to Euthyphro’s story about Zeus and Cronos are worth noting.  By asking Euthyphro whether he thinks that his, Socrates’, difficulty in believing such stories is the reason that he has been prosecuted, Socrates shifts the conversation from a declarative to an interrogatory mode – or, as we might say, from a lecture format to a dialogue format.  He also subtly and skillfully changes the subject from piety itself to the status of knowledge claims about piety, from dogmatic statements to hypotheses.  Dogma consists of authoritative and unquestionable declarative statements; hypothesis, by contrast, regards declarative statements as assumptions subject to critical inquiry.  In identifying the heart of the matter with the latter rather than the former, Plato often makes it clear where Socrates doubts, and where Euthyphro - and we – should be doubting as well.  For example, as was already mentioned, Euthyphro exhibits absolute confidence in the veracity of the stories of quarrels between the gods of classic Greek mythology.  Socrates responds that this puts the Greek gods in the same position as human disputants “assuming that they are divided about questions of right and wrong, as you claim” (8D).  The key word here is “assuming.”  Socrates neither agrees nor disagrees with Euthyphro’s implicit claim that the gods quarrel, but rather holds it as an hypothesis.  This orientation toward hypothetical constructions is reinforced the very next time that Socrates speaks, when he states “that each single act is disputed by the disputants, whether they are men or gods – assuming the gods do dispute” (8E).  These back-to-back instances of characterizing statements about the disputes of the gods as assumptions rather than matters of dogma clearly demarcate the difference between Socrates and Euthyphro with respect to their approach to knowledge claims, at least those concerning religious matters.  Euthyphro professes himself to be certain that the gods dispute with one another; in fact, he claims to know much more about those disputes than the ordinary Athenian does (6B).  Socrates neither affirms nor denies that claim, instead holding it to be an assumption and therefore subject to further investigation.  

Critical inquiry demands the hypothetical mode championed by Socrates; dogma eschews it. In agreeing to be enlisted in Socrates’ project of critical inquiry, Euthyphro tacitly assumes that his claims will ultimately be vindicated.  This is hardly surprising, since he is certain that they’re true. But although he is naïve to allow himself to be enlisted in critical inquiry, he is enlisted willingly.  For example, midway through the dialogue he offers an amended version of one of his earlier definitions of piety, after which Socrates asks him, “Should we then consider this definition in its turn, Euthyphro, to see whether it is satisfactory, or should we let it pass and simply accept both our own and other people’s assumptions, taking the speaker’s mere word for the truth of what he says?  Or should we inquire into the correctness of this statement?”  “We should inquire,” Euthyphro replies.  “All the same, I think that this definition is now correct” (Euthyphro, 9E).

Euthyphro’s confidence in this latest definition seems disingenuous, since he has already offered a couple of previous definitions in which he expressed great confidence and which subsequently dissipated in a poof of logic.  Nevertheless, this is typical of Euthyphro.  Unlike Socrates, he claims to be a “knower.”  As such, he evidently can’t fathom the possibility that submitting a presumed knowledge claim to critical inquiry potentially undermines it by converting it into an assumption, a hypothetical statement which by definition could be otherwise.  This inability appears to be a byproduct of his self-confidence, and Plato gives us extensive evidence that that confidence is unwarranted: Euthyphro’s demonstrably false claim of unerring prophesy, his presumptuous assertion that he is permitted to act in the same manner as the king of the gods, and his manifest inability to present a definition of piety that is sound enough to survive critical inquiry.  Nevertheless, Euthyphro continues to state throughout the dialogue that his accuracy in knowledge of divine matters makes him superior to other people.  And the fact he is still claiming to have “a better knowledge of religion than anyone else” (13E) as the dialogue approaches its conclusion indicates that he has learned little if anything as a result of his encounter with Socrates.

Socrates’ penultimate statement to Euthyphro implies this in several ways.  First, he exhorts Euthyphro to “tell me the truth [about the gods], for you know it if any human being does” (15D).  This statement invokes an implicit conclusion based on modus tollens, a valid logical syllogism with the following form: P implies Q; Q is false; therefore P is false.  In this particular case, the content of that syllogism is this: If anyone knows the truth about the gods, Euthyphro knows it; Euthyphro doesn’t know it; therefore no one knows it.  In other words, the events and arguments of the Euthyphro raise doubt as to whether any human being has the knowledge that Euthyphro claims to have.  Second, Socrates turns Euthyphro’s claim to possess divine knowledge into a negative hypothetical: “If you didn’t know all about piety and impiety, you would never have attempted to prosecute your aged father…” (15D).  This statement follows thematically from the previous one: after all that has transpired, Euthyphro should recognize that he does not in fact know what he claims to know about piety, which should at least leave him in serious doubt about whether his prosecution of his father is justifiable on religious grounds.  Finally, the fact that Euthyphro has made no evident progress during the course of the dialogue leads Socrates to say, “I am sure you think you know all about what is pious” and to exhort Euthyphro to “tell me your opinion” (15E, my emphasis in both cases).  That is, it is evident that Euthyphro thinks he knows what he claims to know, but it is by now equally obvious that he does not actually know it.  As a consequence Socrates refers to Euthyphro’s claim to be a religious expert, for the first time in the dialogue, as “opinion,” thereby tacitly indicating that Euthyphro should no longer claim to possess knowledge of such matters.  At this point Euthyphro departs, and the dialogue comes to an end.  

So that’s where things stand at the end of the Euthyphro.  Much dialogue has taken place, but nothing concerning the nature of piety has been posited and successfully defended.  Socrates doesn’t claim to know it; Euthyphro does, but his claims have been shown to be baseless.  Only a negative case has been made – that is, several proposed conceptions of piety have been refuted.  But is there a positive case to be inferred?  That is, is there in Plato’s view such a thing as true piety, and if so in what does it consist?

The Euthyphro is, on the surface at least, silent about this question.  In order for us to attempt to answer it, we must turn to its sequel: the Apology, Plato’s account of Socrates’ defense in court, the action of which immediately follows the events in the Euthyphro.
 
Early in the Apology, Socrates tries to account for the reputation that has among the people of Athens, which he believes has led to his prosecution.  His explanation begins as follows: “I have gained this reputation, gentlemen, from nothing more or less than a kind of wisdom.  What kind of wisdom do I mean?  Human wisdom, I suppose.  It seems that I really am wise in this limited sense” (20B).  Concerning “wisdom that is more than human” – that is, divine wisdom - Socrates goes on to tell the jury, echoing similar statements from the Euthyphro, “I certainly have no knowledge of such wisdom” (20D).  And how does Socrates know that he has any wisdom at all?  Because “the god at Delphi,” Apollo, famously declared through an oracle that no one was wiser than Socrates (20E-21A).  

In Plato’s account in the Apology, Socrates’ reaction to the oracle’s declaration was, typically, to wonder about it.  “I said to myself, ‘What does the god mean?  Why does he not use plain language?  I am only too conscious that I have no claim to wisdom, great or small, so what can he mean by asserting that I am the wisest man in the world?  He certainly cannot be telling a lie; that would not be right for him.’ And for a long time I was at a loss as to what he meant” (21B).  Socrates subsequently wanders around Athens trying to understand the meaning of the god’s declaration by asking questions of people who consider themselves wise or who are reputed to have wisdom.  In other words, Socrates responds to a knowledge claim by wondering about the meaning of the claim, doubting the claim, doubting his own doubt, and then investigating whether the claim stands up to critical inquiry – that is, by utilizing the same process we witnessed in his dialogue with Euthyphro.  The one difference in this method from the method employed in the Euthyphro is that, here, Socrates takes for granted that the oracle’s claim must be true if it is properly understood.  This, he says, is because the god “certainly cannot be telling a lie; that would not be right for him” (Quotation #6), which implies that a truth claim by a god must be treated somewhat differently from a truth claim by a human being.  Nevertheless, doubt, intellectual humility, and critical inquiry are all vitally involved in essentially the same way in both cases.

Socrates then goes on to tell the jury about his encounters with people in various walks of life who were reputed to be wise but, in response to critical inquiry, turned out not to be, because Socratic questioning revealed that their knowledge claims amounted to little or nothing.  This leads Socrates to conclude that while no human being has any knowledge to boast of, he himself at least has the modest advantage that, as he says in the Apology, “I do not claim to know that which I do not know” (21D).  This trait, which has come to be known as Socratic humility, follows directly from his earlier statement about the limitations of human wisdom.

The allegation that Socrates invented new gods was evidently based on the idea that anyone who questions the knowledge claims of others must presume to know what they do not.  As Socrates says in the Apology, “Whenever I succeed in disproving another person’s claim to wisdom in a given subject, the bystanders assume that I know everything about that subject myself” (23A).  Such a conclusion is illogical, but the notion that those who refute the arguments of others must think they themselves know the truth is as widespread now as it was then, and just as fallacious.  The Shimer faculty refutes this erroneous conception every day.  Like Socrates, we don’t think of ourselves primarily as professors, for we have little if anything to profess.  But we do know a bad argument when we hear one, and so did Socrates.  He knew it when he heard it from Euthyphro, and he also knew it when he heard it from other Athenians who, like Euthyphro, lacked intellectual humility.  He had the temerity to point that out to them, and he paid for it with his life.

And why did he do that?  A number of passages in the Apology leave no room for doubt: he saw it as a matter of piety.  As he tells the jury, once he learned of the declaration of the oracle, “I pursued my investigation at the god’s command” in order to “establish the truth of the oracle” (22A).  Once he discovered the meaning of the oracle, namely that “real wisdom is the property of God, and…human wisdom has little or no value” (23A), his reaction was “to give aid to the god” by “undertaking service on the god’s behalf” (23B).  Later in his testimony to the jury, he sums up by stating, “God appointed me…to the duty of living the philosophic life, examining myself and others” (28E).  Many other statements from the Apology could also be quoted in support of the notion that Socrates regards critical inquiry as his religious duty.  He has taken on this duty even though he, as a mere mortal, does not and cannot have the “real wisdom” that belongs to God alone.

Socrates does claim to know a few basic facts about the gods, such as that they are responsible for everything good (“What they [the gods] give us is obvious to anyone, for we have nothing good that they don’t give us,” Euthyphro 15A) and that they cannot lie because it “would not be right” for them to do so (Apology 21B).  But when it comes to more complex issues about the attributes and achievements of the gods such as those rendered in the traditional stories of Greek mythology, as he tells Euthyphro, he “somehow” has difficulty believing them.  This is entirely consistent with his claim in both dialogues that he does not have knowledge of anything that is “more than human” (Euthyphro 6A-B, Apology 20E).  Socrates clearly believes in the existence and goodness of the gods, but he also appears to believe that human understanding of their attributes and achievements is quite limited, and that recognition of that limitation is a sign of proper humility, which is an essential feature of both piety and wisdom. This stands in stark contrast to Euthyphro, whose evident lack of piety and wisdom is manifest in his unwarranted self-confidence and lack of humility.  

The Apology concludes with Socrates telling the jury that has convicted him and sentenced him to death the following words: “Now it is time for us to be going, I to die and you to live; but which of us has the happier prospect is unknown to anyone but God” (42A).  This is a beautiful coda from a literary standpoint; but, more importantly, it underlines the lessons about piety and wisdom that pervade both the Euthyphro and the Apology.  Socrates’ accusers and a majority of the jury are sending him to his death because they are certain that death is an evil – otherwise, why invoke it as a punishment?  But, for Socrates, that sort of certainty is a matter of divine wisdom, not accessible by mere mortals.  Socrates’ statement therefore stands as a reminder that neither he nor his accusers possess that sort of wisdom.  We are reminded of the modus tollens near the end of the Euthyphro: If any human being knows the truth about the attributes and achievements of the gods, Euthyphro knows it; Euthyphro doesn’t know it; therefore no one knows it.  This conclusion, simply hinted at in the Euthyphro, becomes explicit in the Apology.

So, returning to our original point of departure, what are the “far fewer words” that Euthyphro could have used to describe the achievements of the gods, the words that, according to Socrates in Quotation #1, would have satisfied him and given him all the information he needed?  Those words would have had to say what is common to all of the gods, as against the controversies and intrigues that Euthyphro attributes to them and which set them in conflict with each other.  Those words would have had to state, or at least imply, the attributes and achievements of all of the gods.  But, as the dialogue bearing his name amply demonstrates, Euthyphro does not know this; and as the Euthyphro intimates and the Apology makes clear, no one else does either.  The highest wisdom attainable by human beings, as Socrates declares in the Apology, consists in knowing what one doesn’t know, and one especially cannot know anything which is unknowable by human beings, for example, divine wisdom.  Therefore, the “far fewer words” about piety and the gods that would have satisfied Socrates, but which Euthyphro was constitutionally incapable of providing, might well have been these: “I don’t know.”

The process of arriving at this tentative conclusion demonstrates how Plato’s Apology can be invoked to help us address important questions that are asked or implied, but not explicitly answered, in the Euthyphro.  If time permitted, we could go on to explore how the Crito, the dialogue whose action follows Socrates’ trial, serves similarly as a complement to the Apology, and how the dialogue that ends with Socrates’ death, the Phaedo, stands in a similar position to the Crito.  But I’ve already imposed enough on you for one day, so that exploration will have to wait for another time.

I’d like to conclude by reflecting critically on what I’ve said in the past half-hour or so.  I’ve investigated the evidence concerning a question proposed in the Euthyphro and come to a tentative conclusion about how it might be answered.  How certain am I of that conclusion?  In all honesty, not very certain.  And that attitude seems fitting to me.  Plato’s Socrates warns us not to claim knowledge beyond our measure.  In order to be true to that dictum, I believe, we should exhibit intellectual humility in attempting to understand the meanings of the works of those who are far wiser than we are, especially when those meanings are not entirely obvious.  In proposing a possible approach to uncovering part of the meaning of the Euthyphro, I have tried to remain faithful to the evidence Plato offers us while approaching my task with at least some degree of intellectual humility.  If, in so doing, I’ve fallen considerably short of the ideal of wisdom represented by Socrates, I hope that I have at least succeeded in avoiding the unreflective and unwarranted “certainty” exemplified by Euthyphro.