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the introduction to the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. As Hirsch points out, many textbook explanations "presuppose a whole realm of background knowledge that has no existence in the words themselves." This is what makes such reading difficult. You might be wondering why textbook authors, or authors in general, do this. Why not simply explain the background material? If you consider the difficulty in doing this, you will understand why it is not done. There is simply too much necessary background knowledge to explain all of it. As an author, you have to assume your reader knows something. If authors didn't do this every book would be so long no one would ever read it them!

Learn as much as you can. The more you know, the easier it will be to learn new things because we all learn by connecting the new ideas and concepts to something we already know. Learning about chemistry is easier if you know a little about biology. Learning about philosophy is easier if you know something about psychology. Learning about physics is easier if you know some mathematics. And so it goes. At this point you may have to play catch up because you didn't learn what you needed earlier. I had to do this myself. It was difficult to do at first but became easier. The more you know, the more connections you can make, and this is when the real fun of learning begins. Start looking for these connections to improve your learning and start reading books which make the connections between different disciplines. If you're taking my Introduction to Philosophy course this is a good place to begin. Have you already taken a psychology course? If so, make the connections there. Are you planning on taking a sociology course? If so, you will have another opportunity to make connections. Do you think your interests don't connect with the subject you're studying? If so, you're not looking hard enough.

In closing consider the following possibilities for making connections listed below. If I list one of your interests, look into the philosophers I suggest to see the connections for yourself. If you find others I haven't mentioned feel free to let me know. If I don't mention a subject you're interested in, send me one. I'll give you some hints for making connections on your own. The most important thing to remember is you need to make the connections for yourself in order for real learning to occur!

Biology: Aristotle, Rene Descartes
Computers: Blaise Pascal, Alan Turing
Religion: St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Anselm, Soren Kierkegaard
Politics: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, John Rawls, Robert Nozick
Psychology: Aristotle, Hobbes, John Austin, Ludwig Wittgenstein
Music: Friedrich Nietzsche
Literature: Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus
Education: Plato, John Dewey
Economics: David Hume, Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham

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