Cracks in the Ivory Tower: The Moral Mess of Higher Education PDF
Preview Cracks in the Ivory Tower: The Moral Mess of Higher Education
CRACKS IN THE IVORY TOWER CRACKS IN THE IVORY TOWER THE MORAL MESS OF HIGHER EDUCATION Jason Brennan Phillip Magness 1 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2019 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Brennan, Jason, 1979- author. | Magness, Phillip W., author. Title: Cracks in the ivory tower : the moral mess of higher education / Jason Brennan and Phillip Magness. Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2018058356 | ISBN 9780190846282 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780190846299 (universal PDF) | ISBN 9780190846305 (electronic publication) | ISBN 9780190932824 (Oxford scholarship online) Subjects: LCSH: Education, Higher— Moral and ethical aspects— United States. | Education, Higher— Economic aspects. | Universities and colleges— United States— Sociological aspects. Classification: LCC LB2324 .B75 2019 | DDC 378.001— dc23 LC record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/ 2018058356 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America CONTENTS 1. Neither Gremlins nor Poltergeists 1 2. What Academics Really Want 22 3. Why Most Academic Advertising Is Immoral Bullshit 46 4. On Reading Entrails and Student Evaluations 82 5. Grades: Communication Breakdown 109 6. When Moral Language Disguises Self- Interest 134 7. The Gen Ed Hustle 157 8. Why Universities Produce Too Many PhDs 186 9. Cheaters, Cheaters Everywhere 214 10. Three Big Myths about What’s Plaguing Higher Ed 229 11. Answering Taxpayers 258 Notes 279 Bibliography 301 Index 313 v CRACKS IN THE IVORY TOWER 1 Neither Gremlins nor Poltergeists Gremlins, as you know, are horrid little beasts. At night, they creep around and sabotage your stuff. Is your dishwasher broken? Probably gremlins. Poltergeists are even more insidious. Poltergeists are incorporeal spirits that possess your home. They smash the dishes, trash the furni- ture, and play white noise on your TV while you sleep. You can’t trap or kill a poltergeist, unlike a gremlin, because poltergeists lack physical bodies. Burn your house down and they’ll just move elsewhere. Both gremlins and poltergeists are mythical saboteurs. But it’s not surprising that people invent such legends. As anyone who’s ever taught economics, sociology, or biology knows, most people have trouble un- derstanding how an event could happen without someone or something making it happen. Witness how ancient peoples tended to believe a god or spirit haunted every tree, bush, and river. Witness how contemporary people stand over their ruined homes and wonder why God decided to send a flood their way. Witness how when an election goes badly, partisans blame hackers. When the stock market plummets, people blame Wall Street. If their football team loses, they think someone tampered with the balls or the field. People have a hard enough time understanding how natural events could result from natural laws, rather than supernatural will. They have an even harder time comprehending how many things that happen in society could be the product of human action but not human design. 1
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