A Well Trained Mind
An online dustup over JD Vance's use of the "Order of Loves" shows us the value of logic and rhetoric
In case you are one of those normal people who don’t obsess over online viral clips and hot takes, let me set the scene for you. Recently the new Vice President, JD Vance, was being interviewed by Sean Hannity on Fox news. As is no surprise, the issue of immigration and border security came up since it has been central to Donald Trump’s platform. One of Vance’s points caught the attention of many Christians due to his ability to quickly and articulately describe an ancient teaching that dates back to Augustine in the 5th century and is a summarization of what the Bible teaches about love. The teaching is referred to as Ordo Amoris, or “ordering of loves”.
The moment can be seen here if you’d like to watch it for context (64 seconds). My point in this article is not to go into the political side of the argument. Nor do I intend to defend it theologically - but you can find a good brief article from theologian RR Reno here. What I want to focus on is the way someone even gets to such a place as to be ready to articulate these kinds of truths in a public venue and in such a clear way. And this brings to me to the idea of a “well trained mind”.
To be clear, JD Vance did not grow up in a Classical Christian School. But he is an excellent exhibit of the kind of mind that Classical Education seeks to train up and send into the world. Many people have noted Vance’s phenomenal ability to conjure up statistics quickly, make cogent arguments on a variety of topics, and expose opponents’ weaknesses with his sharp and sound rhetoric. He has developed clear convictions and through years of hard work, has emerged as among the most articulate conservative politicians in a generation.
What does this have to do with Eden, still in its relative infancy as a school and not specifically trying to turn students into polished politicians? Consider the following:
Rhetoric is a skill, not just a stage
Being able to communicate articulately (written and spoken word) and convincingly is how I would describe the skill of Rhetoric. It does not come automatically. Students can be in the stage of Rhetoric without developing the skill of Rhetoric. And while some people have greater God-given gifts in communicating, the goal of all Eden students is to maximize what God deposited into them. In an age where emoting and word vomiting get the most attention, developing one’s rhetorical abilities in spoken and written word is essential in innumerable ways.
Rhetoric depends on Logic
To be a sound rhetorician, you must be a clear and logical thinker. You have to be able to hold categories in your head, know how to think through complex topics, understand when clarity is needed and when nuance is called for, and so on. This requires training in logic - and not merely in “the logic class” you will take in the Logic stage. In a real sense, every class has an element of training in logic… or it needs to at least. When a teacher gently presses a 3rd grader to explain why a claim the student made is true, that’s training in logic. When a 6th grader needs to write a persuasive paper on a subject, that’s also part of the process.
It’s a slow process
While crash courses in logic exist, the process of truly honing your mind into being a sound thinker able to articulate oneself clearly is arduously slow. But it’s one of the reasons we do things like have young children speak in front of class - show and tell type projects are not just cute, they’re training. Moving up through the years and consistently having assignments focused on speaking in front of others, arguing and debating through topics, dialogue days in math, socratic discussions with your peers, and so on all go into this too. To eventually be able to teach others, speak persuasively in a board room, make a sales pitch, counsel from God’s Word, share the gospel, and much more… this is what the years of training accomplish.
Every student can get there
“But my kid isn’t one of those kids that can speak clearly”. It is granted not everyone reaches the upper echelon of rhetorical speaking ability. But everyone can maximize their potential and cultivate logical thinking. The goal isn’t to make every student the same - the goal is to leverage what God has put into each student and help them honor God in their thinking and communication of truth for his glory.
The world needs more clear Christian thinkers, more Christians able to speak persuasively about what is true, and more Christians capable of exposing the darkness of sin with the light of God’s Word. I am convinced Eden will be training and sending more of those Christians into the world. It will take years; scratch that, decades. But it will bear fruit for God’s glory and will be worth all the effort it takes.
SDG,
Pastor Ritter