Ivan D. Illich (1971) Deschooling Society. Caldar and Boyars, London, 116 pages.
T.C. Lethbridge (1961) Ghost and Ghoul. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 153 pages.
Two books from the shelves, linked only by the trajectory of development away from mainstream academia by two authors who become progressively less able to accept the received wisdom of their respective disciplines as they develop their thought. The topics and methods they chose are widely different, but the process by which they question what seems common sense, provides the interest to me.
Tom Lethbridge critiques the accepted wisdom of scientific methods and Ivan Illich urges a radical re-examination of social myths and the institutions which increasingly govern our lives. Illich writes Deschooling Society in 1971, Lethbridge Ghost and Ghoul in 1961. I have already tinkered about at the edge of Tom Lethbridge via references in Tom Graves and from themes brought up in T.J. Hudson's Phychic Phenomena of 1893. Illich is more serious, and more pertinent. With the A Level and GCSE results just out, the newspapers full of inflationary grade accusations, and fears that 99% of everyone might not get to university irrespective of talent cost or interest, it seems timely to go back to the late 1960s to read from Illich WHY WE MUST ABOLISH SCHOOLING (I quote from the dustjacket). I will read and comment on both books over the next couple of weeks.
Please do join me if you have access to either of these.
And having finished Ghost and Ghoul, I've moved on to "Witches," which is a compelling read in the same way that "the White Goddess" by Robert Graves is a compelling read. "Gogmagog" has also just arrived through the post. A review to follow (he says).
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