Fifth Symposium on European Languages
楊濟鶴
Dear Vassilis,
Here is the description I wrote. It's too long, maybe.
My topic is “Lying and Decline.” Some texts written by Cicero and Augustine are selected for discussions. I choose part of “On Duty”, a book Cicero wrote for his son, in which he defended honorable behaviors such as what Regulus did for the country. He also raised an interesting question about trade: should a business man pursue his own benefit and lie to his customers or should he tell the truth and protect them as a moral man? Augustine in an short essay “On Lying” said that we should not lie in any situation. The same writer in his “Confessions” pointed out the education system did not care about teaching students to be moral, but training them to write with beautiful and empty words so that they might become elites. In another masterpiece “City of God” he defended Christian belief and refuted that the conversion of Rome ruined this empire. He argued that, in fact, Rome as a moral community had already be corrupted and perished as the sinful life of social elites poisoned it. What remained was just a lie in which people lived. I suppose that these ancient texts about morality might inspire people who are facing serious food safety issue and problematic education reform in Taiwan which is allegedly declining.
Yours,
Jerry