投资 · 西方古典
托斯丹·凡勃伦：有闲阶级论·摘录 148
托斯丹·凡勃伦《有闲阶级论》· The Theory of the Leisure Class · 投资
Learning, then, set out by being in some sense a by-product of the priestly vicarious leisure class; and, at least until a recent date, the higher learning has since remained in some sense a by-product or by-occupation of the priestly classes. As the body of systematized knowledge increased, there presently arose a distinction, traceable very far back in the history of education, between esoteric and exoteric knowledge, the former--so far as there is a substantial difference between the two--comprising such knowledge as is primarily of no economic or industrial effect, and the latter comprising chiefly knowledge of industrial processes and of natural phenomena which were habitually turned to account for the material purposes of life. This line of demarcation has in time become, at least in popular apprehension, the normal line between the higher learning and the lower.
出处：
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/833
定位：Excerpt 148 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：短摘录
白话
学问最初在某种意义上是有闲阶级中祭司阶层“代理休闲”的副产品；直到晚近，高等学问仍像是祭司阶级的副业。随着系统知识增多，教育史上很早就出现“秘传知识”与“通俗知识”的分野：前者基本没有经济或工业效用，后者主要是工业流程和自然现象的知识，常被用于物质生活。这条分界线逐渐成了人们心中“高等学问”与“低等学问”的常规界线。这提醒我们：把“无用”当高贵、把“有用”当低贱，是一种历史形成的偏见，不是天经地义。
上下文
凡勃伦《有闲阶级论》追溯学问起源，讨论秘传与通俗知识的分野。
今日一问
你判断一门学问“高不高”时，用的是有用性还是历史偏见？
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