Western canon

The Western canon represents a collection of high-culture literature, music, philosophy, and art.

These works are highly cherished across the Western world and are often called classics. A classic is any work of art that is accepted as being exemplary or noteworthy. It is important to understand that there is no official list of works. No recognized panel of experts or scholars has ever agreed upon a single, definitive Western Canon. Instead, it is an idea regarding a corpus of great works that has been discussed for over a century.

The concept of a canon has deep historical roots. The word itself comes from the ancient Greek term *kanṓn*, which means a "measuring rod" or "standard."

In the second century, the Roman writer Aulus Gellius used the term *classicus* to describe a distinguished writer rather than a commonplace one. In the ancient world, scholars at the Alexandrian Library used Greek terms to identify writers who were "included" in the canon. Later, early Christian Church Fathers declared certain texts of the New Testament as canon. This was a practical necessity because producing books on vellum or papyrus was very expensive. By establishing a canon, these groups ensured that the most important information about their civilization would be preserved.

Because the canon is an idea rather than a fixed list, different people have organized it in various ways. A canon can be presented as a published collection of books, such as the *Great Books of the Western World*. It might also appear as a specific reading list provided by an academic with an official imprimatur. For example, the literary critic Harold Bloom provided a list of major Western writers.

His list included figures such as Dante Alighieri, Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare, and Leo Tolstoy. Other organizations, like the Modern Library, have also created large lists. By the 1950s, the Modern Library list included more than 300 items, ranging from the philosopher Aristotle to the author Albert Camus.

Educational institutions have developed specific methods to study these works through Great Books programs.

This movement began in the United States during the 1920s, led by John Erskine of Columbia University. Erskine and other educators, including Robert Hutchins and Mortimer Adler, wanted to improve higher education. They believed that narrow specialization in colleges was harming the quality of learning. They proposed returning to a tradition of broad, cross-disciplinary study. These programs focus on engagement with primary texts, which are the original works of thinkers. Students might study Plato's *Republic* or Dante's *Divine Comedy* through small classes and intense discussion groups.

Today, the Western canon is the subject of significant debate regarding diversity and inclusion.

Many critics argue that the canon needs to be more encompassing of different cultures and identities. There are calls to include more women writers and more people from diverse backgrounds. Some discussions focus on the dominance of English-speaking British and American cultures. These critics suggest the canon should include more artists and mathematicians whose primary language is not English. This movement seeks to broaden the canon to include often overlooked periods in music and visual arts.

However, some intellectuals defend the traditional canon and its perceived value.

For instance, Allan Bloom argued in his 1987 book, *The Closing of the American Mind*, that ignorance of the classics can lead to moral degradation. He suggested that students are often more excited and satisfied when the Great Books are central to their curriculum. Other defenders, like the classicist Bernard Knox, have argued for the continued relevance of classical culture to modern society. Some view these debates as a conflict between those who believe in universal truths and those who follow postmodernism or critical theory.

Ultimately, the process of defining the boundaries of the canon is considered an endless task.

Philosophers like John Searle have noted that there was never a truly fixed canon. Instead, there has always been a set of tentative judgments regarding quality and importance. These judgments are constantly being revised as society changes. Some scholars, such as Todd M. Compton, argue that there is no such thing as one absolute canon. Instead, there are many different, often conflicting, canons that exist within different academic departments or communities.