大学の講義やセミナーの場を通し、折にふれ、私は学生諸君に向かって、「せっかく大学に入ったのだから、ひとつでも多く知的感動を味わい、学問を楽しんでほしい」と語りかけている。
しかし、現状を見ていると…もとより私の力不足もあろうが…残念ながら、「1」こうしたメッセージが若い諸君の心に十分、伝わっているとはいい難い。彼らのほとんどにとって楽しみの対象といえば、サークル活動やスポーツ、音楽、映画、漫画、ある<いはさまざまなレジャーであり、それらはいずれも学問とは距離を置いたところにあるからである。
「___2___」、私が日々接している学生諸君についていえば、彼らの多くは決して学業をおろそかにしているわけではない。彼らはそれなりに勉強し、高い学力をもっていることは間違いない。
こう書くといささか矛盾めくように(注)聞こえるかもしれないが、大方の学生にとっては学問を楽しむ心の余裕をもつ以前に、まずは目先の目標を順にかたづけなければならないという「強迫観念」が先行するのであろう。具体的にいえば、単位の取得、進学、就職など実利的な目標の達成が、焦眉の急なのである。「3」それはそれで仕方ないのであろうが、こせこせせず、もう少し精神の豊かさをもって学問を見つめ直し、大学生活を送ってもらいたいと、つい注文をつけたくなる。
(小山慶太「知的熟年ライフの作り方』講談社による)
(注)いささか矛盾めくように:多少矛盾しているように
AI translation, cross-checked between two models.
Through university lectures and seminars, whenever the opportunity arises, I tell my students, “Since you have had the chance to enter university, I hope you will experience as much intellectual excitement as possible and enjoy academic learning.”
However, looking at the current situation—and of course my own shortcomings may also be partly to blame—unfortunately, it is hard to say that “1” this kind of message is being fully conveyed to the hearts and minds of these young people. This is because, for most of them, the things they enjoy are club activities, sports, music, movies, manga, and various forms of leisure, all of which lie at some distance from academic study.
“***2***”, as for the students I interact with every day, many of them are by no means neglecting their studies. There is no doubt that they study in their own way and possess a high level of academic ability.
This may sound somewhat contradictory, but for most students, before they can even afford the mental freedom to enjoy academic study, they seem to be driven first by a kind of “compulsion” to deal one by one with the immediate goals before them.(注) More specifically, achieving practical goals such as earning credits, advancing to further study, and finding employment is a matter of pressing urgency. “3” Perhaps that cannot be helped, but I still find myself wishing that they would stop being so preoccupied with immediate concerns, reconsider academic study with a little more richness of spirit, and spend their university years that way.
(From Koyama Keita, “How to Build an Intellectually Fulfilling Mature Life,” Kodansha)
(Note) いささか矛盾めくように: to seem somewhat contradictory
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