Q&A: Is There a Commandment in General Studies?
Is There a Commandment in General Studies?
Question
I am studying at the Open University for a double-major B.A. in psychology and philosophy.
I am looking for religious motivation for my studies.
Is there a commandment in studying philosophy and in studying psychological theories?
Thank you in advance for the answer and for this amazing blog.
Answer
Hello,
I do not think there is a commandment here in the formal sense, but I do not think that has any practical implication. If these things are necessary for you and enrich you, then it is worthwhile to do them even if there is no fulfillment of a commandment in that. Elsewhere I defined this as Torah in the person rather than in the object itself (you can search for it here on the site; it appears in several articles and responsa).
Gladly.
Discussion on Answer
As I wrote, it does not seem so to me. I had an argument about this with Dror Pixler at Tzohar, regarding the natural sciences. See there.
If your aspirations are to advance along the positive axis (the Jewish-Torah one), and you feel that studying psychology and philosophy is a need in order to advance (whether for purposes of earning a living, whether for broadening the mind, or even if the reasons are not conscious but subconscious), then this is something with religious value. Which is what we wanted to show.
I completely agree with the description “religious value.” Moreover, in my opinion there are no non-religious values. But this is not Torah study, and apparently not even a commandment at all. In short, it is a religious value but not a halakhic one.
(I do not know what “subconscious reasons” means. When a person considers whether to do something, how can he take into account what is in his subconscious without bringing it into consciousness?).
So are you basically fulfilling the commandment of Torah study?
Sounds innovative…