Jaiden Vaca

Foundation of Business 1050

Professor Edward Engh

My Renaissance

Education is not the learning of facts, but training of the mind to think. Albert Einstein. This
quote by Einstein describes what I have learned this semester. It is a privilege to be able to get an
education not merely for the career you are able to get afterwards, but more importantly to gain
the ability to think critically and logically. The content in Foundation of Business 1050 taught by
Professor Edward Engh, sparked my ability to think critically, all class discussions, the 27+
readings and a number of educational videos. Going into this class I knew there would be
controversial topics but I did not know the affect they would have on me. We read the
writings/books of many influential poets, philosophers, scientists, etc. The reading that was the
most memorable to me was The Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton as well as The
Republic by Plato.

The Coming Race is a novel written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1871. This was one of the very
first fiction books and inspired Adolf Hitler as well as Joseph Stalin. This book is written in first
person and the main character does not disclose his name. He was a miner and stumbled upon an
underground civilization who appeared as ancient Egyptians. Lytton described them similar to
Egyptian Pharaoh, who spoke an unknown language. The unnamed man ended up being captured
by the leader and stayed underground for a time period. He learned that everybody was equal and
the wealth was distributed equally. Women were treated like queens and held some power. (In
1871 this was very different because women were treated almost the opposite during this time.)
Different jobs were to be done during a designated time period. Since they lived underground
time was merely made up to them. The unnamed man began to dislike and become bored of this
society because of how uniform it was. Since it was merely an excerpt of The Coming Race there
are some details left out, which I will be sure to read the full novel.
Before reading this I was disgusted with communism, along with the leaders. Because of the
extreme decisions that were made in order to achieve uniformity. As I was reading this excerpt, I
was intrigued by the equality and uniformity of this made up civilization. (I am not saying that I
agree with communism, just that this reading pushed me to view civilization in a whole different
way.) For many people this type of society is ideal which is frightening. Towards the end, Lytton
expresses how dull this type of society was after a while and that is when I was reminded Hitler
and Stalin two communistic leaders were influenced by this book.

Another beneficial reading was Book II, The Republic by Plato. This book is known for a
popular story about a man who finds a ring that makes him invisible every time he has it on. One
day the man puts the ring on and over throws the thrown. Moral of the story is that if someone
has the ability to gain power they will do so regardless of who gets hurt. This is known as an
unjust man. Somebody who would do what is morally correct and not hurt others to gain
power is known as a just man. If you bring this concept to modern time, the just and the
unjust man disagree with each other and neither of them will be happy. Plato states that the
solution to this issue is to Let the unjust man be entirely unjust, and the just man entirely just;
nothing is to be taken away from either of them, and both are to be perfectly furnished for the
work of their respective lives. Meaning that if you live your life, and respect the views of other
people regardless if they agree or disagree with your views, people would be more content. To
Jaiden Vaca
Foundation of Business 1050
Professor Edward Engh

put it another way, respectfully agree to disagree. At the time I was reading The Republic was
during the 2017 elections. I was very upset with the views people had because they were very
irrational to me. After reading this I felt at peace and thought everybody needed to hear what
Plato was teaching approximately 2,377 years ago.

The Coming Race and The Republic are only two books of many that pushed me to view the
world differently, from religion, civilization, wealth and much more. Because of these topics I
will be able to make rational decisions throughout my life. My Renaissance has occurred from
the content in Foundation of Business taught by Professor Edward Engh.