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Late to this, but:
1. What is the best way to live in society? But to answer that one first ask and answer:
2. What is real/true? But to answer that, one must backtrack and ask and answer:
3. How do we know? But eventually, we will be led to
4. ultimate questions about the ultimate meaning, purpose, origin, of anything.
I don't know who coined "truncated" as a description of a view on humanity," but for you, sirswag's concern for money is truncated, and in my view, your concern for self-rule has more (maybe branches and some leaves) but still needs more (let's say full leaves and fruit).
+1. I recommend Insight by Bernard Lonergan....I also think epistemology should be a much bigger part of our education, maybe even at the high school level. ... How do they know what they think they know, and how do they know when something is true or reasonably reliable?
My dis director said philosophy or "serious thought" follows this order for everyone:A course in logic is great if you want to have an engaging discussion over drinks. Doesn't so much cut it when you're trying to navigate existential problems like the value or purpose of life, which is what identity and belief are attempts to address.
1. What is the best way to live in society? But to answer that one first ask and answer:
2. What is real/true? But to answer that, one must backtrack and ask and answer:
3. How do we know? But eventually, we will be led to
4. ultimate questions about the ultimate meaning, purpose, origin, of anything.
Check out Insight, above. It advocates for critical realism. Basically it invites you pay attention to your own consciousness and verify various steps in your process of coming to wonder, to know, to decide. The author's Canadian. And his ethics is being taught to the Canadian versions of the FBI, CIA, Treasury, etc. by the authors of this book, among others.lol. I wouldn't have remembered that except that, weirdly enough, my wife (a mathematician, but not a constructivist) and I were discussing that this morning. fwiw, I am intuitively some type of realist, probably a classical realist. But yes, some training in epistemology and more broadly, critical thinking, would be welcome. The problem is that it's unclear what fraction of a population possess the native ability to learn these to any appreciable degree. It might be an exercise in futility, like teaching me to play basketball.
The Bible creation story is the source of some important ideas that our society takes for granted: that all things are good, that they come from the same source (not multiple ones like in Manicheanism), that everything is intelligible and interdependent, that some things came before others, that humans are special. It's also interesting that the order of the first story follows the same order of evolution: light and dark, earth and sky, sea and air creatures, land animals, then humans.The teaching of both evolution and creationism is only acceptable if equal time is dedicated to teaching the gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
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And there is more than this.This view of education is really narrow. Education is about more than conferring economic benefits, it's about developing civil society and an informed voter base...
Trade schools are good, but if you're anti-elitism, you're may be anti-trade schools. In fact, anti-elitism is one reason why there are fewer of them in the US. I studied and have taught in Germany and the reasoning behind trade schools can be traced at least back to Plato's Republic, which imagines a society comprised of different types of people hierarchically ordered by their desires, with those who care about the lowest things (money and comfort) becoming tech and tradespeople. Those with higher desires and aptitudes (honor and self-sacrifice) become guardians. Those w/ the highest desires and aptitudes (wisdom) become philosophers. The American view has long been that anyone could be a philosopher, so we should all be exposed to liberal arts and humanities, which free our minds from lower goods of money and comfort, which bring us things that even lower animals want (shelter, food, sex). But I agree with @the shah that all US schools (even elite private and religious ones) are increasingly under pressure to just make money and to turn out people who are simply trained to make money.How so? Germany has built a vibrant economy and I would argue more civil society than the United States’ on the back of trade schools. I would also argue that any steps (like trade schools) that can mitigate wage stagnation and job dissatisfaction is a far greater step toward creating a civil society than reading the complete works of Geoffrey Chaucer.
When do you mean by "initially"? For Plato and Aristotle, it was certainly about freedom and independence. But real freedom and independence were not arbitrary. It was for "the good." So arete/virtues > techne/skills. Iow, making oneself good was more important than making good things....
The whole point of a liberal education, initially, was to support the liberal ideal for a free and independent life...
I don't know who coined "truncated" as a description of a view on humanity," but for you, sirswag's concern for money is truncated, and in my view, your concern for self-rule has more (maybe branches and some leaves) but still needs more (let's say full leaves and fruit).
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