Bertrand Russell had many things to say about society and schooling, but most of his views on the latter were focused on boys only private schools. Many things have changed in schooling and society since the time of Russell 's work, but his views still hold value in teaching philosophy today. “Our world contains grave evils, which can be remedied if men wish to remedy them” (Russell, 1932:58)
The main problem Russell(1932) identified in this world is that fear is more influential in education and society than hope and joy. He thought that the primary consequence of this fear is that humanity will not be able to function and it 's possibilities will become non-existent. We conform because of this fear, and as Russell said “Animal habit is
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This fear usually leads them to conform to the behaviour and ideals of the herd they are a part of rather than trying to stand out. Russell believed that “fear of the herd is very deeply rooted in almost all men and women, and this fear is first implanted at school” (Russell, 1932:53), as children, most individuals will go to school, and they will almost certainly encounter a herd; however herds are not only composed of their school peers, but the whole society that they are a part of. Although this school herd, to Russell, is “one of the most important factors in the formation of characters... during childhood and youth” (Russell, 1932:52). He also believed that too much pressure from the herd will interfere with the individuality of the …show more content…
Russell(1932/2013:107-108) knew however that one of the difficulties in large educational facilities is that the administrators, the people in charge, are not generally teachers; so they do not have the knowledge of what is possible to be learnt and what is not during a time frame the teachers have to impart the knowledge they are expected to, thus they put too much into the curriculum, and the result is that nothing is learnt thoroughly. Russell stated that “the problem of over-education is both important and difficult” (Russell, 1932/2013:109). Important because over-education can lead to loss of self-confidence, spontaneity, and health which leads to them being a less useful member of society than he may have been; and difficult because as the amount of knowledge there is in the world grows, it becomes more difficult to know what is relevant. However; Russell(1932/2013:109) acknowledges that merely letting children not learn will not work as society depends on trained and well-informed intelligent
The Dangers of Fear Irish Playwright, George Bernard Shaw, once said, “The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity.” Inhumanity is mankind’s worst attribute. Every so often, ordinary humans are driven to the point where they have no choice but to think of themselves. One of the most famous examples used today is the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night demonstrates how fear is a debilitating force that causes people to lose sight of who they once were.
In the year 1625, Francis Bacon, a famous essayist and poet wrote about the influences of fear on everyday life. He stated, “Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other” (Essays Dedication of Death). Clearly, external surroundings affect perceptions of fear as well as human nature in general. Although C.S. Lewis published the novel, Out of the Silent Planet, over three centuries after Bacon wrote his theory on fear, Lewis similarly portrayed external surrounding to manipulate perceptions of fear. From the first chapter of the novel, Lewis revealed fear to be a weakness that leads to ignorance. It was this ignorance that apparently fueled the cycle of corruption and immorality on “The Silent Planet.” Using the character Ransom to reveal the effect of memory and morality on fear, C.S. Lewis demonstrates that fear is a quality of the “bent” race (humans), and only by eliminating fear in our lives can the human race become hnau.
What is head knowledge when you cannot apply it? What use is academics when you cannot make rational decisions? Why would you go to school if you do not yearn for knowledge? As a teacher, I want to instill in my children these desires and the abilities to not only succeed academically but as a whole person as well. I believe that the role of an elementary teacher is not only to teach the “Three R’s” and the “Four W’s”, but also to foster within children a desire to learn and the ability to make wise choices. In our classrooms, we are raising the leaders of tomorrow, if all they know is what 2+2 equals or how to spell “beautiful” are they really going to be the future that we need and look forward to? Through the hard work of teachers promoting their students’ success and ability to do good work and make good choices, we can see the world change in radical ways! When we as teachers understand that not only do our students need to know the what but also the how, we can help them succeed in building critical thinkin...
The human mind is perhaps the greatest object on the earth, animate or inanimate, but without the proper training, the mind is a relatively useless tool. Through the development of formal education systems, humans as a whole have tried to ensure the training of all minds so as to continue prosperity for the world. Most of the time, though, education systems do not realize the harm they are doing to developing minds and the subsequent negative consequences. Among the largest of these inadequate education systems is the American primary schooling system. The American education system is in fact failing; it continues to deplete children of their natural creativity and thirst for knowledge while preaching conformity, which in turn creates an ill-prepared and incompetent public.
This book presents the relationship between human and animal behaviors and the behavior that is now created by our modern day society. The mind has two main parts. There is the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is the better half, yet it is potentially threatening; therefore, the conscious mind is aware at all times. The unconscious mind influences your behavior in many ways. Pi experiences both of these minds. Pi is consciously planning his survival and how he was going to spend his food, so he didn’t run out. His conscious mind contributed to Pi surviving at sea. Consequently, when Pi`s father fed a goat to a tiger to prove a point, he was unaware that this event changed his personality brutally. He became more
Aside from school or Universities, our world is a huge classroom. All of us learned things that are not taught in school, but there are some methods that we follow in order to simplify and to understand more regarding the task of different fields of knowledge. In our society today, most people learn by mimicking others and their actions that are influenced by past experiences. There is knowledge that is handed down from mouth to mouth generation that never committed in writing. When I think about knowledge, the first thing that comes up with my mind is education. Education requires self-determination, dedication, and experience. According to John Henry Newman’s philosophy of
In the words of Bertrand Russell, “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom” (Russell). Fear causes many problems in our lives. Fear influences many of a person’s actions and decisions. However, people usually regret the decisions or actions they made out of fear. Also, these actions and decisions can cause problems for those people in their future. Fear is a harmful emotion, for it clouds people’s judgement, disables them from taking action, and causes them to make decisions that they will regret later.
The need to control nature is a human instinct that has done more harm than...
Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” –Albert Einstein
This paper is focused on how fear as a subject is being perceived by many as a dominant and primitive human emotion. An uncontrollable energy that’s exists and created within every individual, which is directed towards an object or a given situation that does not present an actual danger. The individual then analyzes that the fear is contradictory and thus cannot help the reaction. Gradually, the phobia aims to build up and aggravate as the fear of fear response takes hold. Eventually they distinguish their fear responses as negative, and go out of their way to avoid those reactions. ‘Fear is derived as a basic feeling and therefore created by us – it is not something we have, but something we do. The principle of fear is to keep us safe.’
Rather than preparing students to be thoughtful, self-directed and ethical beings capable of arriving at social truths through critical dilemmas, schools prepare students to be ‘rubber stamps’ with dictatorial work and political structures, train students for work by providing the student with a limited set of skills and information to do a particular job, and discourage the chase of individuality and creativity. (Dewey, 1916).
We as humans have developed a form of society in which everyone has a purpose and a job they must do. In some circumstances, we are unhappy with the path we have chosen or are given. We all wish to make a change, yet we never seem to stand up to our leaders and change this; we follow the cultural norms even if we don’t like or understand them. The basis of this idea is out of fear of the unknown. People tend to be afraid of that which they have not experienced; an oxymoronic device negating our obligation to discover and innovate.
Inclusively, the relationship between knowledge and education is dependent on the way of the process as a whole. If education is implemented as dull and uninteresting, true learning is not happening. This passage by Davidson introduces the problems the education system faces with their methods of teaching, provides an explanation on how it came to be that way, and offers a solution to improve the system by conducting an experiment. Throughout this analysis, it is clear that knowledge and education are not the same but can depend on each other if processed
The overall essence of education or knowledge acquisition is reflected in an axiom by Confucius which says “Tell me, and I will forget; show me, and I will remember; but involve me, and I will understand. Back then, it was clear that learning was a comprehensive process which involves passionate exchanges between students and their teachers; unfortunately this is not the case in most modern classrooms. Instead of the expected bidirectional communication between learners and teachers, in the modern learning environment there is a unidirectional system which involves the teacher incessantly hurling facts at students who, due to their passive roles as mere receptacles, have fallen asleep or; in the case of “best” students are mindlessly taking notes. This leads to a situation where knowledge has neither been conferred nor acquired.
He was also correct in his idea of experiencing education rather than passively listening. A good thing about education today is that students are encouraged to try themselves, and homework is a perfect example of how we learn best by doing. I disagree completely, however, with his thoughts on equal access to education. An elitist society is exactly what education should be teaching us to avoid. If Socrates was allowed to comment on Aristotle’s theory, I’m sure he would say that those of high class with power are often the least wise because their egos blind them from the importance of continuous learning.