Apr
17
da-vinci-leonardo
“Life is about encountering problems. Living is about solving problems.”
- R.E. Feist
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” (Socrates)
The quote sounds so correct. How can be a life which is not examined on holistic approach and tested by virtue of reason be worthy?
Why should we examine our lives? Why should we not just plainly go with the flow, live life and not question and think? “Ignorance is bliss” they say. How does examination of the self lead to actualization, and thereby to existence?
“Know thyself”, that is what the virtue is, know yourself and by yourself.
Objectivism or Existentialism gains its root from the knowledge of one’s own self. With the actualization of one’s own existence, the virtue of independence takes its roots. Virtue of independence confirms that an individual must think and act by virtue of his own efforts and not by following someone else. Reasons cannot be indoctrinated, they are to be acquired, although the guide/teacher may help, but indoctrination is crap. (Montessori schooling system is right), the policy of remaining committed for one’s own application of mental/cognitive faculty (mind) to learn, interpret and accept reason is virtue of independence.
Socrates held that one learns how to live reasonably through an
examination of his own life. This was principally achieved by questioning
others about their lives, to find out what they discern or do not know, and
by facing same questions by others, that is cross-examining each other. This type of cross-questioning to attain knowledge is popularly known as the Socratic Method or Method of Elenchus or Socratic Debate. At its most basic, this method involves a teacher posing a series of questions to a student. The teacher never answers the questions or indoctrinates but allows the student to come to the answers independently by examining and rationalizing. The Socratic Method is used in a wide range of disciplines in present era and it often touted as exceptional methods of instruction. Socrates felt that everyone could and should avail themselves of this type of questioning… He wanted others to emulate him by asking questions of others, by leading examined lives independently, gaining the understanding of reason and acquiring the virtue of reasonability.
The definitive goal of Socrates was to discern the reasonable approach of living. To accomplish this objective, he devoted a lot of time in framing moral questions and issues to others. His questions mostly revolved just about defining moral requisites that were important to lead a good life that is objectifying morality on the basis of reasoning. Socrates realized that the base of reality could be found in specific and appropriate definitions. A specific definition of the requisites is an essential beginning step in any problem solving practice or debate. Socrates’ used to test these definitions by questioning and creating further new questions, trying to assess their possible implications and ramifications. Every aspect of the definition would be scrutinized until its barest skeleton remained its most precise definition. This pattern of questioning is termed as the “elenchus” or the Socratic Method.
The elenchus is not just a method of philosophical scrutiny. It is also a structure by which the temperament of the individual being questioned can be discovered. The elenchus needs much from the person being cross-examined. Such a person must be honest enough to say what they really think about things. They must be humble enough to admit to their ignorance in certain matters. They must also possess sufficient courage to persevere with the questions even when they are getting angry or uncomfortable. The elenchus possess many different levels.
As a matter of fact, Socratic Method of education is just similar to the proper Montessori schooling system.
In Montessori schooling system, the teacher helps the primary student to know their own selves and potential via providing various natural exercises and stresses over the learning environment of the student and the significance of physical activities in attaining practical skills for which teacher poses myriads of examining situations in front of student.
Socratic Method is learning by questioning and analyzing one’s own self hence realizing the potential and ability to attain and develop skills and knowledge.
On Objectivistic approach, Montessori schooling and Socratic Method of learning and education is the most appropriate and reasonable way as it completely avoids dogmatic approach, preaching and indoctrination and helps the Individual to attain the virtue of Independence.
The problems with this is, only very few are really searching for truth, the intolerance of the politically correct inhibits the discussion, and most students are only interested in finding a short list of things to memorize for the next test and to attain the higher grades and better marks. They ignore the Virtue of Independence and accept dependence as a way of living.
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12 Responses to “Socratic Method Montessori Schooling, Individual Independence”
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void_spaces Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 5:54 pmwell your post certainly has a lot of reason to it and if anything i believed in all the things that you have mentioned .. but i have recently understood that all this might not necessarily be true.
your post basically deals with the knowledge of self .. but thinking about it how far does knowledge of self actually help a person. doesnt the knowledge come from ones own past experiences and principles based on such experiences only constrain a person ? like if my past experiences were different then wudnt my principles also differ ? no one is born with principles … !
and you talk about virtue of independence and again do you think even the post that you have written is fully independent of the world surrounding you .. ?? the very fact that the socrates method requires a teacher to ask questions means that is it totally independent of the teacheer . ?? dependence as a way of living is only the realistic way to look at things which might be confused with a parasitic way of life !!
i wud say that i was on similar lines of thought till sometime back .. but welcome to the real world !
unpretentious_diva Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 2:58 am@void spaces
In fact you never understood the basic reason behind the simple reality that its the only reasonable way.
Vital principles/Rational lines are never to be set on personal percptions, principles are always to be based upon the REASON as reason is the only tool to identify the reality.
And yes the post I made is fully independent of the world.
The world provides raw material, it is my mind and my existence which examines and questions and analysis that raw material. after that filteration, what I create is MINE, y independent work.
You need to read Johm Locke to get the understanding of MINE and property. But, Johm Locke provided a rough material, until you yourself wont rationalise and work upon it, you wont understand it. once you work upon it reasonably, the knowledge aquired would be yours.
As a major fact you have accepted dependence as your way, and you are simply unable to lead an honest life is making you to oppose the reality. The teacher is not a point of dependence, Teacher is only the source of raw knowledge which you have to rationalize. If you accept it without rationalizing, then theres no difference between you and a superstitious aghori.
bRaT Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 3:17 amThe real reason most students are only interested in finding a short list of things to memorize is that this short list of things is the only way to… well… let’s call it ‘success’.. the reason behind this thought process is that right after Montessori, the system doesn’t encourage self evaluation… The system doesn’t encourage independence, and the few that are lucky enough to actually realize that it is not them at fault, but the system, are too late in realizing. After passing that point, they can’t be bothered to go back and fight a system that has existed for generations.
I don’t think there ever will be a solution… The educational system in India works, but ends up damaging all the real talent, and the ones in the west are too uninspiring… It’s always left up to the child. I guess that’s where a good teacher comes in… To bring us as close to the perfect system as possible.. The Socratic Method looks very inviting on paper… But the Socratic teacher would have to teach a single student or a small group of students for several years to implement such a system…
But that’s just what I think…
zorba Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 10:41 amwow! great writing !
I must say that it is true that life is learnt by understanding one own self for we are availed with only our self to live with,its our way of looking that shapes everything(others are just extensions) and else is secondary .
And one thing more, most of people misunderstood questioning as having doubts but fruit of questioning is only “right questioning” and the art of ‘questioning it right’ makes life full of ‘rasa’ or nectar.
bookmarked u ,great job
love
void_spaces Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 3:13 pm@diva .. it would help a great deal if the comments here are a reply to my previous comments and not my comments in your blog
!!
anyways when you say “the post I made is fully independent of the world.The world provides raw material” .. what does it mean .. doesnt it show that you are still dependent on the raw material and tats what am talking about ?? and get me right here . am not telling you to stop thinking or stop rationalizing cause if one does that we would cease to be a human being. what makes you think that i dont rationalize and think on my own ??
where was johm locke(and i have no idea who he is !!) when thousands and thousands of years before saints had realised the meaning of life .. when they did not have anything to attach them to this world .. the notion of what you call MINE and property … why do u think johm locke’s notion of life is any better than the sage on top of the himalayas (i guess there are none) .. if you really want to be independent please dont delude yourself ! watch the movie into the wild if you want to !
and do get the difference between a parasite who does not think or work on his own and wants to reap the enefits and me who acknowledges the fact that we in this life are dependent to live an independent life !
and again am i telling you to live a life of a statue ?? “The teacher is not a point of dependence, Teacher is only the source of raw knowledge which you have to rationalize.” depending on the source of raw material is being independent is it ?!! very unprententious indeed !!
unpretentious_diva Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 3:21 pmKeep illuding yourself.
what saint? which saint are you talking about? living in dreams?
I agree to disagree with you because you have got no reasonable argument.
and yes, by being independent, I never meant that I am not dependent on oxygen to breath or water and food and shelter to live.
But I earn it.
Einstein might have discovered the fourth dimension (Time) and basics of quantum physics, but his work is just raw material for me, and if I am not independently able to understand his work, then I just cannot develop or use it further, nor I can appreciate it.
But since I am independently able to understand it, I appreciate it.
void_spaces Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 6:01 pmlol ! not the one to go down in an argument ??
i think we should get this straight .. you are just arguing about jus one sentence in my entire comment ‘being dependent’ .. did i ever say dont think ? dont rationalize ?? see there was einstein first for you to appreciate his work and then further develop on it .. ? and am talking about the dependence of thinking and making independent observations .. dont you think while writing the posts am doing it .. every peron has brains.. every person thinks .. !! whats the big deal !! whether or not he is able to make something independently out of it is upto his abilities and his problem !! but bottomline we are dependent on others to build on a better future … what if john locke had not even existed .?? !! either we are talking on totally tangentially concepts or you are just fixated to one point in my entire post !
didnt i say in my previous comment - difference between a parasite who does not think or work on his own and wants to reap the enefits and me who acknowledges the fact that we in this life are dependent to live an independent life !
maybe we should talk about it in more detail on a different forum !
unpretentious_diva Says:
April 19th, 2008 at 12:02 am@void space
lol, you are free to enjoy your dependence and ignore your independence. who is forcing you?
If Einstien hadn’t someone else had. Yet, if you wanna keep patronizing others without applying your own self, and even without trying to know your own ability to reasonify the previous knowledge which is raw material for you, then its your choice, not dependence.
You are surely free to question any and every of Einstien theory or postulates and prove them null and void. Or you are free to take it as a dogma and accept it as a belief.
But that is not science, nor rationality.
Because science is always falsifiable.
unpretentious_diva Says:
April 19th, 2008 at 12:59 amhttp://www.cmseducation.org/
http://www.prayag.in/
http://www.lifepositive.com/mind/education/alternative-education/montessori-education.asp
some of the examples in India which are trying on Montessori lines.
void_spaces Says:
April 19th, 2008 at 11:58 pm@diva ..
dude ! am really exasperated here .. you need to understand what am trying to tell you .. dependence doesnt mean that one cannot falsify something or one cannot question things !
being dependent doesnt mean that i cannot live a life where i question every authority, every belief and every thing i want to do or i am supposed to do .. but the very fact that am questioning things means am dependent on those beliefs… !
if there were different set of beliefs i wud be questoning and based on reasoning i would be living a life which is again dependent !
u need to get a deeper perspective and please please do try to read completely !!
and again you may say that you are talking about absolute truths which is independent of ones experience or of the world around you .. isnt physics the understanding of the physical world .. the how and why ?? !!! .. what absolute truths are you talking about .. really would like to know !!
the core of a man’s spirit comes from new experiences !
unpretentious_diva Says:
April 20th, 2008 at 1:03 am@void
1>I am not a dude, I am dudette.
2>perceptions doesn’t matters. Reason based reality does.
3>I am independent, this article is independent, and it has no two way talks.
4>I am questioning my surrounding environment because I am Independent and am able to check it on reason and change the environment for my own benefits.
5>there are different sets of beliefs, and I do verify various beliefs on the basis of reason and then chooses the right reasonable path independently without any bias or emotional perceptive dependence.
6>you need to get rid of your wrong assumptions and get the right meaning of dependence and independence.
7>I never talked about absolute truths, idiotic perceptions interpreters and religionists talks that **** (as you are doing).
8>I am independent of your experiences and your experiences are independently yours. Don’t expect any sympathy on behalf of your bad/good experiences/perceptions from any other body. Others may empathize.
9>stop deliberately divulging from topic.
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