Jacques Maritain: "Not everything can be learned." Big mistakes of contemporary education. SHS
Man is an animal not only natural, as are the bear or the swallow, is also a culture animal whose species can not survive only with the development of society and civilization. It is a historical animal: hence the multiplicity of cultural types, historical or ethical diversify humanity, hence, also, the importance of education. By the very fact that they are endowed with unlimited power and knowledge, however, must proceed step by step man can not advance their own specific life, both intellectually and morally, if not aided by the collective experience that previous generations have built and maintained, and regular transmission of acquired knowledge. To achieve freedom in determining for himself and which has been done, the man needs the discipline and tradition against him and also strengthen it, making it capable of fighting them. This will enrich the tradition and rich tradition and will enable new and subsequent fighting.
Here are some significant errors-seven in total, concerning education. Examine each of them.
FIRST MISTAKE: ignorance of the purposes [aims to study] *
The Art education is a particularly difficult. However, by its very nature belongs to the realm of morality and practical wisdom. We can therefore say that education is a moral art, or better yet, a practical wisdom which is incorporated in the art. But art is a dynamic impetus to a project that must be done and that is the end of this art. There is no art without purpose, the vitality of art is the energy that tends to end without stopping at any intermediate stage.
look here, from the outset, the two big mistakes that education should beware. The first is the neglect or ignorance of the ends. If the media are loved and cultivated for the sake of its own perfection and not as mere means, to that extent fail to lead to the end and the art loses its energy practice. Its effectiveness is replaced by a vital process infinite multiplication and each medium is developed by itself and includes, for his own account, an ever-expanding field.
This supremacy of the media on the purpose and the consequent destruction of all insurance purposes and any real effectiveness, appear to be the main criticism that can be done to contemporary education.
Not that their means or methods are bad. On the contrary, they are generally better than the old pedagogy. The trouble is, precisely, they are so good that we lose sight of the end. Hence the surprising weakness of education current. Weakness caused, firstly, by clinging to the very perfection of our means and methods of education and, secondly, by our inability to accommodate to an end.
SECOND ERROR: misconceptions about the purpose [self-deception objectives]
The second overall error is not forgetting the purpose, but false or incomplete statements concerning the nature of the order. The mission of education is larger, most mysterious and at the same time, more humble than many realize.
If the purpose of education is to assist and guide the child towards achieving human, it can not escape the problems and difficulties of philosophy, which, by its very nature, implies a philosophy man. So from the beginning of education is required to answer the question "What is man?" Sphinx posed by philosophy.
frank, I should note here that there are only two classes or categories of notions concerning the man who can be considered "honest" or "fair": the idea purely scientific and philosophical and religious idea of \u200b\u200bman.
methodological According to its true, the scientific idea of \u200b\u200bman, like all ideas developed by purely experimental science, ignores, as it is possible, of any ontological content, so that can be entirely verifiable in sense experience. The purely scientific idea of \u200b\u200bman tends only to link measurable and observable data considered as such, and is determined from the beginning to not see things as being or essence, no longer respond questions like: Do you have or not man a soul? Is there a soul or not? Is there a spirit or not there is only matter? Should we believe in freedom or determinism, freedom or the chance, values \u200b\u200bor simple facts? Such questions as the neopositivists, beyond the field of science. Thus, the idea of \u200b\u200bman is purely scientific and should be an idea "fenomenalizada" without reference to its ultimate reality.
The philosophical and religious idea of \u200b\u200bman is, however, an ontological idea. It is not entirely verifiable by sense experience, but has criteria and tests of its own; It refers to the essential characteristics and intrinsic (though not visible or tangible) and intangible density of that being that has a name: Man.
Clearly, the purely scientific idea of \u200b\u200bman can provide valuable information and constantly renewed as to the means and instruments of education, but you can provide neither the first nor the fundamentals of the primary directions education, since it requires first and foremost to know what man is, what is its nature and scale of values \u200b\u200bwhich essentially means. And the purely scientific idea of \u200b\u200bman does not know these things, it ignores "Being as such" emerges only knows what the human being in the field of what can be observed sensory and what can be measured. Young Peter, Paul and James, subject of education, not just a collection of physical, biological and psychological knowledge of which is, moreover, required and absolutely necessary, they are sons of men. For the common sense of parents, educators and society, the word "man" represents the same ontological mystery to the rational knowledge of the philosophers and theologians.
THIRD ERROR
: the pragmatism [the usefulness of learning material]
Pragmatism is the third error we find in our path. Stress the importance of action, of praxis, it is certainly excellent in more ways than one, because life is action. But the action and practice tend toward a goal, towards a decisive goal, without which lost its direction and vitality. Life also exists for a purpose that makes it worth living. The perfect contemplation and self-realization, in which human existence aims to flower beyond the horizon of the spirit of pragmatism.
is unfortunate set of human thought as a body that responds to stimuli and situations of the moment, that is, define it in terms of knowledge and animal reaction. This definition applies exactly to the way of "thinking" of an animal without reason.
In contrast, human thought is able to illuminate the experience of performing human desires (which they are to be rooted in the fundamental desire of the property without limits) and to dominate, control and redo the world.
All you can do that because for a human idea makes sense, must somehow achieve what things are or what they are (if only in the symbols of a mathematical interpretation of the phenomena) .
I can do, because human thought is an instrument or, rather, a vital energy of knowledge or spiritual insight. You can do it, because the thinking activity begins not only with difficulties, but with the signs of a vision that clearly improves. This will only become truth by demonstration rational or experimental verification rather than a pragmatic recognition.
At the beginning of human action, in human terms, is the truth, apprehended (or believed to grasp) by itself, the truth for the sake of truth. Without faith in truth no human effectiveness. This, in my view, the main criticism to be made to the pragmatic theory and "instrumentalist" of knowledge.
FOURTH ERROR: The sociologism [dependency and social pressure]
Closely related to above, a fourth error presented here, is asking the social conditioning is the supreme rule and the only frame of reference education. The essence of education is not, in fact, the future citizen to adapt to the conditions and interactions of social life, but above all, to "make a man" and, therefore, to prepare a citizen. Oppose the education of the individual and community education is not only vain and superficial, in fact, educating the community implies and requires, above all, education of the person and, in turn, it is virtually impossible without it, because it is not a man but at the heart of community life, which begin to awaken the intelligence civic and social virtues.
have to blame the old methods of teaching the abstract individualism, bookish. The education have given a deeper sense of the experience, making it closer to real life and have made her enter from the beginning on social concerns, is a progress that education is justly proud.
However, in order to realize its objective, the need for reform must also understand that to be a good citizen and a civilized man, what matters above all is the inner center, the living source of personal conscience, from which arise At the same time, the idealism and generosity, the sense of law and the meaning of friendship, respect for others and independence firmly entrenched against the common opinion.
is equally necessary to understand that without the vision to give us ideas, without the power of abstraction and the light of intelligence, the most striking experiences are of no use to man, and not are beautiful colors in the dark, that the best means not to be bookish, on the one hand, avoid like the plague manuals and text-books, including manuals experimental knowledge, and secondly, reading books, reading with passion and greed. It is necessary to finally understand in a more general search for real life becomes an illusion if it scatters man's attention or the child between the triviality "practices", recipes and countless psycho utilitarian activities, to the detriment of life real concrete intelligence and soul. The sense of concrete reality is weakened by utilitarianism, develop and thrive, however, through such activities that human life is much greater need as they do not serve any practical use, because they are in themselves free, fruit and such. Woe to the teenager who does not know the pleasures of the mind and does not exalt the joy of knowing and the joy of beauty that is enhanced both by the enthusiasm of the ideas and invigorating experience of first love, for delights and exultations luxury of wisdom and poetry. Fatigue and disgust of human affairs will certainly too soon to be charged with the task of the adult concerned.
FIFTH ERROR: the intellectualism [knowledge for knowledge]
Regarding the powers of the human soul, point out two errors from a biased and exaggerated, and that oppose each other: intellectualism, fifth error on our list, and the sixth, which is voluntarism.
intellectualism takes two main forms: one seeks the ultimate realization of pure skill education in dialectic or rhetoric, such was the case of classical pedagogy, particularly in the era when education was reserved for privileged classes.
A second form of intellectualism, this modern, abandoned the universal values \u200b\u200band emphasizes the practical functions and creative intelligence. Search the supreme achievements of education in the scientific and technical expertise. Certainly specialization has become increasingly necessary for the technical organization of modern life, but should be compensated, especially during the years of youth, by a generally much more vigorous training. Remember that the animal is a specialist and a specialist perfect as his power of knowledge is determined by some particular task to run.
conclude, then, that an education program that aims to train specialists only a perfection in increasingly specialized domains, unable to give an informed opinion about any material beyond the scope of its specialized jurisdiction, indeed lead to a progressive animalization spirit and human life. In other words, in the same way that the life of the bees is to produce honey, a man's life would be to produce, each well holding on to its socket-economic values \u200b\u200band discoveries scientists. Meanwhile, any pleasure or fun social mean occupy their leisure hours, and a vague religious feeling without any content of thought and reality, would make life a little less flat, possibly something more dramatic and exhilarating, like a pleasant dream . The overwhelming cult of specialization dehumanizes human life.
Happily, nowhere in the world has yet established a system of education on this basis only. But everywhere there is a trend towards such a conception of education as a result of a materialistic philosophy of life more or less consciously accepted, which is a major threat to democracies.
One danger, first, because the democratic ideal demands more than any other, faith in the spiritual and the development of renewable energy, whose domain is raised above all specialization, and, secondly, because a total division of spirit and human activities in specialized compartments would make impossible any "government of the people for the people and the people." How could the common man to judge what is good for the people if you feel able to judge, unless en el campo restringido de su especialidad? La actividad política y el juicio político se convertirían en materia exclusiva de los expertos especializados en ese campo, una especie de tecnocracia del Estado que no presenta perspectivas muy afortunadas para el bien del pueblo ni para la libertad.
En cuanto a la educación –asfixiada por las reglas imperantes de algún sistema de orientación profesional– se convertiría en el proceso de diferenciación de las abejas en la colmena humana. En realidad, la concepción democrática de la vida requiere primordialmente una educación liberal para todos y un desarrollo humanista general del conjunto society. Even with regard to the success of industrial activities, natural wit of man, fortified by an education that liberates and expands the spirit is more important than technical expertise. Precisely those resources free of human intelligence arises naturally in the heads of enterprises and workers, the power to adapt to new circumstances and dominate.
SIXTH ERROR: the voluntarism [at the expense of character formation instruction]
Volunteerism is also presented in two main ways. In response to the first form of intellectualism, it has developed since the time of Schopenhauer, a tendency to "proactive." This has helped to subvert the internal order of the human nature of intelligence to make a slave of the will and appeal to the power of irrational forces. As a result, education should concentrate entirely on the will to discipline as a national model or pattern, or in the free expansion of nature and natural potential. The merit of the best and wisest forms of volunteerism in the educational domain, has been drawing attention to the critical importance of voluntary functions unknown to the intellectualist education and emphasize the primacy of morality, virtue and generosity in the formation of man.
main thing, in fact, is certainly to be a straight man rather than a learned man. As I wrote Rabelais, science without conscience is the ruin of the soul. Such was the ideal, but in fact the educational achievements of volunteerism have been strangely disappointing, at least from the standpoint of good. From the point of view of evil have met great success. I think here in the effectiveness of training schools and youth organizations of the Nazis, who destroyed in every sense of true minds, perverted the role of language itself, devastated the morale of the youth and made of a simple intelligence equipment technical college.
proactive trend in education goes very well indeed, with the culture technique. We find such a combination, not only in totalitarian corruption of education, but in other areas and some good intentions. As we observe in democratic countries, this particular form of voluntarism pedagogy can be described as an effort to offset the disadvantages of the second form of intellectualism, over-specialized technical education-through what is called education will education of feeling, character building, etc.. The bad thing is that this honorable effort has produced, usually equally disappointing results we have been discussing. It is easy to distort or degrade a character, and it is difficult to form. Introduce a hammer all nails teaching you want in the shoe, not why it will more comfortable. The methods that convert the school into a hospital to repair and revitalize wills, or to suggest an altruistic behavior, or impart a good civic duty, may be very well designed and psychologically to be perfect, but no longer have a discouraging inefficiency . As far as we are concerned, we believe that intelligence itself is nobler than the will, because its activity is more intangible and universal. But we also believe that, with regard to things or objects themselves which fall on our activities, it is better to love and to love rather than simply know. Furthermore, it is by his will, when it is good, not for their intelligence, perfect it is, by which man becomes good and right.
SEVENTH ERROR: everything can be learned [general education]
; There is an extremely common error in the modern world, the seventh in our list, which comes down to believing that everything can be learned.
Greek sophists also believed that all even virtue, could be acquired through the teaching of teachers and through scientific explanations.
is not true that everything can be learned.
is not true that young people can expect from schools and universities not only cooking classes, home economics, child care, advertising technique, the art of makeup and manufacture of beauty products, how to win more money, marry well and be happy in marriage ... not only learn all this but also - and why not - receive training about the scientific means to become a creative genius in the arts or sciences, or to acquire the ability to comfort those who mourn and become a man of heart.
teaching morality in regard to their intellectual foundations, should occupy an important place in school programs and college. But the accurate assessment of the practical cases that the ancients called prudentia and is a vital inner power and developed in the spirit and supported by a focused will, can not be replaced by a learned science, whatever.
And the experience, which is a result of the pain and incommunicable memory, whereby the formation of man is perfected, can not be taught in any course or any school.
There are courses in philosophy, but not wisdom, wisdom is acquired through spiritual experience. As for practical wisdom, we must say with Aristotle that the experience of the elderly is at the same time, as unprovable and enlightening as the first principles of understanding. Otherwise, what is more important in education the man that what matters most for the man himself and to human life? For man and for human life there is, indeed, nothing bigger than intuition and love.
all love is not necessarily straight nor well managed intuitively or conceptualized, but if love or intuition exist in some dark corner, the flame of life and life is there, and there also is a promise of heaven. However, neither the insight nor love are subjects of scientific education and training, are a gift and freedom. But despite all, education must deal with them before any otherwise.
Education at the Crossroads, Jacques Maritain
* The brackets are ours. With these enhanced the sense that encloses each of the errors exposed by Maritain in the text.
Argentina 
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