Random thoughts on education: I've thought about it for a little while and came upon the idea that knowledge of the physical world should be considered a basic level of knowledge for one's self. Children should be imparted with the impressions that education is fundamentally wonderful; give them a sense of self by relating it to experience, I believe the majesty of the story of cosmic evolution is awe-inspiring and quite possibly if regarded as fiction it would amount to something like "the best story ever told" as every story would be in it amongst the billions and billions. Having children use their imagination to understand their relation to the universe would retain the wonder of such an insight, and the attention of even the most lethargical thinker. Basic knowledge of the substantiality of experience should be thought of as an ideal to aspire to;to venture out into the realms of thought that most interest you, and as you gain a wider sense of knowledge of a single field and realize the depth of all thought in general one would not remain content with curiosity unfulfilled--why does this or that work? Plant a seed, enrich it with nutrients, and watch it flourish in its own wonderful way. The attainment should be less focused on tests and more on students given to a great ideal to aspire to: for the sake of the human enterprise, know the essence of at least your existence. The world of science is much more meaningful once the story of cosmic evolution is properly understood, by understanding that it's incomprehensibly difficult to imagine the entire tree of life in its billions of years in ascendance leading to the sense-experience we all perceive and are capable of reflecting upon.
Taking Huxley's first sentence from his piece 'Transhumanism' we come to find, "As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to under stand something of its past history and its possible future. This cosmic self-awareness is being realized in one tiny fragment of the universe —in a few of us human beings." Homo sapiens are agents in pioneering the "waking up" of the substance of the universe, having evolved a material architecture allowing us not only to perceive but also reflect upon our perceptions. This knowledge is realized by very few among us as matter experiences itself subjectively and is born into ignorance among the ignorant. The first ones in realizing this truth are those fitting the description of finding courage for "enlightenment" as Kant describes it, "Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's own understanding without the guidance of another. This immaturity is self-incurred if its cause is not lack of understanding, but lack of resolution and courage to use it without the guidance of another. The motto of enlightenment is therefore: Sapere aude! Have courage to use your own understanding!" and a few paragraphs further he expands, "Thus it is difficult for each separate individual to work his way out of the immaturity which has become almost second nature to him. He has even grown fond of it and is really incapable for the time being of using his own understanding, because he was never allowed to make the attempt. Dogmas and formulas, those mechanical instruments for rational use (or rather misuse) of his natural endowments, are the ball and chain of his permanent immaturity. And if anyone did throw them off, he would still be uncertain about jumping over even the narrowest of trenches, for he would be unaccustomed to free movement of this kind. Thus only a few, by cultivating their own minds, have succeeded in freeing themselves from immaturity and in continuing boldly on their way."
There's no more wonderful a feeling than that of this cosmic "religiousness" or consciousness, and any single mind would not be able to find a reason not to aspire to this ideal. It's a reciprocally cyclic connection and its ideality as an educational-style is inherent in the subject matter itself--the universe. Growing up I've never been exposed to or even remember any relation of myself to the universe. It wasn't until I watched Cosmos on my own that it really changed the way I understood my self in relation to everything else. It's an empirical tidbit of knowledge which deserves more air time. It's impossible to ever fully imagine, individuality is as Einstein thought, a sort of prison when trying to imagine the universe as a significant whole.
So I've thought about this, and I've no excuse now not to learn this for my self--instruction can't go so far. The natural world and universe deserves its due. I've bought this collection of "great books" and I'm going to see how much I can go through by the end of the summer, so that by the time my next semester starts I'll have access to the library and its science textbooks so that I can start on my journey into the sciences and all other fields of thought, as there's no excuse not to.
