From: David Morey (us@divadeus.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: Sat Nov 13 2004 - 11:05:35 GMT
Hi Arlo
Interesting post. How can hope to overcome
the mountains of awful SOM and system-propping-up
nonsense for the many?
DM
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arlo Bensinger" <ajb102@psu.edu>
To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2004 7:10 PM
Subject: RE: MD Wisconsin School OKs Creationism Teaching
> Platt, Scott, All,
>
> Scott wrote:
> > What is true, though, is that no one can
>> > argue either for ID or for the belief that chance and natural selection
>> > are
>> > sufficient, based on clear, scientific evidence. So both should be
>> > relegated to a philosophical discussion on evolution, and neither
>> > should be
>> > taught as science.
>>
>
> Platt responded:
>>Now that's something that never occurred to me, no doubt because I've been
>>overwhelmed by science's pervasive propaganda that searching for
>>mechanisms and using measurements is the only legitimate way to establish
>>true knowledge. But now that Scott has put evolution theory in proper
>>perspective, my belief that the theory fails as a complete explanation by
>>science's own standards has been further justified. Of course, Pirsig also
>>got me to thinking along those lines some time ago.
>
> And again, if this was the intent, you'd have little opposition from your
> so-called "liberal academics". Most I know (at the university level) would
> very much like a critical thinking, metaphysics course (indeed, courses
> each year of the curriculum) to be offered. You would also foster
> cross-cultural competence when you'd offer non-western, non-occidental
> approaches to this area of thought. Here comes into play comparative
> mythologies, and students could learn about esoteric and exoteric
> interpretation of world myths and metaphysics.
>
> The would be exposed to Kabbalastic and Gnostic interprestations of
> Intelligent Design, learn the creation accounts of the Inuit and the
> Maori. They would learn, as they examined occidental creation stories,
> that these stories are everywhere at once culturally determined. That no
> one "creation story" is superior, that the "intelligence" behind the
> design is described just as legitimately by the Mahayana Buddhists as the
> tribes of Israel, and just as epically in the Icelandic sagas and the
> Aboriginal stories.
>
> It would be an end to religious elitism and theocracy building!!! No more
> evangelicals!!!
>
> Being critical thinkers, they would learn about socio-cultural,
> post-modern, post-structuralist and semiotic accounts of mind.
>
> It would be the end of SOM!!!
>
> Pirsig, Peirce, Lacan, Chomsky, Bhaksar, Bakhtin... all currently unknown
> in the K-12 curriculum, would become prominent in classroom discourse.
>
> This critical thinking could lead them to see the fallacy of the
> "nation-state" as conflated with particular ideologies, and would be able
> to critically examine particular nation-states for their actions and
> structure. They would learn to understand that there is a difference
> between "blind obedience to government" and "patriotism". They would begin
> to think about american hegemonic policies from multiple perspectives, to
> read history critically and question nationalistically or ideologically
> revised "feel-good" history. They would, perhaps, begin to read
> mythological accounts for their meaning and not wage war or advance
> religious elitism over culturally-bound literal aspects.
>
> One could imagine that even the untouchable doctrine of "capitalism" would
> come into the critical arena (perhaps through the hegemony discussion, but
> also from a Marxist perspective). Other political theories could be
> legitimately discussed and compared, without falling back on the US
> good/Everyone Else Bad dichotomy. Alienating labor from labor activity
> could be openly discussed without McCarthy-ian fears of the evil red
> empire.
>
> They would be able to critically assess the two-party system that is
> modern american politics, examine the rhetoric of this dichotomy of
> freedom-tyranny that is promoted as political discourse.
>
> Perhaps these students would critically examine "gender", and be able to
> discuss it's fractured manifestations as not something fear or be ashamed
> of, or used to manipulate political discourse. Indeed, the use of
> language itself could be critically assessed (although this relies
> strongly on cross-cultural competence, as critically thinking about a
> language within that language is difficult, although not impossible).
> Students would be able to critically determine when evangelical groups
> attempt to promote their agenda through language framing.
>
> Ahhh... what a glorious thought!!!!
>
> ;-)
>
> Arlo
>
> Platt- you asked me a legitimate question (regarding the foundation for
> the morality of the things I had mentioned). I will get to this, I am more
> in a light-hearted mood today. :-)
>
>
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