Transcript Slide 1

Chapter 2 “The Rhythm of Education”
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Romance
Precision
Generalization
Relationships among the three stages
Oppositional or Appositional?
Hamlet 16
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The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of
Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by
William Shakespeare, believed to have been written
between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in the
Kingdom of Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet
exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius for murdering
the old King Hamlet (Claudius's brother and Prince
Hamlet's father) and then succeeding to the throne
and marrying Gertrude (the King Hamlet's widow and
mother of Prince Hamlet).
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 17
1770-1831
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Hegel had a profound effect upon the development of
historical and other studies. His own system, the system
of the Absolute, contained a view of the place of religion
in human life. According to this notion, religion arises as
the relation between man and the Absolute (the spiritual
reality that undergirds and includes the whole universe),
in which the truth is expressed symbolically, and so
conveyed personally and emotionally to the individual. As
the same truth is known at a higher—that is, more
abstract—level in philosophy, religion is, for all its
importance, ultimately inferior to philosophy. Whitehead’s
reference to Hegel, page 17.
Thesis; Antithesis; and Synthesis
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The relationship between abstract and concrete truth was,
incidentally, taken up in the 19th-century Hindu
re’nascence ＝ Renai’ssance (rebirth) as a parallel to the
doctrine of the Absolute—the Ad’vaita (nondualism), the
dominant expression of Hindu metaphysics—held by the
8th-century Hindu philosopher ‘Sankara. The Hegelian
account of religion was worked out
in the context of the dialectical view of history, according
to which opposites united in a synthesis, which in turn
produced its opposite, and so on. Hegel was influential in
the interpretation of Christian history: Jesus as thesis,
Paul as antithesis, early Catholicism as synthesis, and
the latter becoming a new thesis that would elicit a new
antithesis, Protestantism.
The history of Christianity
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The history of Christianity concerns the Christian
religion and Church, from the ministry of Jesus up to
contemporary times and denominations.
Christianity differs most significantly from the other
Abra’hamic religions in the claim that Jesus Christ is God
the Son. The vast majority of Christians believe in a triune
God consisting of three unified and distinct persons:
Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Throughout its history,
the religion has weathered schisms and theological
disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches.
The largest branches of Christianity are the 1. Roman
Catholic Church, 2. the Eastern Orthodox Church and 3.
the Protestant Churches.
Ana’nias restoring the sight of Saint
Paul by Pietro da Cortona
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Jean Restout was one of the most
famous French painters in the 18th
century. This painting is a smaller
version of a painting (now in the
Louvre) commissioned by the
Congregation of St Maurice for the
Abbey Saint-Germain-des-Près in
Paris.
Ananias was a disciple of St Paul,
living in Damascus. He learned
through a vision that he was to go to
Paul, who was blinded on the road
to Damascus by a sudden light from
heaven, and restore his sight by
laying on hands. In the painting Paul
is seen kneeling before Ananias. His
armour lies beside him. The dove of
the Holy Ghost hovers overhead.
Another disciple brings the water
needed for the baptism.
Paul popularized Christianity
by an inclusive approach
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original name Saul of Tarsus one of the leaders of the first
generation of Christians, often considered to be the second
most important person in the history of Christianity. In his own
day, although he was a major figure within the very small
Christian movement, he also had many enemies and
detractors, and his contemporaries probably did not accord him
as much respect as they gave Peter and James. Paul was
compelled to struggle, therefore, to establish his own worth and
authority. His surviving letters, however, have had enormous
influence on subsequent Christianity and secure his place as
one of the greatest religious leaders of all time.
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Paul included ‘gentile, of or pertaining to any people not Jewish;
Christian, as distinguished from Jewish
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Conversion of Saint Paul, fresco
by Michelangelo
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According to the Acts of
the A’postles, his
conversion to
Christianity took place in
a profound life-changing
experience on the road
to Damascus, capital of
Syria. Together with
Simon Peter and James
the Just, he is among
the most notable of early
Christian missionaries.
Artist Caravaggio Year 1601
Type Oil on canvas
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The painting depicts the
moment recounted in
Chapter 9 of Acts of the
A’postles when Saul, soon
to be the a’postle Paul, fell
on the road to Da’mascus.
He heard the Lord say "I
am Jesus, whom you
persecute, arise and go
into the city." The Golden
Legend, a compilation of
medieval interpretations of
biblical events, may have
framed the event for
Caravaggio.
Conversion of Saint Paul/Saul
Oil on cypress wood
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On this canvas, Saul is an epileptic and fractured figure,
flattened by the divine flash, flinging his arms upward in a
funnel. There are three figures in the painting. The commanding
muscular horse dominates the canvas, yet it is oblivious to the
divine light that defeated his rider's gravity. The aged groom is
human, but gazes earthward, also ignorant of the moment of
where God intervenes in human traffic. Only Saul, whose
gravity and world have been overturned, lies su’pine on the
ground, but facing heaven, arms supplicating rescue. The
groom can see his shuffling feet, and the horse can plod its
hooves, measuring its steps; but both are blind to the miracle
and way. They inhabit the unilluminated gloom of the upper
canvas. Saul, physically blinded by the event for three days,
suddenly sees the Christian message. For once, his soul can
hear the voice of Jesus, asking, "Saul, Saul, why do you
persecute me?" His sword and his youthful sinews are
powerless against this illuminating bolt of faith. Note name
change is significant, signaling identify change.
The Lone Cypress on 17-Mile Drive
California United States.
One of the most famous cypress trees
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In Greek mythology, the
cypress is associated with
Artemis. Ancient Roman
funerary rites used it
extensively. Cupressus
sempervirens is the principal
cemetery tree both in the
Western and Muslim worlds.
Cypresses are used
extensively the Shahnameh,
the great Iranian epic poem
by Ferdowsi.
A Hegelian Cycle
in the History of Christianity
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Jesus as Thesis who
preached to Jews
only;
Catholicism,
represented by St.
Augustine, as
Synthesis that
integrated Jesus
and Paul in the
Middle Age
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Paul as Antithesis
who popularized
Christianity by an
inclusive approach:
to preach to gentile
as well.
Catholicism
generates its own
Antithesis:
Protestants.
Ad hoc 18
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Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for
this". It generally signifies a solution
designed for a specific problem or task,
non-generalizable, and not intended to
be able to be adapted to other purposes.
–adverb 1. for the special purpose or
end presently under consideration: a
committee formed ad hoc to deal with
the issue.
Robinson Crusoe 18
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The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson
Crusoe of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years,
all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the coast of America, near
the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast
on Shore by Shipwreck, where-in all the Men perished but
himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely
deliver'd by Pyrates. Written by Himself, or simply Robinson
Crusoe, is a novel by Daniel Defoe. First published in 1719, it
is sometimes considered to be the first novel in English. The
book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a
castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near
Venezuela, encountering Native Americans, captives, and
mutineers before being rescued.
In vacuo 18
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Latin .
1. in a vacuum.
2. in isolation.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/in
+vacuo
Natural vs. Unnatural 21
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We must garner our crops each in
its due season.
揠苗助长
 【yàmiáozhùzhǎng】 try to help
the shoots grow by pulling them
upward - spoil things by excessive
enthusiasm
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Crammer (21)/Ducking Feeding &
The Banking Concept of Education
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Ducking feeding
model/
Crammer, a person
or institution that
prepares pupils for
an examination
intensively over a
short period of time.
Passive learning
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The banking
concept of
education
Passive learning
Paula Freire--1921
– 1997) was a
Brazilian educator
and influential
theorist of critical
pedagogy.
Monte’ssori method 22
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The Montessori method is an approach to
educating children based on the research
and experiences of Italian physician and
educator Maria Montessori (1870–1952). The
Method arose in the process of her
experimental observation of young children
given freedom in an environment, leading her
to believe by 1907 that she had discovered
"the child's true normal nature."[1]
Whitehead vs. Hegel
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Whitehead
Philosophy of
Process
Organic grow
Three stages-Romance, Precision,
and Generalization—
are connected by
continuity.
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Hegel
The System of the
Absolute
Two components—
Thesis and
Antithesis—are
marked by
discontinuity.
The Stage of Romance in Education
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Romance is the first moment in the educational
experience. All rich educational experiences begin with
an immediate emotional involvement on the part of the
learner. The primary acquisition of knowledge involves
freshness, enthusiasm, and enjoyment of learning. The
natural ferment of the living mind leads it to fix on those
objects that strike it pre-reflectively as important for the
fulfilling of some felt need on the part of the learner. It is
exciting precisely because knowledge at this stage is halfconcealed with promise or potential to be mastered.
The Stage of Precision
The stage of precision concerns "exactness of formulation"
(Whitehead 1929, p. 18), rather than the immediacy and breadth of
relations involved in the romantic phase.
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In isolation from the romantic impetus of education, precision can be
barren, cold, and unfulfilling, and useless in the personal development
of children.
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It is the stage of grammar…
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The contrast between the romance and precision however seems to
suggest that during the romantic phase, the knowledge acquired is not
precise, thus the claim is not airtight or his use of “precision” is not
quite precise.
The Stage of Generalization in Education
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Generalization, the last rhythmic element of the learning
process, is the incorporation of romance and precision
into some general context of serviceable ideas and
classifications. It is the moment of educational
completeness and fruition, in which general ideas or, one
may say, a philosophical outlook, both integrate the
feelings and thoughts of the earlier moments of growth,
and prepare the way for fresh experiences of excitement
and romance, signaling a new beginning to the
educational process.
It is comparable to Helel’s synthesis which leads to a new
cycle in acquiring more knowledge.
Philosophy of Organism
& Process Philosophy
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Philosophy of Organism or Organic Realism is how Alfred
North Whitehead described his metaphysics. It is now known as
process philosophy.
Central to this school is the idea of con’crescence.
Concrescence means growing together (com/con from Latin for
"together", crescence from Latin crescere/cret- grow), the
present is given by a consense -- Joint-sense (equivalent to
consciousness) of subjective forms. We are multiple individuals,
but there are also multiple individual agents of consciousness
operant in the construction of the given. Marvin Minsky calls
this the "society of mind" in his book Society of Mind.
Whitehead's "subjective forms" complement "eternal objects" in
his metaphysical system; eternal objects being entities not
unlike Plato's archetypal Forms. In Process and Reality,
Whitehead proposes that his 'organic realism' be used in place
of classical materialism.
Natural vs. Unnatural
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The size of Cinderella feet
• A condition posed from the outside;
The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare
(1596 and 1598)
The dramatic turn lies in an oversight on
Shylock’s part in the original contract in
which it demands a pound of flesh, but
without mentioning anything about
bleeding.
“Natural” means “Logical”
Portia
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The Merchant of
Venice
The dramatic turn is
based on the
premise that
bleeding and cutting
are logically
connected.
Dramatic Turn
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The climax of the play comes in the court of the Duke of Venice.
Shylock refuses Bassanio's offer of 6,000 ducats, twice the amount of
the loan. He demands his pound of flesh from Antonio. The Duke,
wishing to save Antonio but unwilling to set a dangerous legal
precedent of nullifying a contract, refers the case to a visitor who
introduces himself as Balthazar, a young male "doctor of the law",
bearing a letter of recommendation to the Duke from the learned
lawyer Bellario. The "doctor" is actually Portia in disguise, and the "law
clerk" who accompanies her is actually Nerissa, also in disguise.
Portia, as "Balthazar", asks Shylock to show mercy in a famous
speech (The quality of mercy is not strained—IV,i,185, arguing for debt
relief), but Shylock refuses. Thus the court must allow Shylock to
extract the pound of flesh. Shylock tells Antonio to "prepare". At that
very moment, Portia points out a flaw in the contract (see quibble): the
bond only allows Shylock to remove the flesh, not the "blood", of
Antonio. Thus, if Shylock were to shed any drop of Antonio's blood, his
"lands and goods" would be forfeited under Venetian laws.
Cook Ding’s Knife
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Zhuangzi, cofounder of Taoism, the
natural way
Cook Ding’s knife is as sharp as ever
even after 19 years’ of use;
How to cut up an ox?