It’s the thinking that counts

December 15 – A professor of liberal arts emeritus at St Mary’s college in the USA, Dr Henry Rosemont Jr., who is trained in analytical philosophy, logic and linguistics, participated in the recent educating for GNH workshop. Also a professor of religious studies at the Brown University, he spoke to Kuensel on December 12 on the importance of instilling analytical and critical thinking skills in the education system.

An excerpt from an interview with the professor:

Critical and analytical thinking repeatedly came up at the workshop. What is it?
Critical thinking is a way of becoming more self-aware. Young people have to be taught to squint once and listen to the meaning of the word or a message carefully. Then they have to learn to squint again and understand the form of an argument in which the entire advertisement, Internet and television messages or a political speech is being given.

Logical thinking and analytical thinking is often called critical thinking but, for a lot of people, critical thinking is often criticising, questioning or challenging but it’s not just that. Thinking logically or critically can also be in support of the government, a teacher or a principal.

Critical and analytical thinking means not accepting everything at face value, it’s actually examining the form and the content of what’s being said. You may agree with everything the government or a teacher says. To read critically is not to reject.

How can students gain the ability to learn, understand and reason clearly or logically?
When I visited a school in Thimphu on December 7, I was a bit disappointed to hear a number of students agree that their least favourite subject was mathematics. That is too bad. Mathematics can be beautiful and intellectually challenging.

A much better way of entering mathematics, however, is through the vehicle of logic. To a lot of people, logic is scary and most logics are taught in a very boring way.

But once you study and look at an argument, for instance, if all “As” are “Bs” and all “Bs” are “Cs,” then all “As” must be “Cs”. It becomes easier to teach and learn Math. A good logic teacher will not only show you that all As are Cs, but also show you why it must be so. All these things are put into a form of puzzles to solve and children love puzzles more than adults do.

Another simple example is that ‘all John’s children are asleep’. What must be true for this sentence to be true is that John must have children. Young people developing that skill at an early age can be important.

The more proficient you become in the study of logic, the more you’ll be able to look critically at what every Bhutanese is increasingly becoming bombarded with, from the internet, television, any advertising and also political speeches in a young democracy.

How is critical/analytical thinking linked to GNH?
A better immunisation against materialism, consumer orientation, selfishness of capitalism, which are all against the principles of GNH, is by learning how to read the media correctly and to read it accurately.

Nothing helps that better than learning how to think logically.

With Bhutanese being subject to a bombardment of materialist and consumerist messages of the internet, television and other media, the government has two choices: either begin massive censorship, which is probably impossible, extraordinarily difficult and expensive, or they see to it that young people are trained in a way to learn how to read and understand the messages being told.

Can culture stifle critical and analytical thinking?
Respecting the elders and teachers as part of culture is something that you must do. However, it must be ensured that analytical thinking is not stifled while respecting elders and lead to not asking them questions. You must follow the elders and teachers but, if they are wrong or make mistakes, you should very politely correct them.

It will be a better classroom where you teach students to feel free. Young people should be respectful of their teachers. If your teacher asks you to read a book, you can also ask the teacher why you should read it.

A government or a teacher, who has no one to remonstrate with, to tell him or her where he or she might be going wrong, can’t govern or teach well. They have to have critics.

Some participants during the workshop said that Bhutanese children do rote memorisation and that isn’t good. But I think rote memorisation is important and is a strong mental exercise.

What is your definition of GNH?
GNH to me means that people come before things. You must look to the quality of life rather than the quantity of things owned and consumed. The more we put our stock on material and consumer things, the more miserable we’re going to be when those things fall apart. There are far too many people, who put their goals on consumption and ownership of material things.

What to you is an ideal education system?
My ideal education system is one in which the education system reflects the culture and the society which is paying for it. A system where teachers have a good deal of say and control over the curriculum and the pedagogy. I’ve heard a lot here about how teachers in Bhutan aren’t motivated enough, but you have to be in control of your work in order to be a happy worker.

I would also encourage teachers to give students as much responsibility at the earliest possible. To know what philosophy is, you need to do philosophy.

The most important thing that I would like to see inculcated in students is that they see themselves as inter-related human beings and not as individuals. They see themselves as a student of this teacher, a citizen of this country, son or daughter of this parent, a grandchild and see their interconnectedness with each other. An ethical system and moral philosophy that is grounded in the idea of interrelatedness is fully in keeping with the principles of GNH.

Why is critical thinking referred to as the backbone of civilised behaviour and the foundation of democracy?
Critical thinking is important for democracy and Bhutan is a small country just beginning with democracy. I suspect that the political parties don’t disagree fundamentally. There wouldn’t be much disagreement. But when you hear political speeches, you have to understand what the person is assuming and not saying. Analytical thinking means examining the usage and form of arguments in political and everyday situations. You accept the message because it’s logical and believe in it, and not because a figure of authority has said it beautifully.

To vote, people have to take some responsibility for the well being of the country. You can’t simply say I’m a Bhutanese and therefore, I should vote. But for democracy to be deep rooted in Bhutan, it must be practised. For instance, teachers should be given some significant role in decisions that directly affect them while developing curriculum and pedagogy. Also children, as quickly as possible, should be allowed to participate in decisions that directly affect them. That is the only way democracy can take root, a genuine democracy.

source: kuensel