How was Mathematics taught in the Arab-Islamic Civilization? – Part 1: The Pe...IJERA Editor
No matter how societies have differed throughout history in their values, cultures, politics and systems of life,
there has always been a common consensus regarding the importance of mathematics and its role in the social
life. Arab-Islamic civilisation -like many others- had a reasonable command of many aspects of mathematics.
This was apparent in various applications including not just in everyday life, civil and business transactions, and
financial dealings, but also in certain religious rituals.
This paper aims to highlight the important position that the scholars in the Muslim East and West attributed to
mathematics, both in terms of teaching and practice. Furthermore, this work investigates the methodology of
teaching fractions in the Arab-Islamic society. The latter is found to be one of the mathematical subjects that has
been recommended to be taught to learners at their earliest learning stages, especially given the importance of
fractions in everyday transactions such as calculating shares of a legacy. The paper also examines some of the
educational requirements such as the teacher duties, student‟s qualities, education stages and what the relevant
curriculum recommended by scholars during each stage. Finally, this work briefly highlights one of the
contemporary issues which is the difficulty of teaching fractions for young learners and how this was addressed
in the past by one of the early Muslim Arab mathematicians through the use of simple poetry.
Education is a medium to change the characteristic of human beings to reach their perfection. In Islam, the ultimate goal of education is to uphold humanistic values thare embedded in every individual. This article attempts to analyse the application of Islamic concept of education by putting emphasis on the process of humanization. It is argued that the function of education is not only to provide cognitive knowledge for students, but also
to introduce to the students humanistic values and principles. Humanitzation in Islamic education means that students are taught how to develop good character and personality. This is the challenge of development and progress in all lines of life that produces some of the social changes are large and comprehensive on human life and lead to social change. Education is charged on the human values of self learners Humanistic values that are embedded in Islamic education include: religious values, togetherness, and partnership.
To What Use is Philosophy in an Age of Science and Technology? AJSSMTJournal
Philosophy as a discipline of studies and as a form of knowledge is facing a lot of challenges today, even in the university
systems and institutions where some have marginalized it or consigned it to the realm of general studies. The erstwhile
mother of the sciences does not seem to have the dignity among the sciences. Since respectability has today been reserved
to the sciences that appear to have more practical impart specifically the empirical sciences and technology. Thus, in this age
of manufacturing and industry, men are either cynical about any form of knowledge that is merely speculative and does not
talk of bread and butter issues or appear not to have any economic potency. No wonder, a book in French was titled “A Quoi
Bon La Philosophy” (To What Good Is Philosophy). The goal of this article is to respond to this modern cynicism and
interrogation on the utility of philosophy. It will be our contention that any knowledge and learning without the philosophical
ingredient suffers fundamental impoverishment. Furthermore, that the empirical sciences and technology require a discipline
like philosophy for their foundational legitimation
How was Mathematics taught in the Arab-Islamic Civilization? – Part 1: The Pe...IJERA Editor
No matter how societies have differed throughout history in their values, cultures, politics and systems of life,
there has always been a common consensus regarding the importance of mathematics and its role in the social
life. Arab-Islamic civilisation -like many others- had a reasonable command of many aspects of mathematics.
This was apparent in various applications including not just in everyday life, civil and business transactions, and
financial dealings, but also in certain religious rituals.
This paper aims to highlight the important position that the scholars in the Muslim East and West attributed to
mathematics, both in terms of teaching and practice. Furthermore, this work investigates the methodology of
teaching fractions in the Arab-Islamic society. The latter is found to be one of the mathematical subjects that has
been recommended to be taught to learners at their earliest learning stages, especially given the importance of
fractions in everyday transactions such as calculating shares of a legacy. The paper also examines some of the
educational requirements such as the teacher duties, student‟s qualities, education stages and what the relevant
curriculum recommended by scholars during each stage. Finally, this work briefly highlights one of the
contemporary issues which is the difficulty of teaching fractions for young learners and how this was addressed
in the past by one of the early Muslim Arab mathematicians through the use of simple poetry.
Education is a medium to change the characteristic of human beings to reach their perfection. In Islam, the ultimate goal of education is to uphold humanistic values thare embedded in every individual. This article attempts to analyse the application of Islamic concept of education by putting emphasis on the process of humanization. It is argued that the function of education is not only to provide cognitive knowledge for students, but also
to introduce to the students humanistic values and principles. Humanitzation in Islamic education means that students are taught how to develop good character and personality. This is the challenge of development and progress in all lines of life that produces some of the social changes are large and comprehensive on human life and lead to social change. Education is charged on the human values of self learners Humanistic values that are embedded in Islamic education include: religious values, togetherness, and partnership.
To What Use is Philosophy in an Age of Science and Technology? AJSSMTJournal
Philosophy as a discipline of studies and as a form of knowledge is facing a lot of challenges today, even in the university
systems and institutions where some have marginalized it or consigned it to the realm of general studies. The erstwhile
mother of the sciences does not seem to have the dignity among the sciences. Since respectability has today been reserved
to the sciences that appear to have more practical impart specifically the empirical sciences and technology. Thus, in this age
of manufacturing and industry, men are either cynical about any form of knowledge that is merely speculative and does not
talk of bread and butter issues or appear not to have any economic potency. No wonder, a book in French was titled “A Quoi
Bon La Philosophy” (To What Good Is Philosophy). The goal of this article is to respond to this modern cynicism and
interrogation on the utility of philosophy. It will be our contention that any knowledge and learning without the philosophical
ingredient suffers fundamental impoverishment. Furthermore, that the empirical sciences and technology require a discipline
like philosophy for their foundational legitimation
Concept of Human Values
Value Education as Holistic Education
Significance of Values
Aim of Education & value Education
Evolution of Value oriented Education
Types of values
Components of value Education
Daniel Dennett - Teach Our Children Well
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/daniel_c_dennett/2007/03/teach_our_children_well.html
Daniel C. Dennett, Co-Director, Center for Cognitive Studies, Tufts University. He is the
Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, and Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive
Studies, at Tufts University. His most recent book was "Breaking the Spell" (2006)
***
In my recent book, Breaking the Spell,, I argued for compulsory education about world
religions in all schools, public, private and home schoolers. This is what I said:
“Maybe people everywhere can be trusted, and hence allowed to make their own informed
choices. Informed choice! What an amazing and revolutionary idea! Maybe people should
be trusted to make choices, not to make the choices we would recommend to them,
necessarily, but the choices that have the best chance of satisfying their considered goals.
"But what do we teach them until they are informed enough and mature enough to decide
for themselves? We teach them about all the world’s religions, in a matter-of-fact,
historically and biologically informed way, the same way we teach them about geography
and history and arithmetic.
"Let’s get more education about religion into our schools, not less. We should teach our
children creeds and customs, prohibitions and rituals, the texts and music, and when we
cover the history of religion, we should include both the positive – the role of the churches
in the civil rights movement of the 1960's, the flourishing of science and the arts in early
Islam, and the role of the Black Muslims in bringing hope, honor and self-respect to the
otherwise shattered lives of many inmates in our prisons, for instance–and the negative –
the Inquisition, anti-Semitism over the ages, the role of the Catholic Church in spreading
AIDS in Africa through its opposition to condoms.
"No religion should be favored, and none ignored. And as we discover more and more
about the biological and psychological bases of religious practices and attitudes, these
discoveries should be added to the curriculum, the same way we update our education
about science, health, and current events. This should all be part of the mandated
curriculum for both public schools and for home-schooling.
"Here’s a proposal, then: As long as parents don’t teach their children anything that is
likely to close their minds -- through fear or hatred or by disabling them from inquiry (by
denying them an education, for instance, or keeping them entirely isolated from the world)
then they may teach their children whatever religious doctrines they like.
"It’s just an idea, and perhaps there are better ones to consider, but it should appeal to
freedom-lovers everywhere: the idea of insisting that the devout of all faiths should face
the challenge of making sure their creed is worthy enough, attractive and plausible and
meaningful enough, to withstand the temptations o ...
Ethics in Science Essay
Ethical Definition Essay
Philosophy of Ethics Essay
Ethical Practices Essay
Ethics In The Workplace Essay
Ethics in Research Essay
My Personal Ethics Essay
Ethics In Nursing Essay
An Ethical Responsibility Essays
Ethics in Psychology Essay
The students should have the opportunity to acquire not only the subject knowledge to economically sustain their livelihood, but also take part in building an equitable and sustainable peaceful society. They should be able to avoid emotionally expensive and professionally disastrous circumstances with relative ease if they are given the correct tools and wisdom to take over the steering wheel of their life journey. The content of the subject knowledge acts as the bearer of the educator’s life lessons and wisdom, which in turn is the essence of the knowledge that students receive.
An educational system should invoke and awaken the seeker in every soul. The educational process helps students formulate their lives’ cardinal rules which will guide them for years to come to be bonafide citizens of this world. Unfortunately, we have experienced that many individuals even with the highest accolades fail to perform as authentic citizens of our highly delicate societal framework. These individuals without the preparation to be a part of this society are prone to bring chaos and instability to society. Sometimes they even harm our global system to an extent that takes decades to repair.
Seeing Education as Social Obligation: A Critical AnalysisAJHSSR Journal
Living is an opportunity endowed to every individual. However, life occurs to be futile and
absurd if one does not become responsible in his/her once-in-a life-time opportunity to live. Most people have
delved into education with a hope to ensure prosperous future. This paper investigates the origins of education,
perspectives and accounts of some theories. It likewise presents how an individual thinks and his/her notion of
success. It is found in this paper that the perspective of man on education is absurd when it centered on his
selfish desires. The investigation falls on the conclusion that education is a key for a good purpose and not for
selfish ambition. Life is an opportunity that is always associated with responsibility. Living is accompanied by
great obligation
Relationship between Education and Philosophy.SANA FATIMA
”Education without philosophy is blind, philosophy without education is lame” comment.
EDUCATION:
PHILOSOPHY:
Metaphysics:
Epistemology:
Ethics:
Logic:
Relationship between philosophy and education:
a] Determining the aims of education:
b] Harmonizing old and new traditions in the field of education
c] Providing the educational planners, administrators, and educators with the progressive vision to achieve educational development:-
d] Preparing the young generation to face the challenges of the modern time:-
REFERENCES:
arguments for and against abortion. - GCSE Religious Studies .... ≫ Legalization of Abortion Free Essay Sample on Samploon.com. Abortion should be illegal - GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy .... Abortion Essay - GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics) - Marked .... Abortion is a very controversial issue. - GCSE Religious Studies .... Trump pushes anti-abortion agenda to build culture that 'cherishes innocent life'. Abortion Arguement - GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics .... A Discursive Essay on Abortion - GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy .... Abortion essays - College Homework Help and Online Tutoring.. The majority of Americans support abortion access.. I had an abortion. Why is none of your business. - The Washington Post. Want to reduce abortion rates? Give parents money. - The Washington Post. Abortion poll: Most against fetal heartbeat laws, closing of clinics. Alabama passes bill banning abortion - BBC News. Questions surface as states pass abortion laws. Group launches site to help women self-induce abortions at home, citing .... 635711897809053841-AP-Abortion-Restrictions.jpg?width=2382&height=1346 .... Abortion rate at lowest level since 1973. Abortion laws: How different states use 'heartbeat' bills, Roe v. Wade. Worldwide, an estimated 25 million unsafe abortions occur each year. Abortion Essay - Document in A Level and IB Religious Studies. Abortion essay - A-Level Modern Foreign Languages - Marked by Teachers.com. Essay Writer for All Kinds of Papers - good thesis statement for being .... Sample Essay Abortion. Write my essay - discursive essay for and against abortion - 2017/10/10. Abortion essays against - writefiction581.web.fc2.com. Essay For Abortion. People against abortion essays - writinggroups319.web.fc2.com. Abortion Essays Free. Buy Essay Online - abortions essays - libdriastate.web.fc2.com. Argument essay about abortion facts - writersdoubt.web.fc2.com. abortion intro paragraph. Thesis Statements Examples For Argumentative Essays Against Abortion Essay On Abortion Against
Human Rights Awareness of University Students: An Investigationinventionjournals
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Humanities and Social Science. IJHSSI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Humanities and Social Science, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
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A framework for value education of scientists and engineers
1. A framework for Value Education of Scientists and Engineers
P.L.Dhar
Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and
Head, National Resource Centre for
Value Education in Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.
ABSTRACT
Technology is generally viewed as the tool for application of scientific knowledge
to promote human welfare. Since the age-old problems of inequity, poverty,
strife, crime and violence still stare in our face, there must be a grave inadequacy
in our science and technology set up. Analysis reveals that the roots of this
inadequacy lie in the fact that the youth, the future engineers and scientists, are
being given an education that completely sidesteps the whole question of real
human welfare, human values and goals. Clearly there is an urgent need to
rectify the situation. Though most educationists appreciate the need for
education in human values, there seem to be three serious misgivings about it.
First, value education is often equated with sectarian indoctrination- an anathema
to a secular state like India. Secondly, there is this notion that values can not be
taught at all, these are picked up by youth from the environment in which they
live, from the inspiration provided by the leaders, the role models. Thirdly, many
believe that values are relative and therefore any attempt at ‘teaching’ values is
akin to authoritarianism since it would curtail the freedom of choice. This paper
provides a framework for value education that overcomes all these objections
and shows how students can be motivated to imbibe universal human values
through discussions conducted in a rational manner in a classroom.
2. INTRODUCTION
As the industrial revolution came of age, it was expected that within a few
decades the growth of science and technology would ensure that people lead
long, healthy and meaningful lives bereft of the worries of providing basic
necessities of life. It was expected to free the globe from the strife and turmoil
characteristic of the middle ages, and usher an era of peace and prosperity.
However, as we move into the twenty-first century, we find that the age-old
problems of inequity, poverty, strife, crime and violence still stare in our face. In
fact crime and violence seems to have assumed alarming proportions, unheard
of ever before. Surely, something has gone wrong. Certainly there has been a
tremendous advancement in science and technology, in the knowledge that
mankind today has, but somehow this has not translated into freedom from
suffering. The reason for this predicament is not difficult to find. As Bertrand
Russell succinctly puts it: unless men increase in wisdom as much as they
increase in knowledge, increase of knowledge will be increase of sorrow.
This decrease in wisdom is a direct consequence of the pre-eminent
importance given in modern education system to gathering information and
various practical skills that have a utilitarian value. What the youth are supposed
to do with this knowledge, seems to be no body’s concern. No where do we find
any discussion on human values and goals. The result as pithily put by Albert
Einstein: perfection of means and confusion of the ends characterize our age.
No wonder today most people, failing to identify any goal of the life, lead ad hoc
lives, motivated only by the instinctual desire to maximize pleasure and become
crass hedonists. The whole emphasis of technology development has therefore
shifted to maximization of the profits, and not promotion of human welfare. Thus
products that are useless, or even downright harmful to the society, are being
dumped in the market on one pretext or the other. Arms race, which threatens
the very survival of humanity, is a result of this very syndrome.
3. The need for correcting this situation through incorporation of moral and
spiritual education has been repeated emphasized by various Education
Commissions set up in our country. However the actual methodology of imparting
moral and spiritual education has always been a matter of contention in all
secular countries.
Recalling the long discussions the author had with late Prof. D.S. Kothari in early
eighties, the main difficulty lies in the apprehension that value education would
lead to sectarian indoctrination- an anathema to a secular state. Rather than
addressing the issue squarely and taking the bull by the horns, the educationists
have taken the softest option: avoid such education altogether. That this
apprehension remains intact even today is evident from the numerous articles
which have appeared in the national press recently seeing a ‘hidden agenda’
behind the decision of the government to introduce education in human values
(EHV) at all levels of the education system.
There is also a fundamental doubt, especially popular among
philosophers: how can values be taught? Their implicit belief is that the values
can not, and even should not, be taught. These are picked up from the family and
the society (the school being a part of it) by observing the role models--be it the
parents, the teachers, the film stars or the political leaders. In their view, any
attempt by ordinary mortals to ‘teach’ values is tantamount to becoming self
styled moral masters, and this posture itself defeats the very purpose of this
education.
In an earlier paper1
both these issues have been discussed in detail and it
has been brought out how education in human values can be given rationally by
training the students to analyze their own life in a scientific manner, just as they
are trained to analyze the world outside. In this paper, an attempt has been
made to build up on these concepts and present a comprehensive framework for
value education of students of science and technology.
4. The Framework
The five cardinal principles on which a sound framework of value
education can be based are1
:
i) The foundation of value education should not be made dependent
on myth or authority of any kind.
ii) Just as the students are taught “The Laws of Science”, by
analyzing the phenomena of the external objective world, similarly
they should be encouraged to analyze their own life- its goals,
aspirations, etc –in order to discover for themselves the “Laws of
Nature” as applicable to the subjective world of Man,
iii) The students should be given practical training to inculcate self
restraint, self observation and to develop compassion
iv) The value dimension should permeate all the subjects taught to the
students. Good engineering design, a core competence of all
engineers needs value judgement.
v) The teachers should be trained to adopt the role of senior students
teaching younger ones, and not don the mantle of moral masters.
The first of these principles is a negative stipulation in that it excludes the use of
authority-be it of great people, or scriptures- to justify acceptance of any set of
values. This is necessary since most scientifically minded modern youth would
not accept any injunctions, howsoever valid these may be, merely on grounds of
faith or respect for any person or tradition. This is a very healthy attitude, a sure
antidote to dogmatism and fanaticism, which needs to be respected and
cultivated. In fact one of the greatest spiritual teachers mankind has seen,
Gautama the Buddha, advocated this attitude for all spiritual seekers: do not be
led by reports or traditions, or hearsay. Do not be led by the authority of religious
texts, nor by mere logic or inference, nor by considering appearances, nor by
speculative opinion nor by seeming possibilities, nor because one’s own teacher
5. has said so. When you know for yourself after observation and analysis that
certain things are right, wholesome and conducive to the welfare of one and all,
then accept them, follow them2
. The above quotation also brings to the fore the
quintessence of value education: concern for others, concern for the welfare of
one and all. It is interesting to see that similar advice was given by the greatest
scientist that mankind has seen, Albert Einstein2a
.
How should values be ‘taught’?
The second principle suggests the approach to be followed for value
education, viz. analysis of student’s own experiences facilitated by the teacher.
Thus one could begin from an enunciation of the commonly observed Law of
Nature: As we sow, so shall we reap. To get mango fruit, we need to sow a
mango seed. This is universal truth. One can not get mangoes from sowing any
other seed, whatever else we may do after sowing the seed. Similar are the Laws
of nature applicable to the subjective world of Man. By asking questions like :
“What makes you happy, makes you feel good : greediness or generosity ?
Honesty or cheating? Getting angry or forgiving? “ Apathy or compassion?”, the
students’ attention can be drawn to the easily verifiable fact that whenever we do
anything with a pure mind,- driven by love, kindness, compassion, generosity,
etc.,- it gives us happiness, we feel good about it. On the contrary when we do
anything with an impure mind-driven by greed, lust, pride, hatred, anger,
arrogance, ill will, etc.- it brings us unhappiness, we lose our peace of mind and
get agitated. This is also an infrangible law of the nature and is thus universally
applicable. We can thus bring out that there are certain universal human values
(UHV) --like truthfulness, honesty, compassion, kindness, generosity, etc. which
we should imbibe for our own good, to lead a happy and peaceful life. It has been
the author’s experience that this method of discussion in class is always very
rewarding and drives home the need for imbibing the universal human values.
We can also take recourse to the sense of fair play and justice existing in
most youth to draw their attention to the need for imbibing UHV. This can be
6. easily done by engaging students in discussion on questions like: “How do you
feel when somebody deceives or cheats you? Or gets angry at you / forgives
your mistake? Steals/returns anything belonging to you? Abuses you/ speaks
kind words? And How would others feel when you behave with them in this
manner? “ The answers to these questions in the class invariably lead to the fact
the maxim: Do unto others as you wish others to do unto you- the so-called
Golden Rule of all religions3
.
The students of science and technology can also be sensitized towards
these universal human values by drawing their attention to the implications of
latest scientific discoveries in various fields ranging from physics (quantum
mechanics and relativity) to neuroscience, biology to psychology and cognitive
sciences, all of which repudiate materialism, and bring out the strong
interconnectedness and interdependence of all existence. Thus, as has been
discussed in detail elsewhere4
, quantum physics tells us that we need to “… give
up the idea that the world can be analyzed into distinct parts, and to replace it
with the assumption that the entire Universe is an indivisible whole”5
. A simple
analysis of the breathing process in a finite atmosphere of the planet earth shows
that there exists a chain of chemical contact between all living beings (humans
as well as non humans) of the past and the present6
. We also know now that
over 98% of the atoms of a typical human body are replaced annually; the carbon
atoms in our body were once the part of the earth and shall be so again in
future7
. The studies of ecologists on various cycles in nature-like the carbon
dioxide cycle – which help regulate Earth’s temperature, have brought home the
fact that “ there is a tight interlocking between the planet’s living parts-plants,
micro-organisms and animals-and its non living parts-rocks, oceans and the
atmosphere.”8
The recent studies which confirm the powerful effect of mind on
the body, not only the mind of the patient but of other person’s mind (e.g. the
effectiveness of various techniques of psychic healing, the well documented
experiments on the effects of prayer done by others on the recovery of the
patient) have led scientists to posit that mind is essentially nonlocal in nature, not
confined to the brains and the bodies9
. If minds are nonlocal, they evidently
7. become parts of a larger Mind that is boundless in space and time, then each
one of us makes a contribution to the larger Mind of humanity. This vision of a
nonlocal mind could clearly form a solid foundation for ethical and moral
behaviour in the society—for education in human values.
Appreciation of the theory of Evolution also provides an excellent tool for
throwing some light on the vexed question of goal of life. It is not difficult to bring
out the fact that the whole process of evolution is essentially a progressively
clearer and more powerful manifestation of the consciousness. Even dead matter
is conscious, as was demonstrated by the celebrated experiments of J.C.Bose,
but there is only a faint glimmer of consciousness. At the microscopic level, of
course, we now know, there is much greater ‘activity’ with electrons hurling at
very high speeds around the nucleus. In plants with their capacity to grow,
breathe, and to communicate some more potentials of the consciousness are
visible to the naked eye. In animals there is even greater manifestation with
sharp sensory faculties, limited ability to learn from experience and elemental
levels of ethics like caring for the young. In human beings there is a quantum
jump in the awareness and an enormous increase in all potentials. Still, modern
neuroscience tells us, Man is using the potentials of only a very small part of the
brain, a small part of the left cerebral hemisphere. The right cerebral hemisphere,
which functions in a non-linear, non-verbal, intuitive, holistic mode is awaiting
further use. It is because of these scientific facts that it is now accepted even by
hard core biologists that future evolution of Man would not be biological, but
psychosocial. Drawing the attention of students to these facts of science, and
encouraging them to inquire into their implications drives home the truth of
assertion of great Rishis like Aurobindo who point out that future evolution of Man
lies in greater self-fulfillment through movement to higher levels of consciousness
or spiritual growth, and not mere accumulation of wealth.
Our experience of two decades of teaching a course on “Science and
Humanism” at IITDelhi shows that for engineering students a very effective
approach of sensitizing them towards values is to carry out an in depth analysis
of the impact of modern technology on society. We draw the attention of
8. students to the harmful consequences arising from modern technology like
ecological damage, vulnerability, urbanization, resource depletion,
meaninglessness of jobs, unemployment and resulting social problems. We then
encourage them to find the root cause of these problems by first relating these to
the basic characteristics of technology like centralization, automation through
mass production, planned obsolescence etc. The fact that these characteristics
are the outcome of the technologists’ sole concern with increasing profits brings
out in a very telling manner the harmful consequences of materialistic world-view,
which has fostered modern technology. This prepares the ground for
appreciating the need for supplanting it with a more holistic world-view.
Knowledge of Values and Imbibing Values
The third principle draws our attention to the important difference between
knowing about values and actually imbibing them. Not much would be gained if
value education gets confined to class room discussions on the importance of
imbibing UHVs without imparting the students any ability to overcome the
difficulties in actually living unto these. Significant benefits of value education
would accrue only if the youth are equipped with that inner strength that can
enable them to overcome the dichotomy so poignantly expressed in the anguish
of Duryodhana in the epic Mahabharata :
Jaanaami dharamam na ca me pravritti
Jaanaami adharamam na ca me nivritti
{I know very well what the Dharma is, but am not inclined to follow it. I know very
well what the adharma is, yet I can not come forsake it.}
Learning self-restraint and the art of purifying the mind of its baser instincts
should therefore form an integral part of Value Education. The most effective,
scientific, and universally acceptable method to do so is by cultivating
mindfulness of all that happens within the body-mind complex so that one can
9. really “know oneself”. Such a practice, like the training in Vipassana
meditation10
produces results within a short time and as the mind gets even little
purified, it begins to manifest the dormant characteristics like loving kindness,
compassion and reduces anger, ill will, pride and ego. The universal human
values can thus be actually imbibed gradually in increasing measure. This is
borne out by the feedback from number of IITD students who over the years
have been motivated to sit for Vipassana courses as result of our interaction, as
also from the feedback received from many school and college teachers who
participated in a special 15-day workshop on “Value Inculcation through
Vipassana” conducted by the author during summer vacations last year.
Need for value orientation of all subjects
Though it seems necessary to introduce special courses where the whole
concept of universal human values is discussed in detail, it is also necessary that
all other subjects taught to the students also have a value orientation. As
mentioned above too, discussing the philosophical implications of various
discoveries in science is extremely useful in this regard. Engineering design,
which is a core competence of a good engineer, needs value judgement and
students’ attention should be drawn to this fact. Even engineering science
courses like thermodynamics have highly significant social implications that
should be discussed in detail. Similarly in core engineering subjects, as also in all
the projects done by engineering students, it would help to point out the
ecological and social implications of the technology being taught be it internal
combustion engines, hydroelectric power, automation, design of skyscrapers,
refrigeration systems, microwave communication or computers. This helps
students, the future engineers, to become better engineers and also better
human beings.
10. Teacher Training
The most crucial aspect-in fact a prerequisite- of introducing value education in
curriculum is the training of teachers. This is the fifth pillar of our framework of
value education. It is essential that the teachers act as exemplars, trying their
best to practice what is being taught to the students, and not assume the role of
moral masters. All education, but most certainly education in human values, is a
life long affair. None, except a fully Enlightened One, can claim to have
completed his value education. Therefore the attitude of teachers “teaching”
values should be that of senior students teaching younger ones. It is with this
spirit of humility, unambiguously shared with the students, that proper education
in human values can be given which benefits both the teacher and the students.
Special workshops need to be organised to equip teachers with the abilities
needed to become such exemplars by beginning the process of actually living
unto these values themselves and also be able to respond to the numerous
queries of intelligent youth who, to begin with, see value education with great
skepticism.
Concluding remarks
Education in human values can be given in a manner that side steps all the
objections and apprehensions commonly expressed about such an attempt. At
IIT Delhi a number of such courses have been introduced which have never
attracted any criticism of being non-secular or didactic. To increase their
effectiveness, what is needed is that a comprehensive package of course and
practical training modules be introduced so that the future engineers appreciate
their social responsibilities and have the strength of character to discharge these
joyously. Practical training could include participation in meditation camps,
exposure to social reality of the country through camps and padyatras, spending
time during summer vacations with NGOs engaged in serving the under-
privileged sections of the society etc. This could be integrated with NSS activities
11. in colleges. Only the youth imbued with concern for others, would be motivated to
lend their hands, head and heart to ameliorating the lot of the increasingly larger
section of the society getting marginalised due to new social forces unleashed by
the policies of LPG (liberalization, privatization and globalization). It would not be
an exaggeration to say that the very survival of our society depends on our ability
to bring about this change.
References
1. P.L.Dhar (2000) , How Can Values by Taught ? , Journal of Value Education,
Inaugural issue, p59-69.
2. Kalama sutta, Anguttara Nikaya .
3. 2a Einstein quoted in Dhar P.L. (1998), Dhamma and Science, Vipassana
Sadhna Sansthana, New Delhi.
4. The Golden Rule , p114-115 World Scriptures: A Comparative Anthology of
Sacred Texts(1993), Moti Lal Banarasi Das, New Delhi.
5. P.L.Dhar and R.R.Gaur (1992), Science and Humanism-Towards a Unified
World View, Commonwealth Publishers, New Delhi.
6. David Bohm , quoted in above reference, p 84.
7. Murchie , quoted in reference 4, p 87
8. Larry Dossey quoted in reference 4, p 87
9. Fritzof Capra(1997) The Web of Life, p 104 , Flamingo, Harper Collins
Publishers, London.
10.Larry Dossey (1989) , Recovering The Soul, p7,Bantam Books, New York.
11.Hart William (1998) The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation as taught by
S.N.Goenka, Vipassana Research Institute, Igatpuri, Also at
www.dhamma.org