10-16-2024, 05:47 PM
Scepticism is not the same as self idolatry. It's questioning given information, searching for further details or putting it to the test. It's a refusal to blindly trust authority only because it considers itself authority. Scepticism doesn't mean, or at least it doesn't have to mean, beholding yourself as an ultimate authority to decide what is true or not. A questioning mind questions also itself. Does that lead to conformity? Not if you're fair in your distrust and treat all the sources of knowledge equally.
Doubts stimulate curiosity and encourage further discovery. All the greatest geniuses went against the tide. Seriously, for considerable time all the renowned scientific authorities thought that the Sun goes around the Earth. While the know-it-all attitude should be avoided, the critical thinking should be encouraged at all stages of education, not just when some educational authority decides the student is wise enough to think for himself. By that time it will be too late.
If you're interested in my education, the time spent at the University was much different from the time spent at school. At school it was mostly passing on the knowledge. The teacher preached and we noted it down. The university was more interactive. And yes, we were granted the privilege of choosing our teachers. I see nothing wrong with the idea. Some teachers have no other authority than that of the institution that employs them.
Doubts stimulate curiosity and encourage further discovery. All the greatest geniuses went against the tide. Seriously, for considerable time all the renowned scientific authorities thought that the Sun goes around the Earth. While the know-it-all attitude should be avoided, the critical thinking should be encouraged at all stages of education, not just when some educational authority decides the student is wise enough to think for himself. By that time it will be too late.
If you're interested in my education, the time spent at the University was much different from the time spent at school. At school it was mostly passing on the knowledge. The teacher preached and we noted it down. The university was more interactive. And yes, we were granted the privilege of choosing our teachers. I see nothing wrong with the idea. Some teachers have no other authority than that of the institution that employs them.
