“Indubitably, “it would be odd to downplay the role of the liberal arts and humanities and then decry the fact that we are not producing students with critical thinking skills”.
“I sincerely hope that one fine day, a Department of Philosophy in one great Malaysian institution of higher learning shall arise and commence the arrival of Philosophia.
“Why are these things important? More to the point: Why do they matter?
“I will argue in the affirmative. Yes, all these things are undoubtedly important. It is only through a free university with a Philosophy and Social Science Department that we can produce technicians, technocrats, future leaders, social critics, teachers, lecturers, professors and intellectuals which serve as a vital element in the continuous development of our body politic.
“However, we must not only invest materially on intellectual capital; we must also bolster the ethical and moral cultivation of our young. Intellectual power must be tempered and harmonised with ethical foundation and moral sense.
“Hence, we must engage in a two-pronged programme, which is the development of the mind and the cultivation of the inner spirits.
“These two elements must concur in order for us to mould and create students and citizens of substance and good moral character.”
Then, our author proceeded to his second proposal. Needless to state, I consider the same sound and utterly necessary.
Secondly, I propose making compulsory the subject of philosophy to all tertiary level students. Even at its most basic level, philosophy is one of the best ways to get students of knowledge to reason, because it is the foundation for every subject which will lead to the understanding of philosophy of religion, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of sciences, philosophy of social sciences, philosophy of economics, thoughts and the list goes on. Whatever his or her field of discipline is, credit hours on philosophy will provide basic tools to keep them grounded to the purpose of studying, and the purpose of the particular field they are studying.
Comment:
I subscribed completely to our author’s proposal to make the subject of Philosophy compulsory to all tertiary level students based on all the reasons that were given above!
Undoubtedly, “relentless economic pursuits have backfired. The lack of critical thinking is arguably why we lack innovation, and thus limited economic abilities. Even with disciplines which supposedly produce ‘returns on investment’ such as medicine, sciences, engineering or business, students do not fully appreciate the philosophy behind them, and thus not many are incentivised to probe further. When knowledge is supplemented with thinking and translated into development and innovative capabilities, the economic bounty of an enlightened Malaysia is actually far larger.”
Comment:
Bull’s eye! The author in my view has certainly hit the nail at the head. Undeniably, the lack of critical thinking will lead unfortunately to lack of innovation, being box-minded, sticking to the book method and fear of committing a mistake.
Critical thinking is a kind of thinking that will compel a person to think independently beyond the normality of the situation and pursue the product of his or her logical thoughts to their conclusions without the fear of committing a mistake.
In my view, the Liberal Arts' education is the source of critical thinking. Critical thinking is the capacity to think independently beyond the ordinary conception of prevailing reality.
Its mind is reason; while its heart is humanism. The precise utilisation of critical thinking will undeniably lead our students to the joys of critical analysis which in turn will certainly give them the philosophical tools necessary and pertinent for the conscious and bold exercise of complex insights.
Again, to quote the words of Chris Hedges, "The capacity to think is the only bulwark against any centralised authority that seeks to impose mindless obedience. There is a huge difference, as Socrates understood, between teaching people what to think and teaching them how to think.”
The process is something like this:
There’s Philosophy. Philosophy will help us to reason. Then, once we are already using our own reason, we begun to ask ourselves and deliberate thoroughly. Then, once we use reason in our thinking, that kind of thinking is no longer ordinary but already critical. And finally, once we are already utilizing critical thinking, we begun to philosophize and see things in a different light and various perspective!
Countering the oppressed mentality via Thinking
Ordinary Malaysians need to understand the meaning of words to modern nation states like Malaysia, such as freedom, justice and democracy. They need to question first, in order to understand the purpose of certain jurisdictions, rulings or systems. In fact, there must be encouraging mechanisms for Malaysians to be allowed to think out of the box defined by schools, societal norms, and the government.
Comment:
I concur with the author that oppressed mentality can only be remedied by thinking and more thinking. A person or much better a nation that is fully aware cannot be cheated or dupe by any powers that be! A person that is critical and aware is a free being!
The necessity to think
Socrates is correct in his philosophy and dictum that ‘the unexamined life is not worth living’ in the same vein that a life without a discourse is no life at all!
One can only engage into a discourse is one if using one’s own reason. If one is using one’s own reason, then that individual is using his reasoning, if one is using his or her reasoning, then that person is thinking and if he or she is using reason in his or her thinking, then that kind of thinking is no longer an ordinary kind of thinking but a thinking that is a reasonable one, indeed, a thinking that is already critical. Now, if the thinking is already on that stage or level, then that individual is now ready for a discourse, not simply a typical discussion or mere ‘normal’ talk!
Hence, in my conclusion, I will passionately argue that the ultimate objective of a true libertarian educational institution whether they are public or private is to hammer our lads to be the best that they can be by developing their character through critical thinking, harnessing their soft skills and cultivating their inner moral worth.
We must teach them to think logically, exhort them to always do the right thing and at all times, admonish them to act with justice and conduct themselves in a humanitarian manner, because in the final analysis: the ultimate aim of a true, dynamic and libertarian education is not simply to teach our lads how to make a living but to live a beautiful, virtuous and happy Life…
Jose Mario Dolor De Vega
Philosophy lecturer
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Far Eastern University
“I sincerely hope that one fine day, a Department of Philosophy in one great Malaysian institution of higher learning shall arise and commence the arrival of Philosophia.
“Why are these things important? More to the point: Why do they matter?
“I will argue in the affirmative. Yes, all these things are undoubtedly important. It is only through a free university with a Philosophy and Social Science Department that we can produce technicians, technocrats, future leaders, social critics, teachers, lecturers, professors and intellectuals which serve as a vital element in the continuous development of our body politic.
“However, we must not only invest materially on intellectual capital; we must also bolster the ethical and moral cultivation of our young. Intellectual power must be tempered and harmonised with ethical foundation and moral sense.
“Hence, we must engage in a two-pronged programme, which is the development of the mind and the cultivation of the inner spirits.
“These two elements must concur in order for us to mould and create students and citizens of substance and good moral character.”
Then, our author proceeded to his second proposal. Needless to state, I consider the same sound and utterly necessary.
Secondly, I propose making compulsory the subject of philosophy to all tertiary level students. Even at its most basic level, philosophy is one of the best ways to get students of knowledge to reason, because it is the foundation for every subject which will lead to the understanding of philosophy of religion, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of sciences, philosophy of social sciences, philosophy of economics, thoughts and the list goes on. Whatever his or her field of discipline is, credit hours on philosophy will provide basic tools to keep them grounded to the purpose of studying, and the purpose of the particular field they are studying.
Comment:
I subscribed completely to our author’s proposal to make the subject of Philosophy compulsory to all tertiary level students based on all the reasons that were given above!
Undoubtedly, “relentless economic pursuits have backfired. The lack of critical thinking is arguably why we lack innovation, and thus limited economic abilities. Even with disciplines which supposedly produce ‘returns on investment’ such as medicine, sciences, engineering or business, students do not fully appreciate the philosophy behind them, and thus not many are incentivised to probe further. When knowledge is supplemented with thinking and translated into development and innovative capabilities, the economic bounty of an enlightened Malaysia is actually far larger.”
Comment:
Bull’s eye! The author in my view has certainly hit the nail at the head. Undeniably, the lack of critical thinking will lead unfortunately to lack of innovation, being box-minded, sticking to the book method and fear of committing a mistake.
Critical thinking is a kind of thinking that will compel a person to think independently beyond the normality of the situation and pursue the product of his or her logical thoughts to their conclusions without the fear of committing a mistake.
In my view, the Liberal Arts' education is the source of critical thinking. Critical thinking is the capacity to think independently beyond the ordinary conception of prevailing reality.
Its mind is reason; while its heart is humanism. The precise utilisation of critical thinking will undeniably lead our students to the joys of critical analysis which in turn will certainly give them the philosophical tools necessary and pertinent for the conscious and bold exercise of complex insights.
Again, to quote the words of Chris Hedges, "The capacity to think is the only bulwark against any centralised authority that seeks to impose mindless obedience. There is a huge difference, as Socrates understood, between teaching people what to think and teaching them how to think.”
The process is something like this:
There’s Philosophy. Philosophy will help us to reason. Then, once we are already using our own reason, we begun to ask ourselves and deliberate thoroughly. Then, once we use reason in our thinking, that kind of thinking is no longer ordinary but already critical. And finally, once we are already utilizing critical thinking, we begun to philosophize and see things in a different light and various perspective!
Countering the oppressed mentality via Thinking
Ordinary Malaysians need to understand the meaning of words to modern nation states like Malaysia, such as freedom, justice and democracy. They need to question first, in order to understand the purpose of certain jurisdictions, rulings or systems. In fact, there must be encouraging mechanisms for Malaysians to be allowed to think out of the box defined by schools, societal norms, and the government.
Comment:
I concur with the author that oppressed mentality can only be remedied by thinking and more thinking. A person or much better a nation that is fully aware cannot be cheated or dupe by any powers that be! A person that is critical and aware is a free being!
The necessity to think
Socrates is correct in his philosophy and dictum that ‘the unexamined life is not worth living’ in the same vein that a life without a discourse is no life at all!
One can only engage into a discourse is one if using one’s own reason. If one is using one’s own reason, then that individual is using his reasoning, if one is using his or her reasoning, then that person is thinking and if he or she is using reason in his or her thinking, then that kind of thinking is no longer an ordinary kind of thinking but a thinking that is a reasonable one, indeed, a thinking that is already critical. Now, if the thinking is already on that stage or level, then that individual is now ready for a discourse, not simply a typical discussion or mere ‘normal’ talk!
Hence, in my conclusion, I will passionately argue that the ultimate objective of a true libertarian educational institution whether they are public or private is to hammer our lads to be the best that they can be by developing their character through critical thinking, harnessing their soft skills and cultivating their inner moral worth.
We must teach them to think logically, exhort them to always do the right thing and at all times, admonish them to act with justice and conduct themselves in a humanitarian manner, because in the final analysis: the ultimate aim of a true, dynamic and libertarian education is not simply to teach our lads how to make a living but to live a beautiful, virtuous and happy Life…
Jose Mario Dolor De Vega
Philosophy lecturer
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Far Eastern University