Curiosity, critical thinking, and developing an interest in ‘Listening rather than in Broadcasting’ are approaches in thinking that are close cousins of Reflection.
The fields on which Reflection can be brought to bear are numberless.
A wholesome bump of curiosity has enabled mankind to reach for the stars. Prior to the internet age, it would have needed a library just to list introductions to all the writings on Philosophy and Thought that mankind has produced over the aeons, and no end of libraries to contain the relevant works. This Institute does not aim at a compendium of all the treasures in philosophy that might inspire a curious mind. It aspires more to a Lucky Dip in a field where there are few Unlucky Dips. If a work, idea or perspective is not for you then if either can be useful as a foil on which to sharpen critical wits, or you easily can move on to writing/s more congenial.
‘Curiosity…’ ran the Victorian saying, ‘killed the cat!’ The world was never awash with corpses of preternaturally inquisitive moggies. It is of little wonder today that this saw is out of fashion. Why is it that today curiosity is being downplayed in our educational establishments? It is a trend against which to firmly set one’s face.
There are so many fascinating subjects that may not be related to everyday lives but which many in the developed world have the privilege to read. Think of the millennia when much of what one believed would today be dismissed as superstition. Part of the pleasure of this Institute is that it gives one a license, as it were, to follow the bent of curiosity. In the process we become more rounded, more knowledgeable. We are vouchsafed almost another reason for being alive. It is a far cry from the mindset that thumbs a nose at someone thinking quietly on their own or dismisses contemplation as being in ‘a brown study’. Every encouragement should be given to those who want to know more about the world, in every form it might take. In an attached article are some of the subjects, random as they may seem, that have attracted the interest of Hemal Jayasuriya, our poet in residence.
Hand-in-hand with Reflection, off-shoots of it, are two current trends in the climate of thinking:
(a) Summaries of tracts of philosophy
To many the works in question would be indigestible in full. The summaries provide more that a taste of the great works and contrive to get at the pith.
Miles Kington said that the fact that
‘A tomato is a fruit is knowledge; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad’
It was once said that the correct answer given to a man who posing the question when sneered at someone who believed in the Bible: ‘Can you tell me what the bible says when I am standing on one leg?’ The apocryphal answer was: ‘Do not do unto others what you would not have done to you. The rest is exposition!’.
The capture of an essence arguably is what really matters when it comes to wisdom, as distinct from knowledge
Richard Feynman says that all great works can be reduced to a simple essence.
Jonny Thomson has courses on the internet called ‘Mini-philosophy’. He distils the thinking of philosophers and Thinkers down to bite-sized essentials. He summarises the pith of so many modern thinkers.
(b) The practice of Critical thinking
This institute feeds into the mounting campaign to re-enshrine Careful Reflection on its rightful plinth.
Today no-go areas abound in the so-called ‘Cancel Culture’. Profound thinkers like Roger Scruton or David Starkey have fallen out with employers in academia through expressing opinions contrary to prevailing orthodoxy. It is the antithesis of a concept of unfettered reflection which in a non-inflammatory way seeks to disentangle truth from prejudice.
It is an accepted Socratic principle that when a thesis and an antithesis collide there will be some sort of synthesis producing a higher level of understanding. It is not that there must on every occasion be a compromise in equal measure between opposing views. In parts of the current cultural landscape compromise between two opposite positions on this principle starts to seem out of reach.
The Socratic principle is predicated on the objective operation of logic as opposed to a prejudice clash. It posits the way that greater understanding ought to be reached not that it will be so reached in every instance. Issues should be considered on their own merits unadulterated by extraneous considerations. As often the case nowadays where there is a personality given over to ‘Broadcasting’ as opposed to ‘Receiving’ any looked-for dialectical result will be diminished to the same extent.
There are courses and literature available on a critical way of seeing how the cut and thrust of argumentation can clarify and hone thinking
Professor Norman Fenton’s latest book ‘The Capture of Academia: How Universities shape power, Silence dissent, and Influence Society’ is subtitled ‘How ideology replaced truth in modern universities—and why it matters to everyone.’
‘After forty-seven years inside Britain’s universities, Norman Fenton explains how scholarship gave way to political activism, with conformity replacing enquiry as academia’s highest virtue. Drawing on personal experience and extensive evidence, Fenton argues that what began inside universities spread into government, science, education, the media and the professions, with devastating consequences for society as a whole. Part memoir, part investigation and part warning, The Capture of Academia is essential reading for anyone who values free enquiry, open debate and scientific integrity.’
The downgrading of critical thinking is increasingly the case in education from an early age. Annelise Jolley in a curtain-raiser to Opening the Door to Lifelong Curiosity writes:
‘Across lifestyles, professions, and ages, humans view curiosity as a virtue—and with good reason. Curiosity is the seed of creativity and innovation. Training the muscle of curiosity leads to critical thinking, empathy, effective communication, and emotional intelligence. In adults, curiosity helps us overcome obstacles and persevere in achieving goals. A curious mind—one that is open to uncertainty and questions—builds our capacity to hold complexity. All of these skills, from critical thinking to creativity to empathy for others, are more important than ever in today’s world. Dr. Larisa Heiphetz Solomon, principal investigator at Columbia Social and Moral Cognition Lab, believes that cultural values also lead us to assign moral weight to curiosity.
In the United States, hard work is seen as a moral good. Satisfying one’s curiosity involves work; it requires asking thoughtful questions, researching, and exploring.’
There are many organisations that now take up the cudgels to combat the lack of encouragement for people to think critically, examples being:
- Shortform
- Agora Think Tank on Politics
- Agora Think Tank on Philosophy
There are Debating Societies that pit speakers of opposing viewpoints against one another, for instance:
- The Academy of Ideas
- The Agora debate club, (an organisation different from the above)