From my own diverse educational institutions the teachers that I recall as positive were the most enthusiastic ones; real mentors who endeavoured to not only impart knowledge but to draw out what was already there in my young spirit. Plato would have been proud of these noble pedagogues.
Teenagers and young people have often been criticised in history – Plato talking of them as “overdoing everything” and Socrates – their, “bad manners.” If we are to save our young people from the cognitive abyss that is postmodernism we must change these traditional misconceptions in education.
Recent research has shown that during adolescence the brain has a higher degree of plasticity. Psychologists talk of, “Spontaneous influence events,” tipping points of influence in a young person’s life.
Further research suggests that teenagers are a neurologically distinct group. As such in a persons life we have a natural gap for exploring, and learning. It is a time when something in oneself can be awakened. Rather than criticising young people Plato could look towards his own method, which aligns with the aim of prayer – the awakening of something already present.Prayer is the looking of the soul towards Another. Prayer is an exchange of love between the soul and God. In this respect genuine prayer is always outward looking. The True Self is reflected in this Other, whom we call God.
In the tumultuous journey of life in answering the question, “Who do I want to become?” young people must gaze upward toward God, who is their inspiration. In answering the question, “How do I become that person?” Young people must gaze sideways towards others – there is nothing in life that we can do alone. As such our young people must be lead on by courageous mentors who hold these tensions in their hearts. G.K. Chesterton elaborates;
“The important thing in life… is to keep alive in oneself the immortal power of astonishment and laughter, and a kind of young reverence.”
However in trying to answer the metaphysical questions of life young people must be cautious of anything which gazes inward rather than outward. Social media and the exaltation of the ego are a subversion of the spiritual gaze as they look inwards towards the ego rather than upwards towards God and to others for leadership and genuine inspiration. The exaltation of the false self – the ego – involves nurturing parts of the psyche which are intrinsically immature.
God meets us where we are at. As such contemplation of Another in the present moment is the only key to personal transformation. Prayer is the only mechanism by which subjective and objective anthropological problems can be solved. Our young people need to know all these things. We are not born with this nurturing. Only genuine mentors can teach it.
Plato’s cave is analogous. The chained inhabitants of the cave objected when the freed man returned to share the good news about the real world outside. The freed man had been led to a life of freedom which involved living in a truly free society. The former prisoner’s eyes were opened to look up to God and sideways to his brothers and sisters for help in the fulfilment of his dreams. The freed man wished to liberate his fellow prisoners in the cave from their chains of ignorance. For them the free world existed only in shadows on the wall of the dark cave. Outside the cave the freed man was free to pursue his God given purpose – his dream. The freed prisoner was free to find his subjective vocation – to find the dream which is God’s unique blueprint for each of our lives. It is the task of pedagogues not only to free us from the cave of ignorance but to nurture our dreams on the outside; where they are fragile and embryonic.
As it lifts us out of ignorance dreams are therefore the goal of eduction. Dreams speak to the Good of humanity as a whole. As such they transcend religion. Religion therefore must humbly rethink its approach to education – our young people are far from satisfied by juridical structures and moralism. In this respect religions have often strengthened the chains in Plato’s Cave rather than breaking them. However, as we move foreward as systematic views of reality passed on by our ancestors religions may still have a part to play in the facilitation of education. To quote GK Chesterton again,
“To deny tradition is to deny the dead their vote.”
Dynamic orthodoxy provides symbiosis. Our young people need living mentors that understand the difference between contemplation and moralism, between juridical structures and genuine guidelines set up for liberation. In contemplation we look towards God as seen subjectively and by others.. In cohesion we look sideways. Genuine religion must always create cohesion.
In so far as it contributes positively to this upwards and sideways process religion is not yet obsolete. As forward thinking structures of genuine spiritual growth, religions still potentially have a part to play in strengthening the platforms of growth that we provide for our young people.
However where fragile dreams are concerned – if religion generates a “them and us” mentality it must be rejected out of hand.
This is particularly true in my native country of Scotland where sectarianism has been a problem since the reformation. The empirical destination of postmodernism – my truth is as good as yours – has in theory gone some way towards healing ancient wounds. If we are to move empirically then sectarianism must be rejected out of hand – in all contexts and in all cultures. Genuine religion is always a force for unity, not discord. Love will overcome.
However despite its positive effects at home international postmodernism also means that we must be extra vigilant with our young people in our epistemological and metaphysical frameworks. One of the many tasks of education is to impart the difference between things as they are and things as they should be. As individuals are lifted out of ignorance a better world is created for the collective. On the other hand structures which nurture and maintain the ego necessarily negate a contemplative sense of the collective and as such negate the purpose of genuine education. In so doing structures of social communication that exalt the ego actually lead to a “them and us” mentality. This is antithetical to genuine spiritual growth.
In light of these things it must be said that despite the initial potential for social media to unite it seems that in practice these chaotic structures of superficial communication generally reflect the ego – that differentiated part of the psyche developed in early life to protect the fragile true self. This in turn renders social media in inexperienced hands in fact antithetical to cohesive, holistic and mature spiritual development towards the True Self and as such the collective.
Furthermore nothing has prepared this generation for the cognitive abyss that characterises postmodernism. This shows itself in the fact that intrinsic to postmodern consideration is a belief that there is no “should be,” no shared metanarrative. Postmodern considerations are therefore completely ill equipped to answer our young people’s earnest questions.
Young people and educators are as such put in an impossible situation by the rise of new forms of self expression in the postmodern context. The need for genuine, courageous and balanced mentors for our young people becomes even more apparent. Wise, contemplative mentors are absolutely imperative in order that questions that our young people ask are answered in a holistically anthropological manner.
There is nothing in life that we can do alone. Our subjective dreams are necessarily objective. There is a deep relationship between the inner revolution of prayer and the transformation of societal structures as a whole. Therefore the process of discovering our God given purpose in life is one of guidance by others who have trod the path before, and concurrently are aware of the difference between dreams and ambition.
Dreams always involve the good of the collective. Ambition on the other hand is generally quimera, something which is freely available online. In a contemporary context we are leaving the next generation in the cave to play with their phones.
Education should be about liberating our young people from cognitive bewilderment – leading them from the cave before it is too late.
In light of all of this the Scottish Association for Interreligious Dialogue would like to urge international decision makers on the matter of phones in school to seriously consider the damaging effect of social media on our young people.
As with all things in an occidental context politics seems to play a part in the debate. As we equip the next generation for the coming hollistic challenges a genuinely anthropocentric education system for schools, colleges, universities and life in general is the answer. In line with the principle of subsidiarity decisions on matters such as phones in school should always be taken by schools themselves. In a scholastic context courageous leadership and mentoring are required on the part of those called to such decision making.
Education must be far more than the passing of exams. If it is to serve a genuinely human purpose then education must be more than a means to an end in the scientific-materialist project. Pedagogues should teach us the best version of ourselves.
“You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free.”
John 8:32
Peter James Cox – SAID President – 19th September 2023