Speculative philosophy from scratch. Plato's theory of knowledge

MAN AS A "CLEAN SHEET"

The English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), the founder of the sensualist philosophy (philosophy of sensory knowledge) of modern times, was born in the town of Wrington (near Bristol) in 1632 in the family of a lawyer. After graduating from Oxford University in 1658, he taught Greek language and rhetoric, served as a censor. At the same time, Locke studied in detail the achievements of contemporary philosophical thought - for his professional competence in this matter, he was even nicknamed "Dr. Locke." In 1668, Locke became a member of the Royal Society of London, but he was not favored there for his anti-scholastic views. In 1675, Locke went to France, where he studied the philosophy of Descartes.

From that moment on, he “entered” philosophy as the main opponent of the Cartesian theory of “innate ideas” and the rational-intuitive method of cognition, in contrast to which he put forward the theory of tabula rasa (“blank slate”). A person is born with a pure consciousness, not loaded with any innate knowledge. Therefore, everything that a person cognizes, he cognizes through experience.

Experience, Locke believed, can be both external (the impact of the external world on our sensory organs) and internal (the result of thinking, the activity of the soul). On the basis of external experience, we get “sensory ideas”, and the product of internal experience is internal mental reflections (the process of self-awareness). Both experiments lead, Locke argued, to the formation of simple ideas. More abstract, general ideas appear in our minds only on the basis of reflection on simple ideas. For example, when we see that carriages are traveling one after another, passing by us, then a simple idea"sequence" of certain actions, but if we take the trouble to reflect on the idea of ​​​​sequence, then we will have a more general idea - the idea of ​​\u200b\u200b"time".

We cognize the world of things on the basis of external sensory experience (sensualistic cognition), but at the same time, Locke believed, we encounter certain difficulties. How, for example, is it possible to separate the true properties of things from what our sense organs bring to our knowledge? In an attempt to solve this problem, Locke divided the ideas obtained from external experience into ideas of primary qualities (which arise due to the effect on our senses of the properties belonging to the objects of the external world: mass, movement, etc.), and ideas of secondary qualities(associated with the specifics of our senses: smell, color, taste, etc.). In cognition, it is very important to share these ideas in order not to succumb to self-deception. According to Locke, one cannot, for example, say that "an apple is red." An apple has a certain shape, mass, but the color of an apple is not a property of the apple, but of our vision, which distinguishes colors.

The theory is also connected with the desire for more objective knowledge. nominal and real entities of things. We, Locke believed, often take the nominal essence of things for real. For example, we talk about gold, what it has yellow, heavy, malleable, brilliant - but this knowledge reflects only our idea of ​​gold, but not its real nature, essence or structure. Therefore, Locke warned scientists against hasty classifications of objects of the external world according to species and genera. First, it is necessary to know the nature of a single thing as fully as possible, and only then to classify.

Despite his life full of struggle, political repression and adversity, Locke by no means lost faith in the originally uncorrupted nature of man. The natural state of people According to Locke, there is "a state of equality in which all power and entitlement is mutual, one has no more than the other." human freedom limits only the natural law, which says: No one has the right to restrict another in his life, health, freedom or property. People are fully capable, with the right attitude towards the world and each other, to live without restricting mutual freedom and without causing any harm to each other. Locke even wrote a book "Thoughts on Education" which began with the famous words: "A healthy mind lives in a healthy body."

"Clean slate" is a loose translation of the medieval Latin term tabula rasa (literally, "cleaned tablet" intended for writing). The expression is usually attributed to the philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), although he actually used a different metaphor. Here is a famous passage from his Essay on Human Understanding:

Let's assume that the mind is, so to speak, White paper without any signs and ideas. But how does he get them? Where does he get that vast stock of them, which the active and boundless human imagination has drawn with almost infinite variety? Where does he get all the material of reasoning and knowledge? To this I answer in one word: from experience.

Locke criticized theories of innate ideas, according to which it was believed that people are born with ready-made mathematical concepts, eternal truths, and the idea of ​​God. An alternative theory, empiricism, was conceived by Locke as both a theory of psychology that describes the workings of the mind and a theory of epistemology that answers the question of how we come to understand truth. Both of these directions served to develop his political philosophy, which is considered the basis of liberal democracy. Locke argued with dogmatic justifications for the political status quo, such as the authority of the church and the divine right of kings, which were considered self-evident truth in those days. He urged that the social structure must be completely rethought, based on mutual consent, based on knowledge that any individual can master. Ideas are born from experience, which varies from person to person, and the difference in opinion does not stem from the fact that the mind of one is adapted to understanding the truth, and the mind of the other is defective, but because these two minds were formed different ways. And these differences should be respected, not suppressed. Locke's idea of ​​a "blank slate" undermined the foundations of the existence of royal power and hereditary aristocracy, which could no longer declare their innate wisdom or special virtues, because the descendants of noble families are the same "blank slates" as other people. This idea was also a strong argument against slavery - the inferior and subservient position of slaves could no longer be justified by their innate qualities.

For the past century, the "blank slate" doctrine has set the agenda for much of the social sciences and humanities. Psychology has tried to explain all the thoughts, feelings and behavior of a person in several ways. simple mechanisms learning. The social sciences interpreted all traditions and social arrangements as the result of the socialization of children under the influence of the surrounding culture: a system of words, images, stereotypes, role models, and the unpredictable effects of rewards and punishments. A long and growing list of concepts that seem to be immanent in human thinking (emotions, family relations, gender, disease, nature, and the world at large) is today considered "invented" or "socially constructed". The Blank Slate has become the sacred cow of modern political and ethical beliefs. According to this doctrine, any differences that exist between races, ethnic groups, sexes and individuals do not come from innate qualities, but from different life experience. Change the experience by reforming parenting, education, the media, and the social reward system, and you change the person. Social lag, poverty and antisocial behavior can be eradicated, and, moreover, it is irresponsible not to do so. And discrimination based on supposedly innate traits of gender or ethnic group is simply absurd.

The Reading Slate doctrine is often accompanied by two others, and both of them have also acquired sacred status in modern intellectual life. The name I have given to the first of these is most commonly associated with the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), although it is actually taken from John Dryden's The Conquest of Granada, published in 1670:

I am free, like the first man - a child of nature,

When bondage has not yet entered into the codes of laws,

When in the woods the savage frolicked noble.

The concept of the noble savage was inspired by the encounters of European colonists with aboriginal tribes in America, Africa and, later, in Oceania. It reflects the belief that humans are naturally unselfish, peaceful, and serene, and that vices such as greed, cruelty, and anxiety are products of civilization. Rousseau wrote in 1755:

... many (authors) hastened to conclude that man is naturally cruel and that he needs external control to soften his morals; meanwhile, there is nothing more meek than a man in his original state, placed by nature equally far from the foolishness of animals and from the fatal knowledge of man in a civil state ... The more you think about this state, the more you are convinced that it was the least subject to upheavals, that it was the best for man, and he had to get out of this state only due to some disastrous accident, which, for the common good, should never have happened. The example of the savages, who are almost all found at this stage of development, seems to prove that the human race was created in order to remain so forever, that this state is the real youth of the world and all its further development appears to be steps towards the improvement of the individual, but in fact - towards the decrepitude of the race.

This shows that while people live without a common power that keeps them all in fear, they are in that state called war, and precisely in a state of war of all against all ... In such a state there is no place for industriousness, since no one is guaranteed the fruits of his labor, and therefore there is no agriculture, shipping, maritime trade, convenient buildings, no means of movement and movement of things that require great strength, no knowledge earth's surface, calculation of time, crafts, literature, there is no society, and, worst of all, there is eternal fear and the constant danger of violent death, and a person’s life is lonely, poor, hopeless, stupid and short-lived.

Hobbes believed that people could escape this hellish existence only by submitting their freedom to a supreme ruler or a representative assembly. He named it Leviathan, a Hebrew word for a sea monster conquered by Yahweh at the dawn of Creation. Much depends on which of these armchair anthropologists is right. If humans are noble savages, there is no need for a dominant leviathan. And moreover, by forcing people to distinguish their own property, distinguishing it from someone else's - property that they could otherwise share, Leviathan himself generates exceptional greed and militancy, which he is called upon to control. A happy society would be due to us by birthright; all that would have to be done would be to get rid of the organizational barriers that separate us from it. If, on the other hand, people are naturally bad, the best we can hope for is a shaky truce enforced by the police and the army.

Both theories have implications for private life as well. Every child is born a savage (meaning uncivilized), so that if savages are by nature obedient and meek, it is enough to raise a child only to provide him with opportunities to develop the inherent potential, and bad people are the product of the society that corrupted them. If the savages are bad, then the upbringing is a zone of discipline and conflict, and the villains show their dark side, which has not been tamed properly. The real writings of scientists are always more complex than the theories they are presented in textbooks. In reality, the views of Hobbes and Rousseau are not so different. Rousseau, like Hobbes, believed (erroneously) that savages were loners, unbound by bonds of love and fidelity, alien to all work and skill (and he could give Hobbes a head start by declaring that they did not even have a language). Hobbes imagined and described his leviathan as the embodiment of a collective will that was placed upon him by a sort of social contract. Rousseau's most famous work is called "On the Social Contract," in which he calls on people to submit their interests to the "general will." Nevertheless, Hobbes and Rousseau portrayed in different ways that very “primitive state” that inspired the thinkers of subsequent centuries.

It is impossible not to notice the impact that the concept of the “noble savage” has had on self-consciousness. modern man. It is noticeable in the current commitment to everything natural (food, medicine, childbearing) and distrust of what is created by man; in that authoritarian style upbringing and education are not in fashion, and in the view of social problems rather as remediable defects in our social institutions than as tragedies inherent in human life.

You have been waiting for a friend in a cafe for half an hour and mechanically move your pen over a napkin: curls, figures, spirals appear there one after another ... These seemingly meaningless scribbles actually mean a lot. They are studied by graphologists.

What a person mechanically draws during a boring meeting or talking on the phone can tell a lot not only about his character, but also about his desires - the most simple example there may be a table laden with dishes in the drawing of a hungry person. No need to throw away the painted pieces of paper - it will be much better if you pay attention to what you draw most often.

People

Those who like to communicate with people usually draw them, decorating the painted faces with wide smiles. But if the facial expression of the little men is gloomy, this may indicate that the author of the drawing is in a very bad mood at the moment - however, he still treats people with interest.

Beasts

If you draw ordinary animals, then the situation is the same as with people: you love animals. And if the characters in your drawings have strange or funny features - a bird with scales, a giraffe in a cap - then you have a good sense of humor and a developed imagination. Like Salvador Dali.

Geometric figures

They are usually drawn by those who perfectly organized their lives, like to plan, are different logical thinking and is very good at explaining their tasks to others.

lines

A person who draws wavy lines usually loves music and is ready to listen to it all the time. But if this is not possible, he can express his desire to hear his favorite melody with the help of a drawing. If the lines are only slightly curved, then their creator is distinguished by a broad outlook and the ability to find mutual language with anyone. And if the line seems to consist of sharp shark teeth, then the person who drew it should just calm down.

House

Houses are often painted by those who really want to start a family, but are still forced to live alone - and those who have a family, but still have to be far from loved ones. And if you, while lying on the beach during your vacation, suddenly found yourself drawing several houses in the margins of a magazine, then think about how much you like your vacation - maybe you should return home a couple of days earlier?

Flowers

Such people have a gentle character, love to help others, and respect traditions very much. If the painted flower is in a large pot, this may indicate that the person is afraid of losing some kind of protection. But if the flower is large and the pot is small, we can talk about the opposite - the person is too cramped within the framework that someone else has set for him. In general, a flower speaks about how a person perceives himself - you should pay attention to how strong his stem is, whether the sun shines on him, where he grows, whether there are other flowers nearby in order to understand what he is striving for and what he is afraid of, who drew this flower.

Blank sheet

Among us there are people who never draw anything either at lectures, or while waiting for a friend, or during telephone conversations. They probably have different character traits, but one thing can be said for sure: this is constant self-control. The second reason for a "clean slate" is a rare, but such a welcome state of complete peace.

The English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), the founder of the sensualist philosophy (philosophy of sensory knowledge) of modern times, was born in the town of Wrington (near Bristol) in 1632 in the family of a lawyer. After graduating from Oxford University in 1658, he taught Greek and rhetoric and served as a censor. At the same time, Locke studied in detail the achievements of contemporary philosophical thought - for his professional competence in this matter, he was even nicknamed "Dr. Locke." In 1668, Locke became a member of the Royal Society of London, but he was not favored there for his anti-scholastic views. In 1675, Locke went to France, where he studied the philosophy of Descartes.

From that moment on, he “entered” philosophy as the main opponent of the Cartesian theory of “innate ideas” and the rational-intuitive method of cognition, in contrast to which he put forward the theory of tabula rasa (“blank slate”). A person is born with a pure consciousness, not loaded with any innate knowledge. Therefore, everything that a person cognizes, he cognizes through experience.

Experience, Locke believed, can be both external (the impact of the external world on our sensory organs) and internal (the result of thinking, the activity of the soul). On the basis of external experience, we get “sensory ideas”, and the product of internal experience is internal mental reflections (the process of self-awareness). Both experiments lead, Locke argued, to the formation of simple ideas. More abstract, general ideas appear in our minds only on the basis of reflection on simple ideas. For example, when we see that carriages go one after another, passing by us, then a simple idea of ​​a “sequence” of certain actions arises in us, but if we take the trouble to reflect on the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bsequence, then we will have a more general idea - idea of ​​"time".

We cognize the world of things on the basis of external sensory experience (sensualistic cognition), but at the same time, Locke believed, we encounter certain difficulties. How, for example, is it possible to separate the true properties of things from what our sense organs bring to our knowledge? In an attempt to solve this problem, Locke divided the ideas obtained from external experience into ideas of primary qualities (which arise due to the effect on our senses of the properties belonging to the objects of the external world: mass, movement, etc.), and ideas of secondary qualities(associated with the specifics of our senses: smell, color, taste, etc.). In cognition, it is very important to share these ideas in order not to succumb to self-deception. According to Locke, one cannot, for example, say that "an apple is red." An apple has a certain shape, mass, but the color of an apple is not a property of the apple, but of our vision, which distinguishes colors.

The theory is also connected with the desire for more objective knowledge. nominal and real entities of things. We, Locke believed, often take the nominal essence of things for real. For example, we say about gold that it is yellow, heavy, malleable, shiny - but this knowledge reflects only our idea of ​​gold, but not its real nature, essence or structure. Therefore, Locke warned scientists against hasty classifications of objects of the external world according to species and genera. First, it is necessary to know the nature of a single thing as fully as possible, and only then to classify.

Despite his life full of struggle, political repression and adversity, Locke by no means lost faith in the originally uncorrupted nature of man. The natural state of people According to Locke, there is "a state of equality in which all power and entitlement is mutual, one has no more than the other." human freedom limits only the natural law, which says: No one has the right to restrict another in his life, health, freedom or property. People are fully capable, with the right attitude towards the world and each other, to live without restricting mutual freedom and without causing any harm to each other. Locke even wrote a book "Thoughts on Education" which began with the famous words: "A healthy mind lives in a healthy body."

How subtly Locke understood questions of education is evidenced by the principle of sufficient punishment he formulated: “No, I do not recognize any corrective measure useful for the morality of the child if the shame associated with it overcomes the shame of the committed act.”

Master Class

From scratch…

Good afternoon, dear colleagues!

One Eastern wisdom says: tell me - and I will forget, show me - and I will remember, let me do it myself - and I will understand! Today, teachers are faced with the task of developing competencies in students, which will make the student successful.

What is success in your understanding?

(demand, career, achievements…)

What factors do you think determine our success in society today?

(good education, professionalism, fulfillment, motive and desire, self-sufficiency, health, self-confidence, luck, family support ...)

I want to ask you, do you want your children to be successful?

Thank you. I also want my students to be successful. And I asked myself, what can I, as a teacher, do to make my students successful, and therefore in demand in modern society? How to make learning interesting, active, so that it acquires personal meaning and does not discourage learning new things. I started looking for answers. I found answers to my questions in the use of interactive teaching methods in my lessons. I have a blank sheet in my hands.

Tell me, what does a blank slate in the hands of a teacher imply?

A clean slate in itself suggests a creative approach, it inspires both the teacher and the student to work, so I called my master class “From a clean slate ...”

The word "interactive" itself comes from English (inter - "between", act - "action"), thus, interactive methods allow all participants to learn how to interact with each other educational process. These methods are most consistent with a student-centered approach to learning, since they involve co-education (collective, collaborative learning), and both the student and the teacher are subjects of the educational process. The teacher more often acts only as the organizer of the learning process, the leader of the group, creates the conditions for student initiative. Today, the teaching methodology offers the teacher a whole set of techniques, forms and methods of interactive learning. My experience shows that one of the most interesting is the clustering technique. Cluster - a bunch, as well as accumulation, concentration. AT learning activities called clusters graphic way organization of educational material.

Clusters are a pictorial form, the essence of which is that a key word (idea, topic) is written in the middle of the sheet, and information somehow related to it is fixed on the sides of it.

In the center is the theme, around it are large semantic units, we connect them with a straight line with the topic, each semantic unit has its own features, features.

The cluster can be used for different stages lesson. At the challenge stage - for stimulation. At the stage of comprehension - to structure the educational material. At the stage of reflection - when summing up.

In order to understand how you can work with this technique in practice, I suggest you the following lesson.

Lesson of social science in the 10th grade.

The teacher enters the class.

After the greeting, when the students sat down at their desks, the teacher asks the question:

Why did you stand up when I came in?(This is the norm)

What are the rules of society called?(Social)

Can you guess the topic of the lesson?(Social norms)

Choose someone who will record information on the board.

What are the associations, semantic units associated with the concept of "Social norms". Give free rein to intuition, imagination, do not be afraid to say whatever comes to mind.

(Religion, law, morality, aesthetics, ethics, customs, traditions, political norms)

In what semantic group can the semantic units you named be combined(Types of social norms)

At the same time, there is writing on the board.

Are social norms always respected, or are there cases of their violation?(Unfortunately, social norms are often violated)

What is the name of the behavior that deviates from the generally accepted?

(Deviant)

What are the main forms of deviant behavior?

(Alcoholism, drug addiction, crime, suicide, delinquency)

Is deviant behavior always negative?

(No, not always. According to experts, the existence of deviant behavior in modern society is inevitable. Sometimes deviant behavior is positive)

Give examples of positive deviant behavior.

(National heroes, outstanding athletes, political leaders, industry leaders, inventors)

What is the element or mechanism of social control?

(Sanctions)

What types of sanctions can you name?

(Positive, negative, formal, informal)

Cluster completion.

Thank you for your work!

My idea was to use a graphic organizer (cluster) to form students' understanding of social norms.

What skills and abilities do students develop using this technique in the classroom?

Develops the ability to classify and systematize educational material, to consider the object in the integrity of relationships and characteristics, contributes to the development of a systemic and critical thinking, helps to develop and shape a creative, competent, in-demand personality in modern society, and therefore successful.

In my opinion, it is not necessary to start teaching a child with an explanation from the teacher. Knowledge should be based on interest that will motivate the student to work, encourage interaction, and then knowledge will not turn into a dead weight.

A blank slate of knowledge will be filled not only with knowledge, but also personal experience, creative achievements, thoughts and emotions of the student.

In conclusion, let me tell you a parable. One wise man gathered his disciples, led them to the foot of the mountain, where a huge stone lay, and said: “I will call the one who raises this stone to the top of the mountain my successor.” One of the students, approaching the stone and looking at it, immediately stepped aside with the words: “It is impossible to lift this stone uphill.” Another, looking at the stone, lifted it, thought and said: "This stone cannot be lifted up the mountain." The third approached the stone, examined it from all sides, lifted it up, climbed the mountain, returned, took a wheelbarrow and lifted the stone to the top of the mountain. To which the sage said to his disciples: “I have found my successor. And I wish you - to fully explore and understand the reality that surrounds you, do not jump to conclusions, be brave enough to make decisions, focus on the goal and not be afraid to make mistakes.

social norms deviant behavior sanctions types positive negative religion R A V O morality ethics aesthetics T A D I C I I customs positive negative Theme "Social norms"

The results that the use of the technique leads to High motivation of students for the educational process. The increase in the mental capabilities of students, the flexibility of thinking. Development of the ability to independently design, build concepts and operate with them. The development of the ability to transfer author's information to others, subject it to correction, understand and accept the point of view of another person. Developing the ability to analyze the information received.

knowledge creativity experience thoughts emotions