This blog is under construction and will be presented in full once the process of post collection and initial invitation for participation is complete.
The aim is to develop a discipline where education is part of physics and not the other way around. For long physical education, or the study of physics, has been oriented at nature as an object in the absence of woman/man and society in general. The exception is "life sciences" which isolate the study of life from its environment in such a way as to undermine physics (non-life science) as the study of the material world without life. As it is impossible to separate we claim that the study of physics must be done in a social context.
If "one" looks at nature as an object of study separated from the observer, one will always have a partial understanding. This partial understanding that is based on the polarity of individual vs world may only lead to false conclusions. If society as a whole was the observer of "nature" as a separate object it would still lead to false conclusions. We need to re-examine this practice and understanding and the role of education in physics, because education is the mechanism that has forced this practice that leads to false conclusions.
But why do we study physics? To understand our environment? To understand our environment as an individual, a family, a small group, a nation, or humankind? We can only understand "it" from our perspective as a "we", a community that we may all have direct social relations with. If we chose to exclude part of our community from the process it would be elitist to say "we" understand and include them, while they do not take part in our inquiry. If we try to include others past our community with whom we can not form communication and direct social relations with, then we will be in a position to impose our understanding on them while they did not take part in our inquiry. Our community must be both the observer and a part of the environment we try to understand. We do so to protect the environment for those who in time will follow us and join us in our understanding. To improve the quality of our lives without negatively impacting on the lives of others, or the environment as a whole in as balanced a way as we can attain.
If we did not study physics first what would we be studying instead? Why would we study anything else when our lives are not what we want them to be, and our environment as a whole is at risk of becoming an even greater burden on the generations to come. So we must first try to filter out what we have already learned, what we have been educated as, and what we need to consider re-learning again, so we can improve ourselves and the environmental conditions we live in. Education itself has been a part of the reason we are doomed from changing the world around us. We are taught how not to understand reality, or understand it through channels that prohibit us from changing it. Our aim is not just to understand the world but to change it and improve it, based on our improved understanding.
This is why the study of physics will be our source of education and our education must be included within the study of physics.
2 comments:
The ideas you promote through this essay are very important if they can be explained further and in more detail. There is merit to dense summaries instead of long documents in order to promote a perspective, but after re-reading this and discussing it with others, we were a bit unclear.
The terms nature, environment, society, understanding through scientific reasoning, must be better defined to be used in context with education and physics.
The academic environment in the developed west, the institutional organization of science as a practice and a profession, the educational systems as constructed by the various states, we believe are relevant issues. In the discipline of "sociology of science" some have attempted to deconstruct all this within their critique.
Then there are issues of science, technology, academic and industrial practices, that are also relevant issues. Most people in academia and industry alike are increasingly confused of what the differences are and whether borders exist and why.
Cheers,
Icon collective
Thank you for your comment first of all. We admit that some of our writing is sloppy and dense and it is easier to get sloppy with dense than to elaborate on long document.
It is also a choice and a value to not present anything here that could be of any academic value, and by academic we mean the network of institutions that today constitute the academic world. These are structures from above, not by choice of society or even those that participate. We can only talk and exchange ideas with those outside such structures.
The choice is simple, it is either you are within the system and try to modify it or you work outside the system, either trying to destroy it or create something new. We classify ourselves among those outside and not bothering with destruction of anything but with creation from the bottom among equals.
Furthermore, the understanding and the learning process of humans is not an instinct on its own, it is a utility for survival and improvement of living conditions. What we mean by environment is the surrounding in space and communication through time. The physical, the natural, the social, are parts of this environment. One (either as an individual or a community) is affected and affects this environment. Individually it is next to impossible to affect it, except with ultra-violent methods which we condemn, but collectively the "decision" can be made to shape this environment. And the decision can not possibly exclude anyone from the community, the entity that makes the decision.
Whether we clear out a lot to plant seeds, or fence off an area to protect chickens, or alter the path of a stream, or change the ways we communicate with each other, those are collective decisions to affect our environment.
We need physics, the study of our environment, we can not rely on faith, fear, and negation of the unknown. Repression of the community is an environmental factor that is real and must be dealt with effectively. The decision is among equals on the ways to do so.
We are not in a hurry, but we can no longer remain idle. #INM
Some of the Institute's students
PS We do realize that the above article was poorly written and needs to be revised, but the dialog on it may be of more importance than the essay itself.
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