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Lilies of the Field Toil Not Neither Do They Spin(Biblical Echo in Whitehead's Thoughts on Education) OUTLINE 1 INTRODUCTION In our study of English language and culture, knowledge of familiar quotations from the Bible will prove helpful for better appreciation of English literature. This is particularly true of Whitehead's writings. His instances of reference to the Bible, however, are not literal quotations in most cases, but is what may be termed 'Biblical echo'. This is probably because they are so familiar that it is not necessary to indicate their exact texts or sources.We find a record of Whitehead himself talking about his frequent quotations from the Bible in his lectures in Harvard University.
It seems natural, therefore, that in his writings also he should have made frequent references to familiar verses in the Bible, not only when he writes about religion but also his philosophic thoughts in general. An approach to the study of Whitehead's philosophy through these familiar quotations from and references to the Bible seems to be a worthwhile attempt to understand Whitehead. 丂 2 INSTANCES UNDER DISCUSSIONThe following verses are some instances of Whitehead's quotations from the Bible.
The common topic throughout those passages in which Whitehead makes above references proves to be, for the most part, the antithetical ideas of Order and Novelty, in its relation to problems of education in particular. The ideal scope of the word Order in these discussions would include such words as Massive Foundation, Discipline, System, Repetition, Instinct, Inheritance, Unconscious Causal Efficacy. That of Novelty, on the other hand, would include Freedom, Imaginative Zest, Curiosity, Fresh Change, Urge Beyond, Purpose, Prayer, Appetition, Conscious Presentational Immediacy. The common features of one group different from the other might as well be kept in mind throughout the discussions that follow. Let me begin this topic with quoting the whole story of Solomon's dream from the Bible:
Whitehead refers to Solomon's Dream in the first and third chapters of The Function of Reason:
The main topic of The Function of Reason is concerned withthe two aspects of function of reason, Speculative Reason and Practical Reason. He calls the former, by way of symbolic figures, the Reason of Plato and the latter the Reason of Ulysses. The Reason of Plato seeks a complete understanding, whereas The Reason of Ulysses studies immediate method of action, which is, in modern sense, of practical methodology in science and technology.Most scientists, confident of the brilliant success of practical methodology, seem to have failed so far to give a due consideration to the broader perspective of the Speculative Reason which pursues the complete understanding through the study of philosophy and religion.The example of modern physics, however, shows that the antithesis between the study of mathematical physics and speculative philosophy"is not so sharp," Whitehead says,
"My conviction in this way" of course means his conviction in the speculative philosophy in which the Reason of Plato and the Reason of Ulysses are in close coordination, because the two are in mutual requirement and each should contribute to achievements of the other.Narrowly specialized divisions of scientific and technological courses in present-day universities are in case in point. It is commonplace to remark that what is required in these scientific studies is a broader view of synthetic coordination between the narrowly sub-divided special study and the broader philosophical understanding.Such a synthetic coordination is also required in the modern curriculum of our primary and secondary schools, where teaching small parts of a large number of subjects is the usual practice. Note the following words of Whitehead.
Thus, in true education, many subject-matters are unified in one subject-matter, which is life, and one subject-matter of life is manifested in many subject-matters. In other words, many subjects should be absorbed in the final unity of one subject, life, and one subject is manifested in many subjects. Many in one, and one in many.The reason Whitehead refers to Solomon's Dream would be that he sees in Solomon an ardent desire by way of prayer to God, derived from the spirit of seeking Novelty, on the basis of his rich inheritance from his father King David's faithfulness to God together with his sense of responsibility of governing his great people with practical and orderly methods. This can be considered as reflecting the idea of coordination between the two functions of reason.Whitehead suggests that we should seek to share with king Solomon and the wise men of Greece, the wisdom of seeking both the Reason of Plato, a complete understanding and the Reason of Ulysses, the practical methodology in coordination with it, for after all "the antithesis between the two functions of Reason is not quite so sharp as it seems at first sight."Here we may be reminded of the true aim of speculative philosophy, which Whitehead defines as "the endeavour to frame a coherent, logical, necessary system of general ideas in terms of which every element of our experience can be interpreted." The system of general ideas is such that it can never fail to interpret any and every element of our experience. The general ideas throw light on every experience of our life, and every occasion of our many experiences contribute to a system of general ideas. 丂B. The wind blows where it listeth Whitehead quotes this Biblical verse where he refers to the obvious fact of the Recurrences of things which establish the universal Order, calling attention to the complementary fact just as obvious, the Change in Nature.Let me quote the passage first:
The fact of actual recurrences in nature is obvious and formative of the rational ideas. The fact of changes in detail in each recurrence is equally obvious, and is a condition for creative advance of the world. We are obliged to accept this antithetical fact "as emanating from the inscrutable womb of things beyond the ken of rationality."The above quotation from the Bible is typical of the way Whitehead refers to a familiar verse in the Bible. Most readers may be left with a vague sense of adumbrating something important. The line of thought in this passage, however, seems to suggest the dual aspect of Order and Novelty.The original verse "The wind blows where it listeth" is in the dialogue of Jesus with Nicodemus, a Pharisee, the strict observer of Moses' Law.
Jesus, while realizing the importance of order in the Mosaic Law, also talked about the spiritual birth, issuing from the free mental function of novel spirit. Every word of Jesus in this dialogue with Nicodemus carries an important meaning. Not only does it involve, I believe, the vital Christian doctrine, but also it reveals an important metaphysical truth. For this is also an example of the ideal opposites of Order and Novelty. The mere sense of order tends to degenerate into a blind and loveless observance of the law, whereas Novelty is the craving for a change toward the living mental functioning such as imagination, wider perspective, introspection, conscience, repentance of sins.Whitehead says,
Order and Novelty are in mutual requirement. Conceptual realization of 'order' is causative of the craving for the novel change into a new life born of spirit. The new life realized in love, in turn, fulfills the requirement of order for its renewal in the creative advance of the world, for "he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law."(Romans 13:8)In passing, there is reason to assume that Jesus himself quoted this verse from part of the Old Testament, for it is recorded that as a boy he frequented the synagogue where he was able to have access to scrolls of the Scriptures, so that he must have been well conversant with some important parts of the Scriptures. For example, the cross-reference of the verse "The wind blows where it listeth." indicates a verse in the the Old Testament, which reads,
In the original languages of the Bible, either Hebrew or Greek, the same word is said to have been used to mean both "wind" and "spirit", and it can be translated into English in either way. Thus the verse is translated in the Authorized Version as "As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit", whereas in the Revised Version, the footnote for the same verse reads "As you do not know the way of the wind." It seems too far-fetched to construe Whitehead's quotation of this verse in this way, but it seems proper to read this passage in this context. 丂 丂This verse Chaff Is Burnt is not a literal quotation from the Bible, but it obviously comes from Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17, as the words of John the Baptist.
John the Baptist preached in the wilderness for the repentance of sins to prepare for the new life born of spirit. Those who fail to comply with the divine aim and who do not produce fruit worthy of repentance will be doomed to be burnt as the useless chaff on the day of final judgment. This is one aspect of God as of remorseless order personified as the Goddess of mischief. Whitehead's reference to this verse is found in the chapter of The Transmission of Feelings, where he reviews some of the key ideas of the philosophy of organism, such as actual entities, self-causation, subjective aim, God. The focal point of this introductory section is summarized in the last two sentences of the following passage, in which Whitehead draws attention to his idea of 'order'.
Here, in this section, Whitehead refers to one aspect of order as remorseless and ruthless working of God.The idea of 'order' is always crucial to Whitehead's philosophy, for the whole universe is in the grip of the hierarchies of orders, natural and social, interconnected in high complexity, characterized as remorseless working of things.Apart from this remorseless working of things in 'order', there is another aspect concomitant with it, namely 'subjective aim', which is an endowment from God in the initial stage of the concrescent subject (such as the human being, for example) which "inherits from the inevitable ordering of things conceptually realized in the nature of God." (PR 243)Thus, the initial stage of the aim in the concrescent subject is rooted in the nature of God, but its completion depends on the self-determination of the subject itself, for "the immediacy of the concrescent subject is constituted by its living aim at its own self-constitution." (ibid.) In this sense, a concrescent actual entity (a human being, for example) is self-creating creature and part-creator with the transcendent creator, God. When an actual entity excludes God's subjective aim without autonomous living aim toward creative advance, "then the ruthlessness of God can be personified as the goddess of mischief."Whitehead, therefore, questions whether this remorseless of order personified as the goddess of mischief represents the whole truth. There must be something more to promote creative advance, a tender caretaker as God the redeemer. Let me quote Whitehead's own words which suggest the inevitable relationship between system and freshness, or 'Order' as foundation and 'Novelty' as renewed change as the condition for creative advance.
Mere order is not sufficient, even though it is required as the essential foundation. What is required is immediate valuation rooted in the nature of God, which is a mental function of novelty, the 'subjective aim, functioning on the basis of inherited order, for Order and Novelty are the instrument of God's subjective aim for the creative advance of the world. Thus, "What is inexorable in God is valuation as an aim toward order."D. A talent hidden away in a napkin The parable of the talent may briefly be outlined as follows:
Whitehead refers to this verse in the following passage.
In short, "Storing in a napkin" means to keep something idle without putting it into the proper use which requires a higher level of human mentality more than mere animal life.In process philosophy, basic activities of actual entities or actual occasions, both inorganic and organic, are the process of receiving what is given from the actual world and transmitting it for the future This doctrine attributes 'feeling' through which both receiving and transmission is accomplished. It involves all actual entities or occasions, ranging from inorganic entities such as atoms or molecules, to the higher organic living occasions along the personal route of the life of the human being.There are grades of actual occasions ranging from the low to the high. The lowest grade is those actual occasions of non-living objects, such as electrons or other primitive organism. The world is in the firm grip of these fundamental organisms.A higher grade would be plants and animals, which are the life history of enduring living occasions. The highest grade is the life of the human being which is the life-history of enduring objects with conscious urge for the novel mentality represented by thought, imagination, wish, prayer, through symbolic reference of language activities. This is the originativeness of human mentality.Inorganic objects and the lower organic entities such as animal life are characterized by mechanical repetitions in which novelty is negligible; they are just "storing in a napkin and restoring without loss or gain" whatever they inherit from the past.What differentiates the human being from the lower organic entities is, needless to say, the high level of mentality which animals lack. It is the urge beyond, to make difference for creative advance.Whitehead also refers to this parable of the talent in the first chapter of The Aims of Education, where he discusses the true aims of education.
What is the useful education? Education begins with acquiring basic skills and knowledge with the ensuing utilization and application of them. Mere imparting of knowledge and mere training in skills seems comparatively easy. It is always possible to cram the minds of students a certain amount of knowledge and to train them in some skills. But the knowledge without the proper utilization only remains what Whitehead calls "inert knowledge". Mere skill without any proof of its useful value is always abomination to the student. Unutilized knowledge and skill are just "stored it in a napkin."One problem of education is that we often fail in attempting to contrive a way of utilizing the 'acquired' skill and knowledge. To coordinate these two requirements are most difficult problem in education.Of course, useful education is not to be confined to a narrow, short-sighted aim for some immediate use, at which pedants sneer. The truly useful education should aim at the art of realizing the value of basic skills and knowledge. This realization is the joy of discovery of the usefulness of acquired knowledge and skills.The essential need of basic skills and knowledge in education may be symbolized by the story of Helen Keller and her teacher Miss Sullivan. It is the constant and untiring practice of manipulatory skill of spelling on the hand of Helen Keller by Miss Sullivan that led Helen Keller to her dramatic joy of discovery of the mystery of language, to say nothing of her remarkable advance in further skills and intelligent activities that followed.. The lilies of the field toil not, neither do they spin Whitehead refers to the 'lilies of the field' in Section III of the chapter of Final Interpretation of Process and Reality, in which Whitehead reviews the ideal opposites of Order and Novelty As has often been repeated, the idea of 'Order' assumes the primary importance in the philosophy of organism. One aspect of order is the matter of repetitions issuing in the causal efficacy which is largely unconscious, like the air we breath.Opposite to the idea of Order is that of Novelty, characterized by the life present, immediate and conscious. As to the essential nature of this opposite pole, Whitehead says,
Further he says,
Order is the necessary foundation on which the present living occasions are to be realized. The human body, a miracle of order is the solid, but unconscious, foundation upon which it is possible for the human soul to express its mental activities. Here we may note the obvious fact that the characteristic of the foundation is to be solid but usually under cover and a matter of unconsciousness in spite of its obvious importance.Education is an important example of social order in human society. It is only natural for Whitehead to begin the section with the problem of education where he reviews the ideal opposite of Order and Novelty. Let me first quote the part in which Whitehead puts emphasis on skill or technique at the one end of the pole, order.
He has probably in mind the teaching and learning of subject-matters in schools such as mathematics or language. He emphasizes on the routines of giving thorough training in skill, for skill is obviously a matter of order or discipline in education, and that skill or technique should be learned so thoroughly as to pass out of the sphere of conscious exercise and assume the character of unconscious habit.Order and discipline in the training of skill and in imparting basic knowledge in the process of teaching and learning of a subject is different from the unconscious order in nature, because such an order or a skill of a subject-matter is usually acquired through conscious efforts until it becomes unconscious habit or what Whitehead calls 'acquired instinct.'Whitehead seems to symbolize this unconscious habit or acquired instinct, by quoting the verse "the lilies of the field toil not, neither do they spin." This means that in the training of skill in education this stage of unconscious habit, or acquired instinct must be aimed at, for it is on this unconscious exercise of order as the foundation that the true aim of education in terms of useful application in novel thought or creative imagination is to be fulfilled.Educationists talk too much about creative imagination to ignore the necessary role of training in skill. The reason for the neglect is of course the tendency of the drab skill falling into dry, mechanical, repetitive exercises.This function of order in education as 'acquired instinct' may be compared to that of our healthy body. We are rarely conscious of any part of our body, unless that part is ill. Thus the importance of skill as 'acquired instinct' in education may be likened to that of the healthy body.It is clear that, while Whitehead emphasizes on thorough training in technique, he no less emphasizes on the other end of the pole, represented by creative imagination or what he calls impulsive imaginative zest.Paradoxically, the inevitable repetition required for the acquisition of skill is the very reason for stifling creative imagination, and due care must be taken against any over-exercise that limits mental activities. Thus Whitehead says.
Further he says,
This is the paradox which confronts any conscientious teacher, for the acquisition of skill is the condition for excellence, and at the same time is the reason for the danger of killing such mental functions as curiosity, interest, or the joy of discovery. The importance of skill in learning is best illustrated by the dramatic event in which Helen Keller as a deaf and dumb child of seven experienced, for the first time in her life, the great joy of discovering the true meaning of language.The very first thing Miss Sullivan taught her was to spell the word "d-o-l-l" and some other simple words for familiar objects. This practice of manipulative skill continued for several weeks until Helen, getting so impatient and angry at this repeated attempts, dashed the doll upon the floor. Even after this sad incidence, Miss Sullivan, with infinite love and patience, took her to the well-house, where the same exercise of spelling on her hand of the word w-a-t-e-r, was repeated, pouring on her hand a gush of water from the pump. Then, all of a sudden, there came to her the dramatic revelation of the mystery of language.
This basic, limited skill of spelling on her hand opened up a new path to the wider world of thought and imagination. She went on pursuing the world of further thought and imagination, but this simple and crude technique of spelling on her hand must have had grave limitations. She must go on learning more advanced skills such as Braille. Later she developed lip reading and even the ordinary speech sound of her own that made it possible to make herself understood through speech. All these skills contributed to her great world of imagination, thought and communication to the enormous benefits for herself and for the whole humanity.This dual aspect of skill and creative imagination, which are antithetical to each other but require and stimulate each other, should be the matter of central concern in education. This ideal opposites, technique and imaginative zest, to use Whitehead's own words, corresponds to that of Order and Novelty, which is one of the key ideas in the philosophy of organism. 3 CONCLUSIONIn considering some of the Biblical references of Whitehead with the key ideas of his philosophy in mind, it comes out that there is, in each instance, the example of ideal opposites of Order and Novelty, either overtly or covertly. Order is fundamental in God's creative activity. For example, the human body as well as the lilies of the field is the miracle of the order of nature, and it is on this basis of order that either a human being or the lilies of the field can enjoy the immediate valuation of life. Apart from the order of nature, there is also a great variety of order in human society. For instance, language is a system of order, so is the codes of law. On these foundations the essential need of communication and orderly life is to be realized. The ideal state of order is characterized by unconscious causal efficacy. Just as we usually use our language without being conscious of its grammatical order, so we are not particularly conscious of the workings of our bodily order. Too much consciousness of grammar or bodily function is a symptom of ineffectiveness or bodily disorder. It is on the basis of our healthy, unconscious functionings of order that we usually enjoy the immediate present occasions. Novelty, on the other hand, is free, unbounded mentality such as 'imaginative zest' or 'anarchic impulse' to refresh living actual occasions with novel change towards creative advance of the world. It is an appetitive urge for the future change. 'Order' is causative of activities of novelty, which is, in turn, formative of renewed order for creative advance of the world. Solomon's dream is a story of his prayer to God for wisdom and knowledge of a complete understanding and of practical methods in affairs of governing his people. This story suggests the important role of speculative philosophy that aims at a complete understanding of general ideas which are interpretative of all the facets of our experiences, thus leading to the wisdom and knowledge for our better life. Apart from the theoretical understanding of speculative philosophy, the practical knowledge of a special field of science has some value and contributes to the wisdom of its own kind. It is true that theoretical understanding and practical knowledge have tended to be antithetical, but the two should be brought together for the betterment of our life. The whole chapter in which Solomon's dream is three times cited, can be regarded as focusing on Whitehead's idea of speculative philosophy, especially on the the two functions of reason, the coordination between the Reason of Plato and the Reason of Ulysses, or the ideal opposite of Order and Novelty. Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, leader of the Pharisees who boasted themselves on their strict observance of the Mosaic law for the maintenance of community order. Mere order, even if it is a basic factor in life, tends to degenerate into mechanical lifeless repetitions. Mere observance of law, which has a smack of hypocrisy, is not only insufficient but even evil. What is required is the mental function of novelty, which is in this case the new life born of the spirit, an urge toward a better life ever renewed. What does "The chaff is burnt" mean? This is a warning directed toward those who will not produce fruit in keeping with the requirement of Novelty, doomed to be burnt as useless chaff on the day of judgment. They are only left with the remorseless workings of inevitable order as personified in the goddess of mischief. John the Baptist, citing this verse, preached the repentance of sins as a precursor to the redeemer to come after him, the good shepherd, fellow-sufferer for the spiritual creative advance of the world. Thus John gave a warning to those who not only disobey the law of order but disregard the autonomous self-determination to comply with the subjective aim derived from God. They will finally be separated just like from the grain as the useless chaff to be burnt. Whitehead, on the other hand, says,
The inexorable order is not without the element of tenderness, which is indicative of the dual aspect of the divine fatherhood with justice and righteousness and with the element of tenderness as well. Turning to the topic of education, a subject-matter or a course of study in formal education is largely a matter of order, consisting of the basic matters to be learned as fundamental discipline. It is true that acquiring the basic matters of a subject as a discipline is essential in the process of education, but again it is not sufficient in themselves. What is required is the utilization and valuation of basic knowledge and skill thus acquired. It is an outcome of mental workings such as curiosity or creative imagination. It is a proof and a joyful discovery of the usefulness of knowledge and skill. It is what prompts students to pursue advanced study of the subject. It is a novel change for the future, an urge beyond. In this sense, what is most important in education is also to realize this inevitable aspect of Order and Novelty. The most difficult part of education is to find a due proportion of the antithetical poles of the training of skill and the free exercise of creative imagination. The difficulty lies in the fact that "the training which produces skill is so very apt to stifle imaginative zest. "Skill demands repetition, and imaginative zest is tinged with impulse." (PR 338) Moreover, the training in skill should be so thorough that "sheer skill must pass out of the sphere of conscious exercise, and must have assumed the character of unconscious habit. "Whitehead calls the state of unconscious habit 'acquired instinct.' (op.cit.) An example of acquired instinct may be seen in the child of about five years of age, who has acquired the basic order of the mother tongue. The unconscious grammar functions as causal efficacy. The child, then, can concentrate enjoying conscious application for the novelty of living communication. The child has acquired the language skill as effective causal efficacy, as 'acquired instinct', and it is on this basis that the child can concentrate on active communication as presentational immediacy. In this sense, the child at this stage of development, like lilies of the field, "does not toil, neither does it spin. It receives from the past; it lives in the present." (PR 339) (Jan. 1998) References:
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