Moral Empowerment: In Quest of a Pedagogy

Bahá’í Publishing 401 Greenleaf Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091 Copyright © 2016 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States All rights reserved. Published 2016 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper ∞ 19 18 17 16 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Farid-Arbab, Sona, author.

Title: Moral empowerment : in quest of a pedagogy / by Sona Farid-Arbab.

Description: Wilmette, IL : Bahá’í Publishing, [2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016024963 | ISBN 9781618511119 (hardcover : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Bahai Faith—Education. | Bahai education of children. | Bahai ethics. | Moral education. | Fundacion para la Aplicacion y Ensenanza de las Ciencias.

Classification: LCC BP388.E42 F37 2016 | DDC 297.9/35—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016024963

Cover design by Bita Farid-Mohebati Book design by Patrick Falso

C ontents Foreword.......................................................................................... IX Chapter 1: Origins............................................................................ 1 The Source of Inspiration......................................................... 1 An Evolving Conceptual Framework......................................... 2 Generating Premises.................................................................. 5 Chapter 2: On Moral Empowerment.............................................. 13 Essential Relationships............................................................ 13 Conceptions of Power in Political Empowerment................... 16 Search for an Expanded Concept of Power.............................. 22 Key Elements.......................................................................... 29 Chapter 3: The Subject of Understanding.......................................41 Avoiding Shallow Treatments of Understanding...................... 42 Computational and Cultural Dimensions of Cognition..................................................................... 52 Excessive Subjectivism............................................................. 60 Chapter 4: Nurturing Understanding and Fostering Spiritual Qualities................................................................... 75 Nurturing Understanding....................................................... 78 Virtues and Practice................................................................ 80 Fostering Spiritual Qualities.................................................... 90 Seeking an Account of Spiritual Qualities............................... 97 Appropriate Language.................................................. 97 Evolution of Meaning.................................................. 99 Justice: An Example of a Spiritual Quality..................101

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Contents

Interactions among Spiritual Qualities........................117 Service.........................................................................118 Chapter 5: Object of Understanding: The Context.......................121 Constructing Social Reality................................................... 123 Positioning the Subject of Understanding............................. 127 Fragmentation....................................................................... 134 Thought and Reality............................................................. 138 Chapter 6: Complementarity.........................................................151 The Modernization Project.................................................... 154 Inherence of Metaphysical Convictions................................. 158 Transcending the Perceived Dichotomy between Faith and Reason............................................... 164 Processes and Methods in Science and Religion.................... 169 Complementary Systems of Knowledge................................ 177 Complementarity in Conviction and Action......................... 179 Complementarity of Languages............................................ 184 Chapter 7: Integration.................................................................. 199 Distinct and Interrelated: A Defense of Forms of Knowledge................................................................. 202 Criteria for Curricular Integration......................................... 207 Structure.................................................................... 207 Relevance....................................................................211 The Role of the Cognitive...........................................213 Social Practice.............................................................218 Values of Knowledge............................................................. 225 Thought and Action.............................................................. 230 Chapter 8: Capabilities................................................................. 247 Development as Freedom...................................................... 250 Agency.................................................................................. 257 Capability............................................................................. 258 Building Capacity................................................................. 264

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Contents

Chapter 9: Pedagogical Choices.................................................... 275 Banking Education and Problem Posing............................... 277 The Logical Order and the Psychological Method................. 288 Capabilities as Contexts........................................................ 298 Chapter 10: Continuity of Thought, Language, and Action......... 301 Oneness of Heart and Mind................................................. 305 The Interplay between the Individual and the Collective........ 310 Concluding Remarks.....................................................................319 Notes............................................................................................ 325 Bibliography..................................................................................361 Index............................................................................................ 377

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CHAPTER 1

O rigins The Source of Inspiration The Bahá’í Faith, the youngest of the world’s independent religions, does not see itself as one more religious system to be superimposed on the conflicting creeds that divide humankind, but rather as a restatement of the eternal verities underlying all the religions of the past. It upholds the unity of God, recognizes the unity of His Prophets, and inculcates the principle of the oneness and wholeness of the entire human race.1 A fundamental principle enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh is that religious truth is not absolute but relative, and that Divine Revelation is progressive.2 Bahá’ís—constituting a worldwide community of several million and representing most of the nations, races, and cultures on earth— believe that the unification of humankind is inevitable, although the path to its realization is tortuous.

Bahá’í experience in the field of development stretches back to the beginnings of the Faith in Iran. In that country, the community of adherents was able, in just a few generations, to move to the forefront of major philanthropic and intellectual undertakings in diverse spheres of human endeavor. Much of this rapid advance was the result of achievements in processes of social and economic development, particularly in the area of education, set in motion in that community. By 1973, for example, Iranian Bahá’ís had achieved a literacy rate of 100 per 1

Moral Empowerment

cent among women followers under the age of forty; this in contrast to a national literacy rate among women of less than 20 per cent.3 Worldwide involvement in social and economic development entered a new stage in the early 1980s, chiefly because of a substantial increase in the Bahá’í population of many nations.

Bahá’í development efforts in villages and towns throughout the world often begin as simple grassroots initiatives to address some of the challenges faced by local communities through a process of action and reflection that relies on insights drawn from the spiritual and social teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. Several hundred substantial projects have already emerged from thousands of grassroots initiatives, frequently in collaboration with governmental and nongovernmental organizations.

Most of these initiatives are in the field of education, typically taking the form of academic schools; a smaller number have learned over time to address development issues from the perspective of multiple disciplines.

The Bahá’í teachings themselves do not include what might be called educational theory or, for that matter, a structured educational philosophy. Yet a discourse on education has always existed in the Bahá’í community and, in recent years, it has acquired a new dimension in the conversation among a growing number of groups and organizations around the world engaged in educational processes that have come to be designated as “Bahá’í-inspired.”

An Evolving Conceptual Framework The contribution of one organization, the Fundación para la Aplicación y Enseñanza de las Ciencias (Fundaec)—an organization that has been able to dedicate its resources over several decades to a search for content and methods inspired by the Bahá’í teachings in the context of education for development—to an advancing discourse on education in the Bahá’í community is particularly noteworthy. Fundaec was founded in 1974 by a group of scientists and professionals trying to understand the 2

Origins

role of science, technology, and education in the social and economic development of a micro-region; its efforts initially focused near the city of Cali in Colombia. It expressed its primary aim as the creation of a social space in which specific populations could actively engage in learning about their own path of development. The name given to this social space is University for Integral Development. In pursuance of this aim, Fundaec focused in the first decade of its existence on action and research, assisting various groups in the aforementioned microregion to participate in the generation, application, and diffusion of knowledge about the different processes of community life and how to improve them. Many of the processes of individual, family, and community life are not directly related to education, but analyzing chains of daily activity involved in each, and the factors determining their unfoldment, generated a body of knowledge that was progressively incorporated into educational materials. For example, examining chains of activity related to the production of crops and animal husbandry gave rise to participative research on alternative systems of production on small farms. Similar research and action was carried out in areas of health, formal education, socialization, community organization, local economies, environment, and appropriate technology. A set of some eighty textbooks based on this experience were prepared constituting the core of a curriculum for secondary education that, in the ensuing two decades, reached tens of thousands of students in several Latin American countries. The secondary school program became known as Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial (SAT); to make its largescale implementation possible, two other programs were also developed, one for the training of secondary school teachers and the other for raising human resources with competence at the Masters level. In recent years, Fundaec has focused on a revised portion of the SAT curriculum to create a program for the training of “Promoters of Community Well-Being,� which is now being adopted by a growing number of organizations in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.

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The intention of this inquiry is to help advance what is being referred to here as a “Bahá’í-inspired” discourse on education. To do so, we first identify a number of key concepts that can be considered crucial elements of an evolving framework for the educational programs contributing to this discourse. At this early stage, many of the elements will have to be sought in the ideas elaborated by Fundaec, whil e dr awing to the extent possible on a number of other experiences. The founders of Fundaec were, of course, aware from the beginning that they would not be defining the framework for Bahá’í-inspired education. All they hoped to do was to take a few steps in the desired direction and initiate a process of action, reflection, and research that would lead to the creation of a framework and the corresponding educational programs in a series of approximations. The field of education, they believed, has been subject to too many theoretical fads. While the succession of theories that have achieved temporary prominence during the past decades have contributed to progress, much more can be achieved through systematic action—drawing insight from a diversity of pedagogical perspectives—accompanied by profound reflection within an evolving conceptual framework.

Repeated reference to Fundaec does not mean that the purpose of this inquiry is to analyze its experience; the aim is to present a set of ideas that may assist those involved in Bahá’í-inspired endeavors to achieve greater coherence as they strive to translate their ideals into effective educational programs. Emphasis is on the gradual development of a conceptual framework to which an increasing number of groups can contribute, based on experience and reflection—two ingredients of any attempt to tackle philosophical problems. Naturally, there is also the hope that this book may make some contribution, no matter how small, to the discussion of certain themes in the general discourse on education.

The several key concepts that are identified and discussed throughout the book as possible elements of an evolving framework for edu4

Origins

cational processes inspired by the Bahá’í teachings are all in need of philosophical scrutiny. The approach employed here is to search the relevant literature, to examine the concepts in question in that light, and to find ways to express them in a language that lends itself to philosophical exploration. By its very nature, such an approach involves reference to several authors rather than an exhaustive treatment of the works of one or two. While a sufficiently deep understanding of the work of each author is required, the aim is not to treat his or her arguments comprehensively, but to use insights gained from them to elaborate, to a reasonable extent, the key elements of the conceptual framework under consideration.

Generating Premises The term “Bahá’í-inspired” is in need of some clarification: The educational endeavors thus designated do not include religious instruction.

Like followers of other religions, Bahá’ís, too, engage in the study of the history of their Faith, its laws, principles, and tenets. These are not, however, the topics addressed in the kind of programs with which we are concerned. Nor is the object of study individual and social codes of conduct “inspired” by the teachings of the Faith—a Bahá’í version of moral education. “Inspiration” in this case refers to the framework of thought and action within which educational experience unfolds, a framework that, as already mentioned, is to be continually elaborated and refined. Programs are expected to develop through a dynamic process of action and reflection on action, a process well informed of various theories and practices in the field of education. Those involved in such programs are not exclusively Bahá’ís; they include a range of like-minded individuals who agree on the fundamental elements of the evolving conceptual framework.

At the heart of the framework under consideration is the concept of moral empowerment. A brief examination of the genesis of the concept as used by Fundaec—sometimes denoting the principal aim 5

CHAPTER 2

O n M oral E mpowerment This chapter is dedicated to a preliminary analysis of the concept of moral empowerment—a term indicating both the process and the goal of educational programs that seek to enable students to take charge of their own intellectual and moral growth and to contribute to the transformation of society. Since the transformation in question is perceived in the context of humanity’s transition from childhood to maturity, this analysis begins with a brief description in the first section of the nature of certain relationships fundamental to human existence, suggesting that transition to collective maturity is marked by the profound change these relationships will necessarily undergo. This change, it is argued, entails a willingness to leave behind narrow conceptions of power. In the section that follows, a brief examination of certain views of power and of the corresponding educational approaches seeking political empowerment is undertaken. The limitations of the political dimensions of power, identified in that section, demand a search for an expanded notion of power on which educational processes concerned with moral empowerment could draw. With insights emerging from a discussion of such an expanded notion in the background, a series of concepts are introduced, to be elaborated in subsequent chapters, as key elements of the conceptual framework being explored in this book.

Essential Relationships Being impelled by a twofold purpose to pursue one’s own intellectual and spiritual growth and to contribute at the same time to the trans13

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formation of society implies that there is no tension between the two; they are interwoven aspects of one necessary movement. What is being argued here is that advancing in both entails change in those essential relationships that define societal existence—among individuals and groups, and between the individual, community, and institutions of society. Underlying these is humanity’s relationship with nature and, more fundamentally, the bonds that connect the human being with God. Any search for the content and methods of Bahá’í-inspired educational programs must address, not infrequently, three interrelated questions: What will these relationships be like once humanity has entered its age of maturity? What is the nature of the changes that will occur in these relationships as the transition from childhood to maturity advances through successive stages? And what kind of educational activities will enable the individual to participate in transformative processes at any given stage? None of the three questions have immediate answers; a long process of research, action, and reflection—all carried out within a philosophical framework which itself must evolve—can shed light on the issues at hand as an effective pedagogy is gradually developed.

What can be argued with relative ease at this point is that the principle of the oneness of humankind gives direction to the process of transition and offers insights into the nature of the changes that must occur in each of the above-mentioned relationships. An example from the Bahá’í teachings illustrates this point. In the physical world, the human body has evolved to a degree of complexity that makes the emergence of consciousness possible. The modes of operation that guarantee the biological functioning of the body and its well-being are characterized by the perfect integration of diverse cells: “No cell lives apart from the body, whether in contributing to its functioning or in deriving its share from the well-being of the whole.” It is the wholeness of the system that allows for the complete development of the capacities inherent in each of its component elements. The physical 14

On Moral Empowerment

well-being thus achieved finds its purpose in channeling the expression of individual consciousness; “that is to say, the purpose of biological development transcends the mere existence of the body and its parts.”1 It is worthwhile to consider whether the same conception does not apply to the organization of humanity’s collective existence, even though, unlike the cells of the body, the individuals constituting society are endowed with intelligence and volition. Will not the essential relationships that define human existence evolve during the passage from childhood to maturity, one can at least ask, in such a way that the capacities of each human being are given room to fully develop as the bonds among individuals, communities, and the institutions of society are strengthened? And if so, can one not assume that such development will lead to an increasingly more complete expression of human consciousness with the aid of complex social structures, themselves undergoing evolutionary change?

The metaphor of the human body,2 if earnestly taken into consideration, points to the inadequacy of the conception of human society either as an aggregate of competing elements or as a conglomerate of differentiated sectors, each trying to exploit the achievements of others. As transition to maturity advances, humanity will need to move away from the vision of society as the arena of negotiations among individuals defending personal or group interest. The steady increase in the number of people living in conditions of “absolute poverty,” the growing gap between the rich and the poor, and the economic crisis affecting even the richest countries of the world, in an era of globalization so focused on competitiveness, seem to indicate that numerous challenges have to be overcome if the aspirations of the individual are to be harmonized with the interests of society. The condition in which the state as the embodiment of collective will would crush individuality to defend some conception of a higher purpose is not compatible with the type of relationships the principle of the oneness of humankind seems to demand either. Much of the argument in this book 15

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religion. Thus the conception of the “complementarity between science and religion” is an important element of the framework under consideration. This theme is addressed in chapter 6 at some length, but a few words should be said here about the contrast between the notion of complementarity as advanced by Fundaec and certain prevalent views of the relationship between science and religion.

According to one perspective, whatever truth is expounded by religion about spiritual phenomena will someday be explained by science.

Religion in this case is an institution of the childhood of humanity that will finally be made irrelevant by scientific explanation. An opposing view may hold that religion is the outcome of God’s Revelation, and that—as God knows everything—scientific truth is ultimately attainable by penetrating the mysteries of religious text. Neither of these two views is considered valid in this inquiry. There is another perspective according to which science and religion are so distinct that there is no possibility of significant conflict between them. Science studies the material universe. Its accomplishments serve to push forward the frontiers of technological possibility, opening the way for innovations that can be employed either for the good of humanity or to its detriment.

Science in itself does not have the ability to point the way. Religion, on the other hand, is concerned with the spiritual dimension of human existence. Its task is to throw light on the inner life and to engender a code of ethics that can appropriately guide human behavior. So long as each remains within the sphere of its own genus, they can coexist in harmony. This “view of the harmony between science and religion is valid, but only at the level of application. Ultimately, in this approach, science and religion are separated and allowed to pursue their own ways, and what assumes importance is the interaction between technology and morality.”48 Arguing for complementarity between science and religion as two systems of knowledge and practice with a somewhat fluid overlap addresses at a more profound level the harmony between the two. Complementarity, moreover, implies that an educational pro36

On Moral Empowerment

cess concerned with moral empowerment has the freedom to look to both sources in order to engender understanding of various aspects of reality and to cultivate the appropriate attributes in the students.

A question that arises naturally once issues related to sources of knowledge are to some degree analyzed is how, in nurturing understanding and fostering spiritual qualities, one brings the “objects of understanding” from various fields and disciplines together to create the proper teaching-learning experience that would empower students to pursue their own development and, at the same time, contribute to the advancement of society. An important element of our evolving framework is a conception of “integration” which takes into account the interconnections between structures of the human mind, objects of understanding, and active participation in transformative processes that lead to progress. In other words, an educational process focused on the moral empowerment of its participants is required to seek those deeper ties that fuse together “being,” “knowing,” and “doing.” In this context, a major challenge of integration is to move away from a vision of knowledge that largely considers it as a sum of contents and methods of fields and disciplines separated by rigid boundaries without losing the rigor of education. One tantalizing prospect is to use social practices as the axis around which educational activities can be organized. However, as Michael Young points out, the trend in curriculum studies focused solely on social practices has led to the marginalization of knowledge because it does not provide a basis upon which a distinction between curriculum knowledge and everyday knowledge could be made. Young identifies two other co-culprits: first, the work begun in the 1970s in the sociology of education, to which he himself contributed, sidelining the role of knowledge by conceptualizing subject-based curriculum in terms of social interests that define its content, and second, postmodernism with its critique of school curriculum, claiming that it leaves no space for any voice except those of the professional and the academic elite. All three developments, he 37

Moral Empowerment

mentions, “collude, albeit unintentionally, with the marketization that now drives educational policy.” He adds that “in denying a distinctive role for knowledge that transcends specific social practices, interests, and contexts, these approaches remove the grounds for a critical relationship between theory and curriculum policy and practice.”49 Integration as discussed in this inquiry is not only concerned with issues related to the disciplines of knowledge and social practices. It also addresses more fundamental questions. We will deal with this theme in chapter 7, first at the level of knowledge—drawing on Paul Hirst’s theory of forms of knowledge and his later views on the priority of practical knowledge—then at the level of values inherent in knowledge, and finally through a brief presentation of the inseparability of thought and action.

Chapter 8 is dedicated to the examination of yet another element of the conceptual framework being explored: the conception of “capability.” In its attempt to deal with the various dimensions of the challenge of integrating the content and methods of a morally empowering educational experience, Fundaec introduced the notion of capability. It used the word in a very specific way, as “developed capacity to think and act in a particular sphere of activity and according to an explicit purpose.” Capability refers to “complex spheres of thought and action each requiring a number of related skills and abilities,” but its acquisition, in addition to the mastering of skills, is dependent on the assimilation of “relevant information,” advancement in the “understanding of relevant concepts,” and the development of “certain attitudes, habits and spiritual qualities.”50 Others, of course, have used the notion of capability, notably Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum.

At a first glance, this seems to be a coincidence, two unrelated uses of a word in different contexts. But as we will see in chapter 8, there are common ideas as well as differences in philosophical outlooks, the examination of which sheds further light on the question of moral empowerment.

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