by Aaron Nye

Created on: July 19, 2008

It seems that people these days are content to watch "American Idol" and "Entertainment Tonight" on television rather than actually learn anything. Most folks have forgotten (or more to the point, never knew) what learning is. Critical thinking has gone, like so many other invaluable skills, the way of the do-do. In ancient Greece, universities were not the classroom style, rote memorization facilities of indoctrination of today. Indeed, they were far from what passes for modern education. They actually taught people the skill of philosophy. Philosophy, if one had to boil it down, is the skill of looking at a problem with wide open eyes. If you look at anything as a man truly awake, the solution to the problem (or at least its cause) becomes evident.

So, what sets ancient universities apart from modern education? The answer is simple. No agenda existed in ancient schools. When early education left off, the students who showed aptitude (or who's parents were wealthy) were sent to hone their skills in the areas of critical thinking and oration. A discussion would be suggested, and with minimal interference from the instructor, the students would explore all the facets of the topic at hand. In short time, students were able to realize the flaws in their thinking, and the areas in which they had failed to come to a complete conclusion. This, my friends, is philosophy.

So many people believe that philosophy is a collection of the works of people like Plato, Aristotle, and a bunch of old guys they don't care about. In fact, real philosophy is the only thing that can sustain a society in its decline. With a few thinkers in positions of public trust, society can be enlightened to a higher form of thinking, a few individuals at a time.

What has happened in our current educational system to thwart actual thought? Well, to understand this, one would have to read an obscure history. How many Westerners have any idea of the system of class segregation that India was famous (or rather, infamous) for having employed? Many people in the UK aren't even aware of it, despite the fact that their government once subjugated the entire nation.

In India, there were five classes of people. From the upper class (called a caste) to the lowest class, the number of its members increased exponentially. The ruling caste was the smallest, while the caste known as the pariah (which can be described as, the scum of the earth) numbered in the hundreds of millions. The system was ingenious, especially

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