Consciousness, Literature and the Arts

Archive

Volume 4 Number 1, April 2003

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Innovative Education for Important Issues under Globalization

by

Kensei Hiwaki

 Abstract

         

          This paper discusses a hypothesis that an innovative education, effecting a thought-frame enhancement, leads to appropriate human behavior favorable for solutions of the important issues of the 21st century. To begin with, I review my previous article in terms of the rapidly deteriorating human environment under the on-going Digitized Globalization that is driven by the market fundamentalism. I also identify the important issues of the 21st century. Secondly, our generalized theoretical framework is reviewed and elaborated. Thirdly, I introduce a schematized chart of influence, which shows our conjectural scope of mutual relationship among education, thought frame, behavior, and other factors. Fourthly, I suggest an appropriate direction of educational endeavors, given the awesome force of the market fundamentalism. Fifthly, several innovative possibilities of education are introduced and discussed, in view of our important issues. Finally, I conclude the paper with an optimistic remark for the possibility of their solutions, referring to the enhancement process relevant to cultural enrichment, as well as to the synergistic process of behavioral change.

 

 

Introduction

 

          In my previous paper, entitled “Thought-Frame Enhancement for the Age of Digitized Globalization” [ Hiwaki, 2001], I argued for the importance of thought-frame enhancement, as well as a general-value enhancement, to combat a process of general mental desolation and lifestyle devastation under the on-going Digitized Globalization. By the “Digitized Globalization” I meant the combined forces of the market fundamentalism (Market) and the revolution in communication (Digital Revolution). I indicated, then, that both the Market and the Digital Revolution had been trampling on the existing society-specific cultures (Cultures) across the world and the global environment broadly defined (Environment) that includes the natural, cultural, humanitarian and peaceful environments, among others.

 

          Our term “Culture” means an all-encompassing holistic culture and generally refers to a long-term accumulated whole of individual and collective experiences, knowledge, wisdom, norms and expressions in the process of socioeconomic development specific to a society. This accumulated whole implies synergistic interactions individually and collectively with other individuals in their own and other societies, as well as with other Cultures and the Environment.  Such a Culture must be positive and constructive to a particular people and society [ Hiwaki, 2002a].  This dynamic Culture, therefore, must have the positive purpose of securing subsistence, peace and welfare for the relevant people and society. As such, a Culture is meant in this paper to have a general ethos that is community-interested, long-term-engaged, cooperation-propelled, inward-directed, accumulation-oriented and common-property-centered.

 

          In contrast, our term “Market” means the prevailing market fundamentalism that drives the Digitized Globalization, upholding only the market-determined values and favoring only the winners. The Market, as instrument as well as institution of the Modern Civilization, goes against the non-Western values as well as their lifestyles, and attempts to standardize economic behaviors and rules in its favor [Hiwaki, 2002b]. With such a strong bias, the Market is meant in this paper to have a general ethos that is individuality-interested, short-term-engaged, competition-propelled, outward-directed, flow-oriented and private-property-centered. Thus, the Market has fiercely trampled on the diverse Cultures across the world, viewing them as obstacles to its expansion and control. Similarly, the Market has devastated the global-community-interested, extra-long-term-engaged, stock-oriented and common-property-centered Environment, exploiting it endlessly as if it were a “free good”.

          I also indicated that such devastation of our diverse Cultures and the Environment had been undermining security, stability, identity, independence and long-term orientation of individuals, firms and societies without any exceptions. Further, I argued that the introduction of a highly convenient but short-term efficiency-oriented device might very well reshuffle our accustomed lifestyles, value systems, human development, employment practices, human relations and social order almost entirely. Especially when the Market ushered in the global computer age, we might face drastic changes in all aspects of our lives much too fast for humans to catch up or to live with them. For the Market, through the Digital Revolution, is exaggerating the instability in socioeconomic activities, the uncertainty in future prospects and the insecurity of employment, income and living, as well as the helpless feeling about the way things turn out [Hiwaki, 2002b].

 

          Hidden behind the Market and the Digital Revolution is the world-unifying force of the modern civilization that largely consists of an almost religious zeal for the “capitalist sovereignty” (or the “share-holders sovereignty”), which differs from either the “consumer sovereignty” or the “producer sovereignty”. This Modern Civilization naturally embodies the ideas of the Enlightenment in the 18th century, such as self-interest, competition, free market, individualism, rationalism, egalitarianism and democracy. Such ideas have fanned a popular support and justification for the modern acquisitiveness (or the “naked” profit motive) in the global market activities, so that the Market can now have its own way against all reasons.

 

          Given such awesome force of the Market that has no compass bearing on any guiding light for our future, we have a limited struggling space, if any, for an alternative way of life that seeks reasonable security, stability and identity. If we can generate an active worldwide consensus on such an alternative lifestyle, however, we may still expect to leave a viable human environment to our posterity. For securing such an active consensus, we need to cultivate a general will for enhancing our thought frames (or individual and collective scopes of thought in time and space) and also enriching our diverse Cultures. This is to deal squarely with the formidable Market as the unifying-standardizing instrument of the Modern Civilization.

 

          By enhancing our thought frames and enriching our diverse Cultures, we may effectively address the major global issues of the 21st century, such as sustainable development [World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987;  Hiwaki, 1998], a culture of peace [Mayor, 1997; Symonides, 1999] and a welfare world [Myrdal, 1960;  Okada, 1997]. All these issues point to the respective alternative ways of life, which encourage cooperation, solidarity, harmony, security, stability and viability for all the generations to come. Also, by our endeavors for enhancing our thought frames, we may comprehend more easily the importance of reviving and enriching our diverse Cultures for spontaneous cooperation worldwide conducive to positive solutions of the global issues [Hiwaki, 2002b]. Such endeavor calls for a possible recourse to educational innovation for human development. For this reason, I consider it highly important to delve further into the relationship between education, thought frame and behavior in this paper.

 

 

Theoretical Framework

 

          To begin with, we would like to review the idea related to the enhancement of our thought frames. Our premise is that, in order to fight against the devastating force of the Digitized Globalization, we must strengthen the counter-balancing forces of the Cultures and the Environment. For this purpose, we need to commit ourselves to cultivate and enhance our thought frames. A continuous enhancement of our thought frames tends to expand the time frame even of our market activities. In other words, our elongated time frame can govern our market behavior, which is considered amenable to our individual and collective thought frames.

 

          Our theoretical process of thought-frame enhancement is shown in the first quadrant of Fig. 1 [Hiwaki, 2000]. The horizontal axis (Ft) represents the average individual’s orientation to the future (or the planning range), and the vertical axis  (Ih) the individual and collective investment in human capital broadly defined. The origin of the diagram (O) implies the absence of both future orientation and human-capital formation. The upward sloping curve (Curve H) suggests a theoretical process of thought-frame enhancement, which represent a continuous mutual interaction between human-capital formation and future orientation. In essence, Curve H indicates that, as investment in human capital increases, the average individual becomes increasingly oriented to the future to have an enhanced scope of thought in time and space. This is the process of thought-frame enhancement envisioned in the previous paper.

 

 

                           Fig. 1:  General-Value Enhancement

 

          In addition, this diagram as a whole represents a broader perspective to explain a synergistic enhancement of the related values. The upper and the lower vertical axes in Fig. 1, representing ones amenable to governmental long-term policy, show different levels of investment in human capital (Ih) and soft-and-hard socioeconomic infrastructure (Is), respectively. These policy-amenable axes also indicate individual and collective endeavors for improvement of both personal and societal capacities, as well as for enrichment of the relevant Culture. The horizontal axes on the right and the left, respectively, indicate the average orientation to the future  (Ft) and the average life expectation (Lt). Put differently, the right-hand axis implies a variety of planning ranges for the average individual, and the left-hand axis a variety of expected spans of the average human life.

 

          Mutual and synergistic interactions of the four axes may lead to a balanced and continuous socioeconomic development. Also, these axes, respectively, stand for the human-capacity enrichment (Ih), the socioeconomic enrichment (Is), the future-plan enrichment (Ft) and the life-prospect enrichment (Lt). Their respective “intra-quadrant” interactions represent the processes of thought-frame enhancement (Curve H), human-value enhancement (Curve X), lifestyle enhancement (Curve Y) and common-goal enhancement (Curve Z). All these four enhancement processes interact with one another continuously to depict an expanding rectangular plane. Such over-all interactions represent the process of general-value enhancement and of cultural enrichment for a balanced socioeconomic development.

 

 

Education and Behavior

 

          With the above theoretical framework for a balanced socioeconomic development that is based on the cultural enrichment, we need to introduce a development of innovative education through the policy-amenable axes of the human-capacity enrichment (Ih) and the socioeconomic enrichment (Is). Prior to the discussion of needed educational development, we must first stipulate, albeit tentatively, mutual and synergistic interactions among the important elements, such as education, thought frame and behavior. Our conjectural scope of relationship, as well as paths of mutual influence, are schematized in Fig. 2.

 

 

                  Fig. 2: Schematized Chart of Influence

 

          This diagram is designed primarily to relate a change in education to the consequential changes in thought frame and behavior (indicated by bold arrows), accommodating possible feedback effects (indicated by normal arrows). Here, the education is assumed to interact with the relevant information available, the various modes of thinking and the relevant individual and collective experiences, while such thinking modes may interact mutually with the information and the experiences for synergistic effects. All these major ingredients, viz., education, information, thinking and experiences, in turn, are assumed to influence the individual and collective thought frames directly and indirectly.

 

          Thus changed thought frames are now assumed to influence the individual and collective awareness, values and attitudes, while the values may interact with the awareness and the attitudes for synergistic effects. Finally, the major ingredients, viz., thought frames, values, awareness and attitudes, together, are assumed to influence the individual and collective behaviors directly and indirectly. In accordance with this line of thought, any significant change in education is assumed to effect changes in information, thinking and experiences, directly, and also effect changes in the thought frames directly, as well as indirectly. Likewise, any change in the thought frames is assumed to effect changes in awareness, values and attitudes directly, and also effect changes in behaviors directly, as well as indirectly.

 

New Educational Direction

 

          As hinted in the beginning, the onslaught of global standardization by the inhuman force of the Market has been devastating our lives, diverse Cultures and Environment, with the popular support and justification under the Modern Civilization. For this civilization that regards any alternatives as “barbarous” or “threatening” aims at a global standardization of the values and rules under the capitalist sovereignty, while its instrument - the Market - accelerates “a disparity-animosity spiral” in the world. Such a gross contradiction in the modern capitalist civilization takes us nowhere but to mental desolation in a schizophrenic desert or in a dehumanized real-and-virtual world of confusion.

 

          To combat this awesome predicament accelerated by the Market, an innovative development of education is called for in our endeavors to enhance human capacity for sustaining reasonable stability, security, identity, health, comfort, independence and integrity. Also, such educational development is necessary for the simultaneous processes of enhancing our thought frames and enriching our diverse Cultures. For such thought frames and diverse Cultures, in turn, may contribute to an achievement of active consensus that conduces to a simultaneous realization of sustainable development, a culture of peace and a welfare world. These global issues are closely interrelated by their common purpose that encourages the long-term, future-oriented, humanity-enhancing and longevity-favoring lifestyles [Hiwaki, 2002b].

 

          A relevant educational development, to begin with, requires a redirection of education, particularly in the advanced nations, the peoples of which have been made most blinded and insensitive to the long-term lethal effects of the Market and the Digital Revolution. Such educational redirection must change the prevailing cramming system of education toward a more meaningful and, perhaps, more enjoyable education for thought-frame enhancement, as well as for appreciation of cultural diversity. For this purpose we need to mobilize and coordinate all modes of education, including home, school, community and virtual varieties. Also, the new direction of educational development must address the life-long education of individuals for the appreciation of diverse Cultures. This may redirect individuals toward much stronger orientation to the future by investing constantly in their human capital available for the common good.

 

          Further, it must cultivate in individuals essential abilities for overall and holistic understanding of human evolutionary and historical relations to the natural environments. Still further, it must bring out more positive and constructive long-term attitude and behavior in individuals and the general public. Moreover, such educational development must emphasize a broad-based, multi-faceted and diverse learning opportunities not only for knowledge and skills but also for values, sentiments, awareness, attitude, perspectives and capabilities. This implies that education is not only for the effectiveness of winning bread but also for the enhancement of human values and qualities.

 

Educational Innovations

 

          More concretely, we must first work for an educational innovation to stimulate people individually and collectively for a greater awareness of human evolutionary and historical processes. This is for the purpose of encouraging individuals to understand that geographical locations, climates, terrestrial and celestial occurrences, historical incidents, and so on, are respectively important causes of different social, political, economic, linguistic, technological and, even, educational developments. This type of educational innovation must be intended to encourage the understanding of human endeavors in the very struggle for survival, stability and development.  It must, at the same time, discourage a simplistic conclusion based only on the end results or the existing prevalent tendencies.  

 

          Secondly, we must work for an educational innovation to bring out better insights into the past, present and future. This is to discourage a sterile method of studying history such as to memorize often-distorted accounts by different historians and rulers. Indeed, it is to encourage a broader perspective for likely diverse and synergistic effects of various historical occurrences to different societies in the past, the present and possibly in the future. Further, this type of educational innovation must be intended to encourage individuals to challenge the established interpretations by taking different angles of approach. Moreover, it is to encourage individuals to develop keen insights into human history and learn many lessons from it for the future human development.

 

          Thirdly, we need an educational innovation to encourage a more comprehensive approach to the learning process in order to bring about more cumulative and synergistic effects of what is learned. This is to encourage individuals to relate more effectively with one another and synthesize the learned concepts, ideas and others in different subjects and on different occasions. This type of educational innovation must be intended to discourage a study just for the sake of memory and encourage it for the sake of enriching the foundation for continuous learning. At the same time, it must be aimed to encourage continuity in accumulation of knowledge for the sake of broadening and deepening the scope of understanding and of seeing the intricate and synergistic interactions of various types and fields of knowledge.

 

          Fourthly, we need an educational innovation to nurture a more enlightened long-term perspective and a stronger orientation to the future. This is to encourage a construction of broad and rich foundation of knowledge and experience not only for paving the way toward future studies but also for viewing various phenomena local and global from long-range and historical perspectives. It is also to encourage concerns about our future generations. This type of educational innovation must be intended to avoid a narrow and shallow view of the world from self-centered and short-term perspectives. It must also be intended to develop an ability to look into long-term consequences of our individual behavior, business practices and government policies.

 

          Fifthly, we need an educational innovation to encourage more compassionate and generous human relations, as well as a more serious concern about intrinsic human needs. This is to encourage asking various questions about the state of our Cultures in view the prevailing lifestyles, which are largely and increasingly detached from the natural environment, societies, local communities and even families. Also, it is to review broadly human nature and intrinsic human needs in the short term and long term, as well as in different stages of individual life. This type of educational innovation must be intended to avoid thinking in terms of wants and desires. It must develop the ability to compare and contrast material and mental needs, and aim at a healthy, active and fruitful longevity, as well as close, generous and compassionate human relations.

 

          Above all, we need an educational innovation to encourage the affinity to our own Cultures and, at the same time, the understanding of the other Cultures. This is to encourage finding the important meaning of the long-accumulated Cultures to the respective peoples. Also, it is to encourage thinking about the importance of cultural identity for one’s mental health and comfort, as well as for one’s fitting lifestyle. Further, it is to examine and value the Culture-related environment for human relations, manners, language, festivities, ceremonies, feelings, hospitality and so on, for comfortable and worthy social life. This type of educational innovation must be intended to cultivate a greater appreciation of and respect for, diverse Cultures in the world and encourage a greater endeavor for enrichment of the respective Cultures.

 

          The above-mentioned educational innovations are by no means exhaustive but examples of paramount importance. All these educational endeavors must aim at a well-balanced human development in intellectual, aesthetic, spiritual and moral spheres, as well as at an enhancement of individual and collective thought frames in time and space. Introducing such educational innovations into our diagram in Fig. 2, we may now expect their meaningful interactions with the available information, thinking modes and experiences to enhance individual and collective thought frames, as well as to bring about appropriate behavior for enrichment of our diverse Cultures. Such continuous processes of thought-frame enhancement and cultural enrichment may provide a more viable cooperation worldwide for dealing effectively with our global issues.

 

Concluding Remarks 

 

          No doubt, it is difficult to deal effectively with the global issues, such as sustainable development, a culture of peace and a welfare world. It is, however, impossible even to start dealing with them without containing, neutralizing and Culture-orienting the world-standardizing force of the market fundamentalism (Market). For the individuality-interested, short-term-engaged, competition-propelled, outward-directed, flow-oriented and private-property-centered Market has not only trampled on the society-specific common good (Culture) but also devastating the global common good (Environment). The Market also has initiated and accelerated a deadly disparity-animosity spiral in the world.

 

          In order to deal with the important global issues, therefore, we must retrieve and enrich the community-interested, long-term-engaged, cooperation-propelled, inward-directed, stock-oriented and common-property-centered Cultures. We must also reestablish close relationship between the diverse Cultures and their respective natural environments, so that the stock-oriented and common-property-centered Environment is fully respected by all individuals and societies for a healthy and viable life for ourselves, as well as for our future generations. Our endeavors to enrich our diverse Cultures must proceed with the enhancement of our thought frames, in order to avoid a possible fall into exclusive and nationalistic approach to our respective Cultures.

 

          Thus, we must innovate and develop our education for both the thought-frame enhancement and cultural enrichment so that we will be able to deal effectively with the global issues based on our wholehearted and earnest endeavors. Through the development of innovative education, especially in the industrially advanced nations, we may gradually modify and remedy our modernized mentality and behavior to rid of our simple-minded and self-righteous pursuit of freedom, convenience and individuality. Thus, we will be able to cope with the impending regression of humanity, as well as with the distorted and wasteful exploitation of human capacities and natural resources. An untiring educational endeavor for enhancing our thought frames may prove to be the most important starter for the process of general-value enhancement and cultural enrichment (Fig. 1), as well as for the synergistic process of changing our behavior (Fig. 2). Such an endeavor may culminate in a balanced socioeconomic development of our global community and lead eventually to realization of sustainable development, a culture of peace and a welfare world.

 

Acknowledgement

 

          This article is an extension and refinement of my report, “Education, Thought Frame, and Important Issues of the 21st Century”, which was delivered at the Second International Workshop “Developing Creativity and Broad Mental Outlook in the Computer Age” (orga-nized by Prof. Vladimir Fomichov, Lomonosov Moscow State University) for ISSEI 2002: the Eighth Conference of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas, held at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales, United Kingdom, July 22-27, 2002.

 

References

 

Hiwaki, Kensei (1998); “Sustainable Development: Framework for a General Theory”, Human Systems Management, Vol. 17, No.4.

 

Hiwaki, Kensei (2000); “Thought-Frame Enhancement for Peace Consciousness”, Quest for Peace (Edited by George E. Lasker, et al.), IIAS.

 

Hiwaki, Kensei (2001); “Thought-Frame Enhancement for the Age of Digitized Globalization”, An International Peer-Reviewed On-Line Journal “Consciousness, Literature, and the Arts”, Vol. 2, Issue 1 (March 2001).

 

Hiwaki, Kensei (2002a); “Why Does Sustainable Development Require Enrichment of Cultures Worldwide?”, the Keynote Address for the Symposium on Sustainable Development, InterSymp 2002, held in Baden-Baden, Germany, during July 29-August 3, 2002.

 

Hiwaki, Kensei (2002b); “Cultural Enrichment and Diversity for the Advancement of Positive Global Solutions”, the Keynote Address for the First Congress of the BWW Society, held in Saint Germain-en-Laye, France, August 4-8, 2002.

 

Mayor, Federico (1997); “The Human Right to Peace: Declaration by the Director-General of UNESCO”, A Design for Peace (Edited by George E. Lasker & Uladimir Lomeiko), IIAS.

 

Myrdal, Gunner (1960); Beyond the Welfare State, Yale University Press.

 

Okada, Totaro (1997); “From ‘Welfare State’ to ‘Welfare World’”, Japan Journal of Social Services, No. 1

 

Symonides, Janusz (1999); “Building A Culture of Peace”, Culture of Peace: Survival Strategy and Action Program for The Third Millennium (Edited by George. E. Lasker & Vladimir Lomeiko), IIAS.

 

World Commission on Environment and Development (1987); Our Common Future, Oxford University Press.