There is no independent thinking

Ad from Rabtt in Newsweek of Oct 12, 2012 attracted my attention. Top right in inverted commas there was a line ‘We have the power to cause or prevent action’; then below the pictures of students there was a line ‘Rabtt believes that all students have an equal right to think, question and express’ Contextual meaning I draw of ‘We have the power to cause or prevent action’ is: make something good and bad happen and not happen respectively and there seems to be nothing wrong with it as ad implies that education vouchsafes such power. The equal right to think, question and express is the fundamental right beyond question.

There are many studies on effects of urbanization such as the most famous one of Lerner’s and the common thread that runs through all is: urbanization correlates with democracy. City opens to every one an access to education and that in turns creates an orientation to democracy and beefs up democracy.

If these are inevitable effects; so urbanization is universal then democratic awakening must as well be; but in despotic states of Middle East and in Russia and in china, there is no such awakening. King is still built in image of God and personifies a buffer against natural calamities; despots of highly urbanized countries are still seen pontificating and strutting the global stage: words against king in these urban societies are still heresy.

Education enables one to think; no doubt, and determines what he thinks about; no doubt as well; Education, therefore, is best tool of indoctrination; and can produce legions singing eulogies to monarch and dictators and can limit critical thinking to finding the best of all ‘good actions of rulers’. Education thus has power to cause no action but it thus has power to cause mass reaction to prevent a repeat of heresy (words against kings).

So here we are: education has power to cause no action and prevent action through reaction. Education is not the end in itself; it is the means to an end and can vouchsafe the power to cause or prevent action if it is tailored to do so.

‘Equal right to think …..’ these lines transported me back into times when during meeting with a famous anarchist I spent a great deal of time in coming to grip with his point: ‘nothing in world is immune to criticism and nothing can withstand it’. I wondered on and on and thought how come ‘nothing can withstand it’ then, he gave me the recipe of destruction: ‘breaking the logical impregnability by having the frame of reference of one’s own choice’.

One can experience the efficacy of this recipe of destruction by just analyzing Islam with communist frame of reference or vice versa. No society can survive if it is not built on consensual values. Minus consensual values there is no society only anarchy; values can be wrong or right but there have to be values and there have to be people to buy them; and these values are essential in understanding people; the dance of savage of Africa is insane; and suicide bomber is maniac if their actions are not analyzed in terms of their values.

Critical and independent thinking are extremely inimical if they encourage mass iconoclasm; nothing is immune to criticism (right in qualified sense) but nothing is stable if everything is beyond certainty and all values are possibly fallacious because then what society stands for and what ideals it cherishes. Every society has its frame of reference and critical thinking and independent thinking suggest ways according to it to improve and build up on what exist. Diversity on theme marks vibrant society and of theme anarchistic society. For communist the failure of communism is failure of its implementation and the moment he thinks the failure of communism is failure of communism he ceases to be communist.  Every one has equal right to think but there is no independent thinking that is independent of frame of reference; there are the parameters and one can not go beyond them; imagine a cricketer who exercise his equal right to think and tries to achieve his independence from the rules of cricket in play ground. ‘Rabtt believe that these students have the ability, and lack only the opportunity,’ Opportunity  should be given but right to think, question and express follows the confession of one’s identity; one has to introduce himself: one can not  be a cricketer and violator of its rules simultaneously.  Values define their holders and if followers have the right to question the ideological and philosophical underpinnings of their beliefs, then religion of such followers needs no enemy and only certainty that exists in these societies is that there is no certainty.