Month: November 2022

Should  the  study  of literature be made compulsory in schools?

The benefits of studying literature, to individuals,  societies and the world as a whole, are recognised by those who believe that  reading literature is essential for human  flourishing  as fundamentally, it is about the  search of meaning through the  appreciation of narratives. All of mankind  tells stories  to make  sense of the  world, imagine alternatives and explore the human  condition. Study of Literature, both  as an aesthetic art form or humanities study,  is evocative and  emotive, and  through igniting  readers’ hearts and  minds,  is a powerful  medium to build empathy and critical insight into what makes  us human, themes of justice, fairness and beauty, and what better societies look like. Given its potential to yield such profound benefits, there are grounds to call for its institutionalisation in public  schools  as a mandatory subject.

The question assumes that the  study  of literature  is essential  for a  good human  life, in the  same  way the  study  of languages and  mathematics is.   Making literature a mandatory study  for all school-going children  will yield benefits to them  as they grow up, in adulthood and  by extension, contribute to better outcomes in society.

Consider this: If the  study of literature  were  to involve cultivating  an appreciation for understanding the human  condition, the skill of perspective- taking  and  the nurturing of the dispositions of empathy and  emotional maturity,  it would be then easy to argue that there are legitimate reasons to ground the recommendation. But what if we cannot elicit such understanding among students?

Are moral values absorbed through fairy tales constitute as literature and are they adequate?

Don’t neglect attention to  the  context specified  – ‘in  schools’  and  expand on  the  study  or appreciation  of literature  in  general,  failing  to  realise  that  the  question  invites  consideration  of  when  and  how countries and their involved ministries decide to made the study of a subject mandatory within public institutions like schools.

The danger of modern science is that instead of teaching mankind humility, it has made us arrogant. Discuss.

Many have started to believe that scientific knowledge is turning people arrogant to the extent that people think that the gods themselves. Agreeing with this view, it can be said that modern science is making people arrogant as is evident from various experiments like the ability to control humans, genome editing and taking decisions that can affect all life on the earth.

Scientists have continuously strived to unravel the mysteries of the universe and explain various factors. For example, recently, NASA discovered that there is a constant humming sound heard underneath the surface of Mars. This Martian hum is just one in a slew of fresh mysteries and discoveries detected by scientists in recent years. The explanation regarding planetary collisions, asteroids destroying earth have all made humans realise that earth is just a speck of blue dust in the larger scheme of the universe. This scientific knowledge is enough to humble us and fear the multitude of the unknown phenomenon. Thus, it can be said that the sheer knowledge that our struggles are insignificant in the vast universe shows that science has the power to make us humble instead of arrogant.

However, in today’s world, man has started to ignore the basic tenets of science. Science it seems has made people so powerful that they have the power to save or destroy lives. This very fact has boosted the arrogance of people today.

Genetic engineering is another example where people display arrogance and try to play god. While in the earlier times, breaking rules were necessary to bring forth better theories concerning our existence, in recent times, scientists and doctors are taking science to the extreme and breaking rules in an unethical manner. A recent example of this can be the Chinese scientist He Jiankui who used gene-editing to provide HIV-resistance to twin babies. The act raised many ethical questions as any discrepancies in the genes will be passed on for generations. Moreover, with the benefits of CRISPR technology becoming apparent, many, bioethicists warned that the technology should not be used in healthy human embryos until doctors are sure about the consequences. Even after the warnings, the scientists have not stopped using the technology in some capacity. In the wise words of Jean Rostand, a French biologist and philosopher: “Science has made us gods even before we are worthy of being a man.” Thus, science has made people more arrogant than humble because it has given scientists immense power in hand.

Science has not only given humans the power to control human lives but has extended the power to control other species. This is evident from the fact that scientists use animals for medical testing in brutal ways. An example of this was seen in 2019, when a research laboratory in Hamburg, subjected monkeys to “barbaric” treatment and kept dogs in squalid conditions. Furthermore, pets today are cloned and is a booming industry. Pet cloning industries often tout this as a service that brings dead pets back to their owners. Scientists today are also experimenting with genes of animals. An example of this can be seen, in China where scientists claimed that gene editing was used to produce customized dogs with double muscles. Similarly, many animals have been injected with genes that allow them to glow in the dark, just for selfish reasons. It is evident that modern science is being used arrogantly by mankind without realising the fact that these interventions can affect the ecosystems. Therefore, modern science has made people more arrogant.

In conclusion, though science has made us aware of the limited knowledge about the universe, modern science poses serious threats to people’s humility. Today, people are becoming extremely arrogant and playing god in many instances. If the behaviour is not reigned in then the effects can be catastrophic and disastrous.