Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

The Faculty of Wonder

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The Faculty of Wonder

Throughout thousand years of evolution human beings have learnt that the faculty of wonder is one of the basic attributes that can help them in finding answers to so many doubts that cover the facts about the universe, world and human beings themselves. Since the very inception of human beings’ organized life, the search for truth has been one of the basic motives of human mind. And, the weapon that has supported him the most in achieving this motive is undoubtedly the capacity to ask questions. Today human beings would be without the piles of information and knowledge that they have collected had they not wondered, inquired and searched.
It was the human faculty to wonder that took them to the doors of philosophy and it was the philosophical questions that solved some of the very basic questions about human existence, life and about the universe as a whole. It then culminated into science and then the scientists took the difficult task of running after the truth. However, the role of the philosophy and philosophers is still very much imperative as there are many areas that can never be touched by science but philosophy has a big part in them. And, it is philosophy that supports the faculty of wonder and appreciates human beings to strengthen it in their search for the truth.  Unfortunately, there have been authorities and teachings that have seen the doubting attribute of human beings with doubt. They argue that doubts and questions will lead human beings astray and may even lead them to the paths that can never reach to some destination. They on the other hand favor blind beliefs. Their arguments seem to have some strength but in fact fail to address the exact issue. If questioning, as they believe, does not necessarily lead to the fact and may even lead to infinite paths of questions, how satisfied would human beings be without knowing the truth and without asking questions? Can human beings be totally contended with the knowledge that cannot go through the simple test of their thinking and their rationality? And, what can human beings build on the beliefs that may be totally wrong? Inaccurate knowledge may not compel human beings to be really forceful against others and may not make them make others follow their thinking, but beliefs, whether right or wrong, will compel the believers to be forceful against others and force them to follow their blind beliefs.  Those who possess blind beliefs are, as a matter of fact, deprived of the true awareness of life. They are the ones who themselves have locked their minds and do not know that their minds are locked and the keys are with themselves. Nothing is able to change such people as they are not open to any view or any discussion. Even education cannot change such people. If such people even go to educational institutions, there is no chance that they would improve as they take with themselves their dogmatic beliefs.  It is also important to note that the type of education the educational institutions are disseminating in our society is really controversial. The educational institutions have become the factories, where robots are generated who, themselves, cannot think anything, but act as per the commands that are fed into them. There is no room for doubt and questions in our educational institutes. Those who have the faculty of wonder and ask questions are punished in the severest way. Such institutions can only produce students who get education to negate education, and unfortunately such people are the most suitable for our society and most educated for our so-called education scholars. However, they are those puppets who play in the act based on education but themselves do not know the purpose of their act. This is really weird that our youth is being kept away from better and thought-generating education system. The endeavors are being made to keep the young and capable minds away from the food that can nourish them and make them discover the world, universe and their mysteries. True education can even reduce hatred in the hearts of the youngsters and teach them the lessons of love and brotherhood for the fellow beings. In fact, there are certain people who strive to keep such education away from youngsters because they know that it would generate so many views and perspectives which can even unveil the realities that they want to keep hidden.  We should teach our youngster not to emphasize on a single perspective and try to learn how to live with different ideas and thoughts. They need to know that others can differ from what they think and what they feel and they need to realize that others can be right as well.  They even need to go deeper and assume that there are many ideas that have not been thought yet and with open minds they can have the opportunity to discover such thoughts. They also require understanding that whatever has already been thought for them can be wrong; this way they can come to know about the mistakes in the history and know the real truth.  Our youth have to be emancipated from following the forced beliefs. They have to be given the freedom of free thinking and their faculty of wonder must be nourished. Only those youngsters have the right of getting education who understand that they can doubt and challenge what is already known and who want to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong through their own minds. The educational institutions must first of all develop an attitude of learning, which requires a questioning nature. They should not be the places where the students are spoon fed. It has to be understood that if the educational institutions are able to generate an attitude of learning the rest will follow itself. Then the teachers do not have to force or punish the students to learn; they will learn themselves as they would be dictated by their faculty of wonder to do so.  

Dilawar Sherzai is the permanent writer of the Daily Outlook Afghanistan. He can be reached at email.urya@gmail.com

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