Thinking Maketh The Man
 as it was in the beginning,so shall it be ,the world will never change - By: vasco  More Quotes | Submit a Quote |
Advertize Here for $8 a day to reach over 30,000 people
Ghana Tourist Villas Offers an unforgettable holiday and business experience in Accra.
The Nigerian Voice gives daily news updates of the country Nigeria
The late Prof. J. A. K. Quartey and I formed the Descartes Club when we were junior masters at Achimota College some 60 years ago. We wanted to continue the tradition that education was much more than accumulation of facts in the head to disgorge later to pass examinations.
We were brought up to revere the great men and women who produced so much original knowledge and to try in our own small ways to emulate their examples.
And so we thought our younger brothers and sisters should not only learn co-ordinate geometry but also know something about the analytical genius who invented co-ordinate geometry.
René Descartes was a great French mathematician, theoretical physicist and philosopher who lived between 1596 and 1650.
The club named after him was originally interested in his mathematics but soon his work in other fields caught the imagination of the club.
His metaphysics became of great interest and his first certitude, “cogito ergo sum” (I think therefore I am) became a subject of intelligent speculation.
The youth who delighted in questioning the propositions of the old preferred translating “cogito ergo sum” as “I doubt therefore I am”.
Others thought Descartes certitude was better interpreted as “I think therefore I am”. The real trend of the metaphysics of Descartes was ignored and thinking was made the distinguishing characteristic of man — and woman.
My youthful idea of man persists to this day and I believe that the man — or woman — who does not think hardly exists.
Our mental powers may be unequal. We may not have the same analytical and abstract mind as Descartes and Einstein but we are capable of achieving greater heights in the thinking process.
Unfortunately, for social cohesion we are brought up to accept not to doubt or question.
Our formal education follows a similar fashion, and authority insists on uniformity and obedience.
Those who think, find life unbearable under dictators, and dictators prefer those who do not question or doubt their edicts. But progress depends on those with unfashionable thoughts.
Continued
"The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Modernghana.com." To have your articles publish, please submit them to editor@modernghana.com.
Comments To This Article
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts?Add your comment
