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In his book entitled 'The Prehistory Of The Mind' (ISBN 0-75380-204-X),  
Stephen Mithen use the cathedral as a schematic, metaphorical illustration of  the 
evolution of the mind since the emergence of humanity. In his model, the  
hunter gatherers's minds have a 'nave' of general intelligence. The  'doors' 
represent the passage of information from modules concerned with  perception. The 
evolution implies specialised intelligences to be developped  'around the 
nave' such as: Technical, Linguistic, Social, Natural History  intelligences. A 
'superchapel' might even have its place  for the metarepresentation of our world.
 
With the emergence of a cognitively fluid mind, civilised man had  the 
potential to entertain ideas that bring together elements from normally  incongruous 
domains (the chapels of the model). Consequently, the  'Swiss-army-knife' 
mentality which has been essential to the building of  Man's mind at the 
beginning, is been shadowed by the 'appropriate  incongruities' that came up to 
consciousness, progressively, more and  more.
 
Question: In the Outdoor education, we try to reconnect  man and its natural 
environment throughout programmes of knowledge, skills and  understandings. 
Should we not be focussing more on the cognitive fluidity of the  mind and 
deliver curricula with a dominant holistical and cohesive statement  about his 
'raison d'être?'
 
Patrick
Northbourne Park School (Kent)