I think that it is a good idea to include clear examples of case studies.
I personally find the URL's referred too excessively academic - I don't
think that most people will read them or relate to them.
There is certainly a problem with universities. But in my view an even
more insidious problem is the lack of active enquiry in the media and
press.
"News" routinely parrots government press releases and a range of
assertions and prejudices are presented as facts until most people either
believe them or reach levels of cynicism and scepticism where they don't
belive anything. This is a potential growing medium for all sorts of
extreme politics.
I find it very Orwellian. Commentators such as Media Lens and Noam
CHmosky are a great corrective. But they struggle to be heard.
If FOW could become actively engaged (maybe most of us are?) and try to
raise real issues such as Nick raises that would help enormously in my
view.
For my part I am focusing on opposing the proposed replacement to the UK
Trident nuclear weapon system, less aggressive non nuclear forces and arms
and arguing for better low carbon policies. The tide is in the opposite
direction...
Regards
Phil Webber
(Chair, Scientists for Global Responsibility, sgr.org.uk)
PS Our research has shown that Universities are heavily funded and
influenced by fossil fuel, arms companies and big pharma. They are
routinely highly secretive about this.
> Nick asks, in his note below of the 20th January 2016,
>
> 'Could this constitute a sort of agreed manifesto for Friends of Wisdom?’
>
> I like very much the rhetorical power in Nick’s statements. I agree with
> the statements. However, to constitute an agreed manifesto I think that it
> should go beyond rhetoric and into living accounts of learning as
> individuals put the problems of living at the heart of their academic
> enterprise. Here are a couple of accounts to show what I have in mind:
>
> How I am trying to lead the best possible life: Towards a more helpful
> framing of my practice <http://ejolts.net/node/261> (pp. 32-75)
> Moira Laidlaw - http://ejolts.net/node/261
>
> Generating my own living-theory: An interim report
> <http://ejolts.net/node/262> (pp. 76-99)
> Arianna Briganti - http://ejolts.net/node/262
>
> Do we not need a brief statement we can send to people, as the occasion
> arises, that indicates what it is that Friends of Wisdom stand for, and
> seek to help bring about?
>
> I think that we do need a brief statement such as the one below from Nick
> that indicates what it is that Friends of Wisdom stand for. I also think
> that the statement should use live urls to show what individuals are doing
> as they hold themselves accountable for living as fully as possible what
> it is that Friends of Wisdom stand for.
>
> If the above is inadequate, what is wrong with it, and how can it be
> improved?
>
> I have suggested that it could be improved by including explanations of
> educational influence by Friends of Wisdom as they seek to live as fully
> as possible what it is that Friends of Wisdom stand for.
>
>
>> On 20 Jan 2016, at 22:50, Maxwell, Nicholas <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> In order to solve the grave global problems we face - climate change,
>> population growth, extinction of species, war, inequality and the rest -
>> we need governments to act appropriately. But governments are unlikely
>> to be much more enlightened than electorates. Hence we require the
>> public to have a good understanding of what our problems are, and what
>> we need to do about them. That in turn requires that universities are
>> devoted to intelligent public education about our problems and how to
>> solve them. At present universities, devoted primarily to the pursuit
>> of knowledge, fail disastrously to do what is required. As has been
>> spelled out in detail in Maxwell's From Knowledge to Wisdom (Blackwell,
>> 1984), we urgently need to bring about a revolution in academic inquiry
>> so that the basic intellectual aim becomes social wisdom and not just
>> specialized knowledge. Problems of living need to be put at the heart
>> of the academic enterprise. Disciplines, the relationship between
>> disciplines, and the relationship between the university as a whole and
>> society, all need to change in quite specific and radical ways. A new
>> paradigm for academic inquiry is required. The outcome would be a kind
>> of inquiry rationally designed and devoted to helping humanity tackle
>> problems of climate change and other global problems effectively,
>> intelligently and humanely.
>>
>> Could this constitute a sort of agreed manifesto for Friends of Wisdom?
>> Do we not need a brief statement we can send to people, as the occasion
>> arises, that indicates what it is that Friends of Wisdom stand for, and
>> seek to help bring about? If the above is inadequate, what is wrong
>> with it, and how can it be improved?
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Nick Maxwell
>> Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/from-knowledge-to-wisdom
>> <http://www.ucl.ac.uk/from-knowledge-to-wisdom>
>> Publications online: http://philpapers.org/profile/17092
>> <http://philpapers.org/profile/17092>
>> http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/view/people/ANMAX22.date.html
>> <http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/view/people/ANMAX22.date.html>
>>
>
>
> Love Jack.
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> When Martin Dobson, a colleague, died in 2002 the last thing he said to me
> was 'Give my Love to the Department'. In the 20 years I'd worked with
> Martin it was his loving warmth of humanity that I recall with great life
> affirming pleasure and I'm hoping that in Love Jack we can share this
> value of common humanity.
>
> Jack Whitehead , Visiting Professor in Education at the University of
> Cumbria.
>
> Life-time member of OMNIBUS (All Bath University Staff).
>
> Secretary of Bath and West Co-operative Party.
>
> web-site http://www.actionresearch.net with email address.
>
> See the Educational Journal of Living Theories (EJOLTS) at:
> http://ejolts.net .
>
> Do participate in the open review process of EJOLTS at http://ejolts.org
> and see the submissions.
>
> You can access the Community Space of EJOLTS at
> http://ejolts.org/login/index.php
>
> Latest publications:
>
> Whitehead, J. (2015) The Practice of Helping Students to Find Their First
> Person Voice in Creating Living-Theories for Education, pp. 247-255 in
> Bradbury, H. (Ed) (2015) The SAGE Handbook of Action Research, Third
> Edition, London; Sage.
>
> Whitehead, J. (2014) Enacting Educational Reflexivity in Supervising
> Research into Creating living-educational-theories. Journal Educational
> Research for Social Change 3(2); 81-93. Retrieved 20 October 2014 from
> http://www.actionresearch.net/writings/jack/jwERSC6-2-031014.pdf
>
> Coombs, S., Potts, M., Whitehead, J. (2014) ‘International Educational
> Development and Learning through Sustainable Partnerships: Living Global
> Citizenship’ London; Palgrave Macmillan.
>
>
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