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Connecting the Dots
Solipsism versus Introspection
by Marla Johnson1 and Winfried K. Rudloff
Governors State University
Abstract
The concept of university, in general, means that universal knowledge is to be transferred during the teaching and learning process. During the days of Helmholtz, Gauss, and Newton, science was still treated as a holistic endeavor where there was no separation between “hard” sciences and philosophical discourse.
Unfortunately, specialization has taken place over past many decades that are driven by economic and technological forces where applied sciences for profit are the primary motives. Many universities have been degraded to trade schools that emphasize the monetary side of one’s profession. As a consequence, disciplines such as philosophy and the pure sciences have been utterly neglected in favor of business and related curricula.
It is, therefore, refreshing when our graduate students are not afraid to develop extraordinary ideas where artistic talent is combined with concepts of reflective philosophy, pedagogy, and high technology.
This lecture is, in an essential part, excerpted from Marla Johnson’s MS Thesis as an exceptional work of Art and Science. We will discuss how integrative learning should be made part of a university’s approach to excellence as is exemplified in the work of the scientists of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Prologue: Thoughts on the Presence On Integrated Studies:
“… relationships between mechanics, heat, light, electricity, and magnetism… all manifestations of a single force…” – Helmholtz
We, I (Marla) - because I can only speak in the context of my experiences and not of that of an entire group
of which I can categorically and seemingly unconsciously be lumped into - are abandoning our historical educational values. Not all of us - just some of us - mostly those that are not privy to the elite educational systems that aid in our abilities to connect the dots. We dropped the ball to embrace the fast paced societal movement towards the quick fix, the money maker, the fly-by-night almighty dollar/dólar/Taler2 whose value seems to become less and less worthy of the time and energy exerted to achieve its’ notoriety, which has diminished significantly - and is still falling f-a-s-t.
As with all things, our invitation, perhaps lost in the mail, came a day late – for the party. We are scrambling to do the right thing, at least some of us. Those that have noticed the candle is still flickering but growing dim. Refusing to disregard the proverbial rope tied around our necks as a gift to the spoils of our dreams deferred… what has happened to us? What is still happening? As we step over our brothers dying in the streets and on the battlefields as we eagerly and aimlessly wander about the shimmering paths placed before us. They assist in the blind admiration that comes with Big Cars, Big Bright Lights, Big Dogs, Big Brother3, and other enormously gigantically, prize-valued, phallic oriented [symbols] things.
There are the flags as symbols of unity but also of crime and punishment; there are the swords, the guns, and the deadly machines to enforce our power over the innocent and those of differing opinion.
1 This lecture is, in most part, excerpted from Marla Johnson, “Solipsism versus Introspection”, MS Thesis, GSU, December 2007. 2 The Thaler (or Taler or Tolar) was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Etymologically, "Thaler" is an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", a coin type from the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, where some of the first such coins were minted in 1518. 3 George Orwell, “Nineteen Eighty-Four” (also titled 1984), publ. by Secker & Warburg, London, 1949
There was Jesus and his disciples who spawned a world religion that the mighty took over as a political power game – we still have “born-again presidents” who go on a “crusade” against people of persuasions other than theirs. There was Moses and the Red Sea, the “miracles” of parting the waters.
However, there were also the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. René Descartes7 and Isaac Newton4 had begun the revolution of knowledge and, in a climate of increasing disaffection with repressive rule, Enlightenment thinkers believed that systematic thinking might be applied to all areas of human activity, and carried into the governmental sphere, in their explorations of the individual, society and the state. Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason”5 delivered us from the dark ages. Sartre’s “Being & Nothingness” revealed the notion of existentialism6. He defined man as a creature haunted by a vision of “completion”, what he calls “en causa sui”7. He goes on to state that we are born into a material reality of one’s body; hence, one finds oneself “inserted into being” and it is our consciousness in a state of cohabitation with its material body that is “no thing”. Our move from no thing [nothingness] is the realization of our own existence. Nothingness, characterized by Sartre, is the internal negation which separates pure existence and identity as something that is what it is (existence) and something that is what it is not (a computer programmer defined by their occupation). Sartre’s belief that we exist because ‘that’ exists, ‘that’ which is different from ‘this’, reframed my whole understanding of the surrounding world. My experiences from that point forward became significantly different as I began to analyze everything on my path... each experience as it relates to my personal growth, my human development.
As I began to dig deeper into the philosophical teachings by Sartre, Descartes8, Kant4, and The Bhagavad-Gita9. Being and Nothingness became my mantra, my center from self to the extended world as I unconsciously began the groundwork for the current frames that house my research.
Our personal experiences aid in the transformation of our youthful understanding of the world that surrounds us. Situations and circumstances, albeit anything from a to z, yields new light unto our philosophical theories, re-formalizing teachings of the psychological ‘Masters’ to generate a clearer interpretation of the antecedent mind that embodies us today. Subsequently, we turn to look at self. Some say that self can know nothing more than its own modifications of its own reality, while others may interject that it is our own self-centeredness that leads us toward our predominant concerns with the behavioral characteristics reflective of one’s own mental state. Essentially we are speaking nothing more than the great debate of how we derive theories, how we create, how we ascertain script, develop our thought processes, and how we take nothing to arrive at something defined.
The journey to self-realization touches every one of us at different intervals of our lives and does not stop as we categorize ourselves into the multitude of disciplines that sustains the diverse intellectual community which we call our civilization. Understanding the human mind and having the ability to tap into the awakening of intelligence could take a life time for most and become somewhat of a confusing paradox of self- consciousness for others. However, it is the focal point of our quest in analyzing the structure of human memory and creating the likened replication of its thought processes in order to gain a broader understanding of the training and development systems that ‘We’ as a society need in our continuation to strive to create. In this paper, I will attempt to draw a parallel in embracing the Multiply Intelligence learning theory through a psychological self-analysis and exploring the philosophical integration of Art, Technology, and Human Development; as it relates to the vast capacities and potentials of abstract expression within the field of computer science.
4 Sir Isaac Newton, FRS (1643 –1727) was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist and theologian. 5 Immanuel Kant, “Kritik der reinen Vernunft” (“Critique of Pure Reason”), first published in 1781 (A) with a second edition (B) in 1787, is the most widely read work of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential in the history of philosophy. 6 Jean Paul Sartre, “L'Être et le Néant”( “Being and Nothingness”), 1943 7 Cause of itself 8 René Descartes (1596 –1650), was a highly influential French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer. He has been called the "Father of Modern Philosophy," and much of subsequent Western philosophy. 9 The Bhagavad Gita, "the Song of the Divine One" (Sanskrit भगवद्गीता, Bhagavad Gītā, "Song of God") is a Sanskrit text from the chapter Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata epic, comprising 700 verses.
Solipsism
Solipsism (Latin solus alone + is self) is a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing; also : extreme egocentrism . It is sometimes expressed as the view that “I am the only mind which exists,” or “My mental states are the only mental states.” The root of solipsism lies with the understanding that the individual comprehends his own psychological concepts, constructions of the individuals own “inner experiences”. And it is only through this rote behavior that he/she connects with the world. Although none of the ‘great’ philosophers adopted the theory of the solipsist, due to the fact that commonly most of them had issues with consistently committing to their own preoccupations, they have surely at some point acknowledged its plausibility.
The proposition “I am the only mind that exists” makes sense only to the extent that it is expressed in a public language, and the existence of such language itself implies the existence of a social context. The above statement in itself embraces the theory, yet nullifies it at the same time.
The question, as it relates to computer science, then becomes can it be plausible to have a programmer, a theorist, such that he or she is the only one that can understand the meaning of the elaborate code that is created to support a thought process? Given the definition that a linguistic must exist, it is refutable. At which point the admirer is left to decipher that which is clearly not understood — though defined. There are a multitude of languages that exist for our desired ability to communicate, and a multitude that we have yet to discover. The abstract symbolism that presents within our society, the logo - the artists’ interpretation of giving a thing a life, then becomes our only resource of explanation.. Can you draw me a picture? Sketch me a clearer vision of your dream? The very nature of the Solipsist is illogical, because the solipsist requires a sign-system language to think or to affirm his/her solipsistic thoughts.
Introspection
Introspection (Latin introspectus, past participle of introspicere to look inside) can be defined as the psychological process of self-observation and the reporting of one’s innermost thoughts, feelings, desires, and sensations. Unlike its counterpart, Solipsism, philosophers have embraced the thought of each individual’s introspective capacity which seems to place him or her in a unique position to form beliefs, and gain knowledge, of his or her own mental states. Dubbed the first ‘scientific psychology’, Introspection was born in Germany10 and later developed into a formal program of study that flourished in America11.
The goal of the introspectionist is to identify and describe the elemental contents of the mind. Hoping to produce a catalog of mental elements similar to that of a periodic table, the introspectionist would rather observe and report than loose ones’ self in the philosophical Why or What of the conscious state. The reflection of 10 Wilhelm Wundt, (1832-1920), “Introspection and the Birth of Scientific Psychology” 11 Edward B. Titchener, (1867-1927), English-American Psychologist, Student of Wilhelm Wundt
the observation then becomes a simple generated description of the observed states of being. For example, given a list of words that describe Company A’s mission, Web- Development Project
Manager ‘Rhonda’ is asked to develop a product that speaks to the mission and marketability of the organization. The thought processes by which Rhonda may first attempt to connect with the word examples are by free association or introspection. What do these words mean to me? Rhonda would then freely write the stream of conscious thoughts without regard to any biases. One of the concerns that may arise later, the major issue with utilizing the introspectionist theory as a sole resource of behavioral studies, is that the end result of a session would produce a page(s) of words that may or may not associate with each other, and highly probable by sure definition alone, has no visual image to connect that would aid the reader in fully comprehending the creator’s interpretation of the experience.
Solipsism vs. Introspection Solipsism versus Introspection started as a play on words as I set in contemplation mode seeking verbiage
that defined or addressed the body of works that I had created. Initially, I majored in Psychology — then life took a twist and I found myself picking up where I left off educationally to pursue my undergraduate degree in Computer Science. During the latter part of 1996, I began documenting my thoughts, educational and personal, via sketching pads and canvas. I learned during that time frame that I could more readily comprehend my programming assignments by creating a bigger picture. However obscure and abstract, it made sense to me, thus aiding in my ability to create programs that ran with minimal error.
We seldom create educational environments that speak to, that is - nurture, the multitude of dynamics that go into the possible delivery of a grasp of knowledge. It is usual that our settings are comprised of a classroom with multiple student chairs and a desk that distinguishes the instructor from his or her students. If we all learned the same, we could be put in the same box and there would be no need for Windows. The individuality that arises from the contemplative state of dream, free thought, in association with our independent experiences yields tremendous opportunities for Us to evolve as a collective. We just have to agree on the how.
Dr. Howard Gardner has written extensively on the existence of multiple intelligences and addressing the how problem that exists within our troubled educational system. In 1983, Dr. Gardner published Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. The book challenged the traditional views made by psychologists, regarding intelligence being a single capacity that is the driving force behind logical and mathematical thought. Instead, Gardner proposes that each individual possesses the dynamic capabilities of a series of intelligences12, that when stimulated and working in conjunction with each other, our potentials are endless. These eight “intelligences” are:
Kinaesthetic - Body Smart Linguistic - Word Smart Logical - Number Smart Interpersonal - People Smart Intrapersonal - Myself Smart Musical - Music Smart Visual/Spatial - Picture Smart Naturalistic - Nature Smart
The Integration of Art, Technology, & Human Development Art is such a very broad topic it would be very difficult to box and define it. However, one interesting way to look at a possible explanation would be to take a more metaphysical scientific approach to its understanding. Art or the representation of a thing or ability is expressed by the ‘meta-conscious mind. With a certain degree of discipline, the study or practice becomes rooted within the individual ‘super-conscious mind. Once the state of our ‘total consciousness has been ascertained we become masters over All segments of ‘our being’. Our ‘self then has reached 12 Howard Gardner, “Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences”, 1983
a stage of development that incorporates and understands all of our ‘Selves’. According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, we reach our ultimate level of realization and begin to ‘Flow’. We are a very multifaceted people, and the deeper development (for lack of better words) of our abilities is referred to as a gift, or genius, or our spiritually enlightened ‘Self’. When most people consider the study of Art, the interpretation moves to the analysis of the ‘thing’ itself We categorize the piece of work into predefined blocks (e.g., impressionist painting) that may be more palatable for ourselves as we continue to break it down even further into the context of which it conforms to the basic elements and principles of design. Very rarely does the onlooker move from a position of aesthetic resale ability to the philosophical interpretation of the renderings statement in regards to the psychological developmental state of the artisan. That is to say, most people do not move the art into the direction of human development. Although there is a plethora of information as it pertains to the theoretical stages of human growth, we shall save that lesson for the doctorial thesis which out of necessity may need to further investigate the existing paralleled states of early childhood development. For the purposes of this paper we shall state that variances in the theory of developmental stages exist and move from that acknowledgement to teaching ‘to’ the existence of them.
The great debate as to whether technology has played an extensive role in our society reaching its educational goal(s) is still on the table. Most educators believe that computers within the classroom create more of a hindrance and do not aid in the overall enhancement of learning. While others can see the overall benefits of the availability of the supplement tool from a global perspective, the cry is still that it will radically change the dynamics of the traditional classroom. It is unfortunate that today most of our traditional schools neglect the multiple ways we as human beings learn. The bar for which we are measured to reiterate the knowledge learned is too often a standardized test that creates a barrier, limiting those of us that are not linguistically and mathematically inclined.
We are of a diverse group of people, who learn in many ways. It is through our exploration with our hands, the use of our senses, our silent observation of others, our conversations, our arguments, our silent moments of self reflection, and even our creation of symbolization.., not to limit ourselves with the above listing.., that we may receive the complement that we need in addition to the traditional lecture. Technology has revolutionized the world in which schools operate, putting all the information in the world at our finger tips. It is up to our teachers to play catch up.
Current State of the United States Educational System
The debate over the use of computer’s within the public education arena dates back at least twenty-five years. The failures of the United States Educational System were harshly criticized in a 1983 report, ‘A Nation at Risk’. Compiled by the federally appointed National Commission on Excellence in Education, the report linked the nation’s rise of acceptance of mediocrity as a direct connection to the nation’s economic issues. Where the U.S. was once a nation unchallenged in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation, globally it had become at jeopardy of lagging behind.
The warnings from the National Commission on the systems educational erosion came at a time when citizens in the United States were just in the process of embracing the technology of the computer. In 1981, IBM had just released its first personal computer, mainframe and minicomputers that required its users to know exact programming instructions to operate. By 1984 Apple had expanded on IBM’s technology to include a graphical user interface, to hide the ‘machine’ from its user. A social change was underway and Americans scrambled to prepare themselves for it. Within the next four years more than half of the United States workforce was utilizing computers. This trend was followed by our Nations school systems. “Between 1981 and 1990, the proportion of schools with computers rose from 18 to 98 percent, and the number of students per computer fell from 125 to 18,” according to the American Prospect cofounder Paul Starr13.
The use of computers in the classroom, by 1991, was rejuvenated by the exceptional growth of the World Wide Web. The hope of many parents and educators alike was for the World Wide Web to aid in the overall 13 Paul Starr, “Computers in Education”, pp. 9, Farmington Hills/MI, Greenhaven Press, Copyright 2003”
educational experience. This experience within the span of at least six decades; however, did not prove to be as relevant across the educational board. Today we still have many institutions that lack the resources necessary to give ‘our’ children the much needed advantage of being technologically inclined to compete in a market educational or otherwise. It was certain that our students should learn computers, but insuring that they physically had them and what to exactly teach was not so clear.
Originally, the goal was to teach students how computers worked, inside — out. Students were taught basic programming skills, which would assist in the development of the programming market. If the student demonstrated an ability to comprehend what was going on inside the computer he or she would have achieved a level of mastery. The goal has slightly shifted, the primary focal has become teaching application usage to support the now flooded software market.
Research still has its place in every arena. And as the gigantic calculator has come a long way in its presentation to our consumer population [society as a whole], the mirror reflection has also been very beneficial to our social and biological fields of study. Art, Psychology, Philosophy, and the field of Neuroscience, all have gained ground breaking innovations due to the studies brought forth by computer scientists. The very root of the computer is neuroscience at best; the hard drive an abstract interpretation of the human brain, the psychology of our ‘mind’, defined philosophically.
Where are we today? Perhaps we are all waiting for the next ‘best thing’, Perhaps we are hoping that we are networked sufficiently that we may profit exponentially from the advancements in digital technology, both mentally and physically. The world’s need for technology will only continue to grow, creating endless opportunities. However, if we do not properly prepare our children to take the reigns of the gentle beast, it could escalate wildly out of our control... which may or may not be a good thing, depending who is at the helm.
Comparative Analysis:: Two Schools of Thought
The theory of multiple intelligences and new computer technology emerged during the same era. The use of our newer technologies are exciting the variations in our learning styles from the classroom to the boardroom to the weekend museum getaway. Although not all institutions have embarked upon altering their curriculum and environmental surroundings to incorporate Gardner’s theory, those that have — have made great strides in the delivery of teaching the various learning concepts to ‘the’ eager inquiring minds.
According to Dr. Thomas Hoerr, Head of the (MI) New City School in St. Louis, Missouri, there are two very powerful reasons why educators should seize the opportunity to utilize the MI theory. First, when the MI concept is applied.., more children succeed. The overall success is a direct result of the variety of avenues brought forth by incorporating the ‘child-centered’ MI approach. Instead of the instructor utilizing a script that may or may not fit and bending the children to attain the curriculum goal, the learning environment is adapted to fit the individual needs of the children.
Secondly, the use of MI transforms the role of the teacher. Traditionally, teachers teach from a predefined script of lesson plans from mandated curriculum and textbooks leaving little room to explore and apply their own art to the learning environment. “When MI is the palate, the teacher relies on his or her wisdom to find the right brush and the right colors to make learning meaningful.”14
Epilogue
If it were possible to expand the depths of our minds through infinity, to embrace all that is known and all
that we have yet to unveil.., perhaps the most elementary aspiration of individual development would then become absolute, omnipotent. In this state, there would be no need for tiers of hierarchical authorizations or analyses of our recent state of educational systemization; we would simply, ‘be’; creators in our own right, little images, reflections of perfection creating new realizations of our never- ending tomorrow.
One of the most powerful tools of our forever-evolving mind is to conceive of and think about itself, in relation to the minds and the natural world that surround. The process of constructing mental images of actual thought, experiences, objects, or people, enables the developing mind to express an understanding of its world through creative representational expression. Art, an essential part of our social life, thus becomes Our Center. ‘Our theory’ or rather our perception emerges, and it is to be nurtured.
14 Thomas Hoerr, “Applying MI in Schools”, New Horizons for Learning, Copyright 2002
Given the economical, political, and social constraints that continue to divide us as a society, we are continuously fostering the ‘child left behind’ syndrome that we fight so very hard to overcome. It is my belief that if we embrace the teaching stylistics of the Multiply Intelligence Theory, coined by Dr. Howard Gardner, at the earliest possible age we create a dialogue that bridges the potentially misunderstood developing mind. It is through one’s own acuity that one cultivates the surrounding world. Thus, by creating an environment that aids in the facilitation of teaching to the multitude of intelligences that exist we better prepare our teachers and students, seemingly one in the same. Acknowledgements: This project was sponsored by a generous travel grant from GSU’s Foundation We are very grateful to Ms. Rosemary Hulett-Cohee, Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement for helping us to secure some funds to present our papers. We certainly appreciate the support that we received from Dr. Karen d’Arcy, Chairperson of the Science Division.
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