OPM 72 is read just after finishing up a paper that represents an important move for me, the epilogue I was invited to write for volume one of Lapiz, the journal of the Latin American Philosophy of Education Society (LAPES). As I note in my pre-reading commentary, some reading I have done for this new project has indicated the importance of caves for Andean fundamental ontology, and thus there might be some comparative work to be done once I get a handle on the material I'm about to take up.
As for OPM 72, it's the last of the 'absent' meditations, aka that material that is mysteriously absent from Being and Learning. And it seems to be the last in the month long exploration of the allegory. Not surprisingly, it returns to that most significant quotation (Republic 518), which represents the prompt for the entire project.
The highlight of OPM72 is the link I make between learning and teaching: "If we follow Plato's path, then we too will arrive at the conclusion that those who appear most capable, that is, ready and willing to learn, to participate in poetic dialogue, the reciprocal exchange of evocative speech, should be compelled to 'go down again' to the cave. But this implies a kind of circle whereby those who are prepared to learn are also those who are prepared to teach, or prepared to learn the art of teaching. Hence to be an apprentice of learning is to be an apprentice in the art of teaching."
The meditation closes thereafter by wondering about those who are 'not called to learning.' In my post-reading commentary I take on a bit of a cynical attitude by expressing my lack of concern for those who show no interest doing philosophy, that is, in taking up ideas, and seem to be thoughtlessly engaged in 'practice'. It has always been the case, since Socrates first started annoying people in the marketplace, that those of the marketplace 'benefit' from it, and certainly retain a kind of power. All that to say, my concern can hardly be for those who are invested in materialism if they appear to be 'happy' with their investments. The struggle is against that worldview's attempt at colonizing the sphere of ideas aka places of learning and thinking. And how to mount this struggle remains an ongoing question!
February 13, 2014 was the 10th anniversary of the original experiment that produced 363 phenomenological mediations, published as 'Being and Learning' (Brill: 2012). Each day between Feb 2014-15, I returned to the original meditations, and my commentary is documented here. And then, again, on February 15, 2024, on the 20th anniversary of the first days of the original experiment, I revisit and comment on a daily basis, once again.
3.0 - On LIRR, finally, after NJT "derailed" me through Hoboken, which offered me the rare opportunity to stroll through Manhattan. And because my first class begins at 11:20 I don't get stressed, and just focus on re-reading the text for today, which is Arendt's "Philosophy and Politics," an essay that has been inspiring me since it revealed something significant for me way back when I was writing my dissertation.
ReplyDeleteFirst, continuing the autobiographical commentary, I'm always happy to see the image of the old 29 Sunset Drive backyard! The pine tree behind me was planted by my sister!
Second, the 2.0 cynical aside that I don't much care for those who show no interest in philosophy. I wonder if that was an expression of my impatience with my students? Today I'm not feeling impatience, dismissive or disrespectful of my students, some of who are completely transparent about their disinterest in what we are studying. On the contrary, I am relieved for at least two reasons: first, because they are being honest; second, because it reminds me that I have no interest in "converting" anyone to philosophy or to the possibility of inspiration. In the words of Ziggy Marley: "I don't condemn I don't convert." But I do hold on to the belief that what we are studying is significant and can inspire, but only if the students are open to being inspired. I offer an invitation to consider being inspired by the readings, and the readings also offer an invitation. But the student can decline both invitations. That is their right to do so, and I don't judge them for making that decision.
As for Lapiz, that was a project that seemed to have come and gone, like so many of the projects that I was part of at some point. I'm not entirely sure how or why that happens, but relationships come and go. Currently I'm experiencing a high level of camaraderie with my Hofstra SOE colleagues, which, like those past project which have faded away, I didn't plan. They have emerged from a sense of the common purpose
of faculty governance. And while it isn't the theme of the OPM from this day, the sudden emergence of common purpose indicates how the learning community emerges from the same logic as the learner: from an unexpected event with significance, with meaning. This is distinct from each student arriving inspired from their study. Rather, this is the inspiration experienced by the collective gathering. While it is certainly the goal, there is no way to guarantee its outcome. We can prepare for it, anticipate it, hope for it, but never guarantee it will happen. And so we must be patient. And we must also avoid measuring the gathering of the learning community by the absence or presence of the moment of inspiration. In fact, we must avoid measuring altogether. But if the learning community emerges from that moment of inspiration, then it's inevitable that we describe the gathering as something other than a learning community when it does not experience the moment of inspiration. And this is why we must avoid measuring. What occurs, occurs, and we describe that occurrence. The description attempts to capture that occurrence regardless of what has happened. And thus the phenomenological attitude is sustained regardless.