I’ve recently realised that I’ve also become more comfortable with ‘ontological uncertainty’ - knowing what is real.
In asking more questions about the crises of the Anthropocene I ventured into deeper questions of metaphysics. Which beliefs and assumptions, learned as a child and through Western education, (mine was in the natural sciences) do I still hold without question? How do these limit my ability to imagine what’s possible? In what ways are my perspectives partial or ‘half-truths’?
As Zak Stein suggested in the recent interview you posted (Values, Education, AI, and the Metacrisis) we don’t often get down to questioning our metaphysics - perhaps partly because that can be uncomfortable. How often do teachers, policy makers and politicians go there?
Thanks for the comment and the blogpost, Roger. You've given me some thinking for this week's workshop sessions!
Being "onologically uncertain" is something current forms of schooling are loathe to grapple with. And yet, reality is relative, no? Depending on who, where, and when you are. So the question about universal values is an important one. Despite our separate lives, are there core, universal values that connect us? Can we create a vision for "education" that is coherent with those values? That lives those values? That might be an interesting (albeit not very break-outable) conversation for the group.
I like this thread. Being ontologically uncertain may be caused, in part, by the consumption you are challenging. What is the destination if we are constantly consuming? There seems to be no end, and not only for the billionnaires. The invention of consumer credit is a proximate cause, and if we look at credit card debt, it's clear that it is fueling extreme consumption. Not that long ago, you could only buy something if you had the cash in your pocket or wrote a check (before overdraft protection). That forced some very hard decisions and kept us closer to the "need" portion rather than the "want" portion of consumption. Today there are no restrictions other than the fuzzy notion of debt, which is modeled by the federal government.
Time is flying, yet here we are, steady in the unraveling.
The unbuying began in my cupboard with shoeboxes stacked like quiet confessions, clothes still tagged with a guilt I hadn’t yet named. Then, to the fridge, where wilted greens whispered of promises unmet, of abundance turned careless.
But that’s the discomfort, isn’t it? Sitting in it. Feeling it. Letting it chafe until action becomes the only salvation..
So, I unpick, thread by thread, choice by choice, until what is left is lighter, truer. A life forged in time with the earth, not against it.
Grateful for the provocations Wil. They land. They linger. They move.
I’ve recently realised that I’ve also become more comfortable with ‘ontological uncertainty’ - knowing what is real.
In asking more questions about the crises of the Anthropocene I ventured into deeper questions of metaphysics. Which beliefs and assumptions, learned as a child and through Western education, (mine was in the natural sciences) do I still hold without question? How do these limit my ability to imagine what’s possible? In what ways are my perspectives partial or ‘half-truths’?
As Zak Stein suggested in the recent interview you posted (Values, Education, AI, and the Metacrisis) we don’t often get down to questioning our metaphysics - perhaps partly because that can be uncomfortable. How often do teachers, policy makers and politicians go there?
I reflected on this in a journal post: https://tas-education.org/exostudies/questioning-education/
Thanks for the comment and the blogpost, Roger. You've given me some thinking for this week's workshop sessions!
Being "onologically uncertain" is something current forms of schooling are loathe to grapple with. And yet, reality is relative, no? Depending on who, where, and when you are. So the question about universal values is an important one. Despite our separate lives, are there core, universal values that connect us? Can we create a vision for "education" that is coherent with those values? That lives those values? That might be an interesting (albeit not very break-outable) conversation for the group.
I like this thread. Being ontologically uncertain may be caused, in part, by the consumption you are challenging. What is the destination if we are constantly consuming? There seems to be no end, and not only for the billionnaires. The invention of consumer credit is a proximate cause, and if we look at credit card debt, it's clear that it is fueling extreme consumption. Not that long ago, you could only buy something if you had the cash in your pocket or wrote a check (before overdraft protection). That forced some very hard decisions and kept us closer to the "need" portion rather than the "want" portion of consumption. Today there are no restrictions other than the fuzzy notion of debt, which is modeled by the federal government.
Time is flying, yet here we are, steady in the unraveling.
The unbuying began in my cupboard with shoeboxes stacked like quiet confessions, clothes still tagged with a guilt I hadn’t yet named. Then, to the fridge, where wilted greens whispered of promises unmet, of abundance turned careless.
But that’s the discomfort, isn’t it? Sitting in it. Feeling it. Letting it chafe until action becomes the only salvation..
So, I unpick, thread by thread, choice by choice, until what is left is lighter, truer. A life forged in time with the earth, not against it.
Grateful for the provocations Wil. They land. They linger. They move.
If you aren't already, Emma, you should consider becoming a poet. Beautifully put.
Thank you Will. One day maybe, when time turns differently. I’ll find my place for this.