The Life of the Mind

Mark Noll describes the life of the mind as:

“…the effort to think like a Christian—to think within a specifically Christian framework—across the whole spectrum of modern learning, including economics and political science, literary criticism and imaginative writing, historical inquiry and philosophical studies, linguistics and the history of science, social theory and the arts…to think like a Christian the nature and workings of the physical world, the character of human social structures like government and the economy, the meaning of the past, the nature of artistic creation, and the circumstances attending our perception of the world outside ourselves” (The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, p. 7).

In other words, the life of the mind works to understand a subject and measuring its validity.

Attending a Christian college that strives to integrate faith into learning does not automatically apply Noll’s concept.  John Brown University, for example, does a wonderful job in encouraging us to explore all aspects of God’s creation, to passionately pursue knowledge and truth, and to gain a solid understanding of this world.  Yet, the JBU faculty cannot make us think like Christians.  It can only teach and encourage.  We must be willing to let God transform our minds into truth-seekers founded on His Word.  It does not take as much effort to learn a subject well as it does to engage in the subject and weigh it against scriptural truth.  To engage in something, one must ask questions and strive for understanding about why that something works the way it does or is the way it is.  So much depends on our attitude, though.  We have to be willing to grow intellectually and must learn from Jesus’ parable about the three servants by investing our minds in knowledge instead of burying them in the ground of willful ignorance.

Well, now I would like to know, how did North America fall into an apathetic, intelligence-lacking evangelical mind?  And, how can I tell if I or another person lacks evangelical intelligence?  How does one discern something like this?

Intrinsic Goodness

Clifford Williams presents his definition of intrinsic goodness in “Is Thinking Good for Its Own Sake?”  Here is the definition in my words: Intrinsic goodness has neither a need of a lawyer to prove its goodness nor a manufacturer to construct its goodness.  In other words, intrinsic goodness just is.  It does not need to be explained or to be made good.  It simply is.  And I confess.  Even after reading that intrinsic goodness can do without justification, I still want to know why it is good and what makes it good.  I wish I had the answers.  All I know is that sometimes, things just are.  Intrinsic goodness is one of those things.

Is there any intrinsic goodness left in this fallen world?  Yes, as a matter of fact.  I can name at least twenty intrinsically good things:

1.         God Himself is intrinsically good (and I must say that I am slightly surprised that Williams did not place Him in his list.)

2.         Playing musical instruments like the piano, guitar, violin…

3.         Sunshine

4.         Colors

5.         Dancing

6.         Laughter

7.         Singing

8.         Splashing creeks

9.         Swinging

10.      Snow

11.      Prayer

12.      Home-cooked meals

13.      Family

14.      Reading

15.      Climbing trees

16.      Traveling across the world

17.      Building new relationships

18.      Changing seasons

19.      Growing in faith

20.      Holidays

21.      Mountains

22.      Zip-lining

23.      Baking

24.      Gardens

I remember an assignment in my biology class that involved going outside and spending an hour outside.  For the first ten minutes we had to be perfectly still.  I was not very excited about this project because I did not want to give up a whole hour in my already packed day.  However, during those first ten minutes, I found it so peaceful and good to just be still.  There was not exactly a benefit from being still because instead of resting for an hour, I had to be alert and take note of what was happening within the nature around me.  Basically, I just stopped and drank in nature for that hour.  It was intrinsically good because the assignment really did not have a point—there was no way to justify it or make it good.  Honestly, the long and short of it is that it was good to sit quietly in nature for an hour, but I cannot explain why it was good.  It just was.

Questions:

On page 32, Williams quotes John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University: “Knowledge is a state or condition of mind, and since cultivation of mind is surely worth seeking for its own sake, we are thus brought once more to the conclusion…that there is knowledge, which is desirable, though nothing comes from it.”  I completely agree that knowledge is desirable, but I want to know, why is it intrinsically good even if it is not useful?

Can we humans produce an item or an action that is intrinsically good?  Why?  How?  Since we have fallen into sin, and though we can be redeemed through Christ we still battle with sin every day of our lives, how can we do anything intrinsically good?

What's the Point?

Paulo Freire, author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed (my reading assignment for Honors Orientation this week), suggests that most education systems within a classroom setting are more like “banks” than actual education.  In other words, Freire argues that children in school are not truly learning; they are simply being filled with information as banks are filled with money.  Children are taught facts and information, but they are not learning to use this knowledge to grow their understanding of the world.  They simply repeat and recite and memorize to pass tests, write essays, and pass with a decent grade.

I will not reveal names of people nor the real classes in which I have felt banked, but I will say that I have felt “banked” in class before.  In one particular setting, I copied down as many notes as I could, read what I was supposed to, wrote what I was told to write, and listened to my instructor’s lectures.  I placed all this information into my brain and just left it there until it was needed.  In a similar way, I deposit money into my bank account and just leave it there until I need it.  Once the money is used, it is gone.  The chances of getting it back are less than slim.  In this class, once I withdrew the information needed for a test or a paper, what have I done to retain that knowledge after I needed it?  Sadly, I usually do not go out of my way to truly understand and grasp most information that comes my way.  I am a student who likes to see the “A”, and I do what it takes to see as many as possible.  But, I am not going to be graded in a job.  Nor will I be graded on my faith in Christ.  So, what’s the point, really?

I want to be growth-minded.  I am far too much of a perfectionist in everything.  God has been teaching me to let go of everything and leave it in His hands.  I have been fighting Him all the way.  I am tired of fighting, yet still I hang on.  Why?  Because I fear.  Lots of things.  I think this is really funny because I love adventures.  Looking back though, I realize that I prefer adventures in which I maintain some control.  Some adventure.

But, let’s return to education and a growth-mindset.  I understand that growing requires failing.  I hate that feeling.  But, I don’t want my mind to be a bank of information that I only keep until it’s needed.  I want my mind to be like the library in Beauty and the Beast, a place I can visit over and over again for both necessity and fun.  (Sounds silly, I know, but I happen to like libraries. J

        

Now I have questions…

Freire states on page 73 that “the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it”.  Should the student be consulted and why?  Why do we let the teachers choose what we should study?  When we choose a major in college, is it better for us to follow the four-year degree-plans for our majors as encouraged by our advisors or should we pick and choose whatever we think is best for the degree we want?