Acknowledging that "we do not know what the meaning of existence is,"
the great Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman suggested that
our
uncertainty was actually a good thing, an "open channel."
"If we will only allow that, as we progress, we remain unsure, we will
leave opportunities for alternatives. We will not become enthusiastic
for
the fact, the knowledge, the absolute truth of the day, but remain
always
uncertain. The English have developed their government in this direction,
it
is called 'muddling through,' and although a rather silly, stupid sounding
thing, it is the most scientific way of progressing. To decide upon
the
answer is not scientific. In order to make progress, one must leave
the door
to the unknown ajar.
"We are only at the beginning of the development of the human race;
of
the development of the human mind, of intelligent life; we have years
and
years in the future. It is our responsibility not to give an answer
today as
to what it is all about, to drive everybody down in that direction
and say:
'This is the solution to it all.' Because we will be chained to the
limit
of our present imagination, we will only be able to do those things
that we
think are the things to do. Whereas, if we leave some room for discussion,
and proceed in a way analogous to the sciences, then this difficulty
will
not arise."
The answer is: there are no answers. It is the questions that are important.
[From "The Beat Of A Different Drum: The Life And Science of Richard
Feynman," by Jagdish Mehra. Published by Oxford University Press
1996.]
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We in higher education have told students that "education" is content
delivery. We will lecture
to you, you will remember what we say, and if you can repeat it satisfactorily,
we will certify
you as "educated." But intellectual development is a process of searching.
As Feynman notes,
finding the answers stops that development. Therefore, higher education
(or all education)
needs to be process oriented rather than concentration on finding the
end answer. As Plutarch
notes: "The mind is not a vessel to fill but a fire to
light."