The Legitimacy of the Tabula Rasa Theory

The other day, I was visiting a friend who recently had a baby, and she showed me some pictures.  First of all, as one without children, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to get from looking at baby pictures but I’m old enough to know the acceptable response.  Yet, as I looked at the pictures, my thoughts went to the theory of tabula rasa – the idea that babies are born as a clean slate, with nothing inherent programmed in their brains.  Aristotle suggested this idea, providing the name.  Today, we call this the nurture theory.  As I looked at the baby, I wondered. 

 

There are several other philosophers in line with Aristotle on this concept.  English philosopher John Locke suggested the idea of a "blank slate" brain was in conjunction with the person's ability with free will, with no other notion impeding on the mind.  Therefore, with nothing previously engrained, a person is free to choose based on his own volition and experiences without any inherent tendencies.  Locke said there were no “innate ideas.”  Thomas Aquinas held to the idea as well, suggesting that tabula rasa was a state of the mind upon which nothing has been impressed. 

Some parents disagree and point to their children with different personalities in the same environment as evidence that something exists prior to the child being born.  First of all, parents raise their children differently, accounting for learning experiences and trial and error with the first one.  It could account for the differences.  Secondly, what is personality?  Does that require an impression or an innate mental capacity or is personality the sum of how we respond to things and nothing more?  If it is true that we have free will, as the theologians suggest, then could not a baby choose one reaction over another without any mental functions but simply as a reflex?     

Others who disagree with the notion point to talent, be it athletic or mental, as evidence of ingrained or inherent abilities.  To be athletically talented is a product of training and not something with which one is born.  The mental talents of a person are a bit trickier to explain from the tabula rasa point of view.  However, if mental talents such as ability in foreign language or mathematics are the product of mental training combined with aptitude, can the brain really possess such ability prior to training?  If not, then what exists in the brain?

Despite my musings above, I believe that we are the product of something within and we often achieve happiness or success despite our surroundings and environment.  There are plenty of stories that suggest a strictly nurture point of view.  I think of Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers.  His thesis is that while nature plays a role, it is the environment and the nurturing that makes or breaks a potential or inherent talent.  I believe that for every Steve Jobs that benefited from the perfect storm of emerging industries, magnificent teachers and the perfect set of parents and friends, there are another ten students who had the potential for the same and had similar support but did not become what they could have.  The difference is what lay within Steve Jobs.  When I look at my students, some have risen from horrible circumstances – risen above.  Others are wallowing in luxury and privilege.  Both are capable but both are not equally driven.  It speaks to something intrinsic. 

And so, I look at the baby again and I wonder.  It is said that the great thing about considering babies is that one is considering a multitude of possibilities.  Perhaps, that is not the case.  Either I’m looking at a child whose internal drive will be the determining factor of their happiness or not.  It is interesting to ponder.

The Reading List – The T’s and V’s

We are coming to the end of this list but would still appreciate any additions you think would be needed.

Ross

The Talmud,

Collected Poems, Allen Tate

Essays of Four Decades, Allen Tate

On Disinterest, John Tauler

Vanity Fair, William M. Thackeray

Collected Poems, Dylan Thomas

The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis

Walden, Henry David Thoreau

Essays, Henry David Thoreau

History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides

Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville

Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy

The Cossacks, Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

The Barchester Chronicles, Anthony Trollope

Fathers and Sons, Ivan Turgenev

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

The Gospel of Truth, Valentinus

A Commonitory, Vincent of Lerins

The Aeneid, Virgil

Candide, Voltaire

Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut

The Rites of Spring

Baseball is like church.  Many attend, few understand.

Leo Durocher

When I was a kid, I was very much aware of the coming of baseball.  I knew that baseball would soon fill the park again and my hope, journalist Mike Barnicle called it a child’s hope, comforted me with the idea that the Baltimore Orioles would be great again.  My father took it easy on me and allowed me my dreams and allowed me to experience the rite of spring – irrational optimism in the face of dubious evidence.  Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin once wrote on the topic of following the Brooklyn Dodgers and constantly opining for “next year.”  You know what is great about the here and now?  It is next year. 

Now, if you’ve read my profile, you might speculate that I’m a Baltimore Orioles’ fan.  If you know baseball, you know the Orioles have been struggling for over a decade now.  This is particularly painful because of the great tradition the city and its baseball team has enjoyed.  If one is not a baseball fan, it might seem a little silly the way baseball adherents speak of the sport in reverent and hushed tones, filled with ethereal imagery (I feel the same way about how enthusiasts speak of golf).  However, baseball does not just represent second chances but represents our history and traditions.

And I remember my first baseball game and my parents bringing me up through the tunnel to see the greenest, most manicured grass I’d ever seen.  My mother pointed out things (she used to work for a minor league team) and everywhere I looked, something new grabbed my attention.  The men on the field seemed larger than life and in conjunction with the sounds of fans filling in, I smelled hot dogs and peanuts.  I remember the wooden coldness of the seats and the squeak of the chair moving up and down.  The adults around me were vested and donned a hat denoting their favorite team.  This was before the large scale merchandising of t-shirts, jerseys and other paraphernalia.

As the first games of the season were played a couple of weeks ago, I felt refreshed and renewed.  An old friend had returned and I was once more enjoying their company.  Those familiar names are emblazoned upon that great uniform – a splash of orange on white with the old-style cursive script across the chest.  These men, who seem hidden or sequestered over the chill of winter, suddenly re-appear and send my hope towards the heavens with dreams of playoff glory.  In the fall, I will feel a bit despondent and will feel a bit lost.  Yet, for now, I can smell the grass and hear the shouts, the slap of the leather and the crack of the bat.  Life is good, the circle is renewed and it is time to “play ball.” 

The Reading List – The S’s

This is a big swath of books but there are some shatteringly important ones as well.  Enjoy and again, let me know if you have a suggestion.

Ross 

No Exit, Jean-Paul Sartre

Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers, Friedrich Schleiermacher

Medea, Seneca

Cymbeline, William Shakespeare

Hamlet, William Shakespeare

King Lear, William Shakespeare

Macbeth, William Shakespeare

A Midsummer’s Night Dream, William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare

Othello, William Shakespeare

Selected Sonnets, William Shakespeare

Major Critical Essays, George Bernard Shaw

Man and Superman, George Bernard Shaw

Frankenstein, Mary W. Shelley

The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Oedipus the King, Sophocles

Oedipus at Antigone, Sophocles

Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles

The Ballad of Peckham Rye, Muriel Spark

Pia Desideria, Phillip Jakob Spener

Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

The Red and the Black, Stendhal

Collected Poems, Wallace Stevens

Essays, Robert Louis Stevenson

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson

Life of Jesus, David F. Strauss

Dracula, Bram Stroker

The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom, Henry Suso

Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift

The Importance of Being a Polyglot

I can get by in French and German. My friends simply say I’m a functional illiterate in three languages (I’m assuming they are throwing English into the mix). However, my abilities, for what they are, are based on my interest to speak to others. When someone asks me why I’ve sought to learn another language, I simply reply that it gives me more people to whom I can talk. However, I worry a bit about the nature of foreign language education and the future of the discipline (the French for “discipline” is discipline).

In most diploma programs at the high school level, foreign language is a requirement. However, the push works against a traditional attitude in the United States. As Americans, we have always been a bit sensitive to the idea of something being thrust upon us as often language can seem to be. We are told that all the other countries are learning foreign languages or if you want a great career, being bi (or tri- or whatever) lingual is an asset. Each time, it is told from one in a position of authority or presumed authority, speaking down to the hoi polloi. I understand the resistance of mandates but my drive to understand other languages springs from a different source (the German for “source” is Quelle).

The other thing to undermine foreign language instruction is the general political perception that the spread of a language is dangerous to American culture. That is not to say that parents send their kids off for school with the warning, “Listen, we want you to do well in school but keep in mind, there will be none of that foreign language gibberish in this household.” However, that message is broadcast across the board, throughout our cultural framework. Hand-in-hand with this fear-oriented concept is that practical idea that we really don’t need to learn another language. To the north is an English-speaking nation. To the south, is a Spanish-speaking one but those who come to the U.S. are marginalized as long as they do not know English. Throughout the world, people are seeking to speak English, and meeting an American abroad is seen as an opportunity to practice their linguistic abilities (the Yiddish word for “ability” is feyikeyt).

So, what is the importance of learning a language beyond the chance to speak to others? First of all, it helps one better understand one’s own language. The average American does not know terms like prepositional phrase or direct or indirect object. Of course, it would be foolish to expect the average American to diagram a sentence. Yet, there are many other reasons (the Italian word of "reason" is causa).

My German teacher colleague and friend said it is a venue towards understanding other cultures and to better experience a foreign culture first hand. His introduction to Beethoven or Wagner through the original German spurred his interest and desire to learn a language that was not terribly prevalent in his home state. One good friend who is fluent in Spanish (but looks every bit the gringo) said his motivation was the hope to easily travel through a place without struggling with a dictionary. For him, he had no interest in Spanish literary culture such as Don Quixote but he wanted to be able to read a newspaper and fit into various social settings. He said, and I concur, “I just want to talk to people.” A friend from Germany also feels that a primary reason for the pursuit of a language is simply understanding and being understood. My European friends were quick to point out that their initial indoctrination into languages was compulsory but each was quick to point out some of the more altruistic reasons for language acquisition. My wife, fluent in French, simply enjoyed the sound of her language of choice (the Dutch word for "choice" is keuze).

In 1958 and in the shadow of Russia’s launching of Sputnik, the U.S. Congress passed the National Defense Education Act. Fearing of falling behind the Soviets in the “space race,” American officials dumped millions of dollars into the instruction of science, math and foreign language. We need, as a country and as a culture, a re-commitment to the importance of foreign language instruction. While true that an increasing number of people in the world pursue a mastery of English, it does not recuse us from the pursuit in understanding others. We can do that with an understanding of their culture, their paradigm and their language. Think of how much easier it would be to connect with others with such an approach.

You Hear One Castro Lover…?

Last week, I mentioned the case of a Marine Corps sergeant who was dismissed from the service for comments made against the president of the United States. The sergeant was wrong and he received the consequences he deserved. However, a completely different case emerged this week dealing with Miami Marlins’ manager Ozzie Guillen. Mr. Guillen is a man known for saying outrageous and controversial things and the Marlins’ new skipper, in his first week on the job, came out of the gate firing on all cylinders.

To Time Magazine, Mr. Guillen said he respected Fidel Castro and his ability to hang on to power for so long. In 2008, he said that while he did not respect Mr. Castro’s philosophy, he admired the man’s ability to stay in power, surrounded by those who would push him out. On Tuesday of this week, the Marlins suspended their manager for five days, without pay and repeatedly assured its fan base, made up, in part, by Cuban refugees, that it will not tolerate such comments. However, can it be said that the Marlins do not tolerate free speech?

The manager has the right to say and to voice whatever opinion he wants, though now he suggests that his comments were more nuanced than what was reported. However, the Venezuelan-born baseball manager seems to have forgotten his surroundings and his new fan base. The state in general and the city in particular is home to one of the largest concentrations of Cuban exiles in the country. Mr. Guillen’s comments were about as ill-fitting as one wearing a “Che” shirt through Little Havana in Miami.

The manager has been quick to emphasize that he does not believe in or endorse the methods of Fidel Castro, as he also emphasized in 2008. However, activists demand his job and promise they will protest until he is fired. A firing could happen but it is not likely. Mr. Guillen was paid a huge contract to come to Miami and oversee a group of players that represent even more money as they play in a brand new ballpark. Still, the Marlins are very sensitive to their Cuban constituents, as they should be.

As for Mr. Guillen, he does have the right to say what he wants but with every right guaranteed us in the Constitution comes responsibilities. To what extent he can re-ingratiate himself with the Marlin fans is something we will have to wait and see. The question that began the blog was, do the actions of the team constitute a disregard for Mr. Guillen’s freedom of speech. In short, no. The manager represents a part of the leadership of the Miami Marlin organization and as such, his comments, intended or otherwise, are seen as reflections of team attitudes. Even in a case as blatant as this, where it is clear that the opinions were that of Mr. Guillen alone, he still is part of the face of the franchise. As such, he has a responsibility to the fan base and must be answerable to them.

Personally, I think the Cuban outrage, as legitimate as it is, can be used as a force of good. This is an opportunity to teach the real story behind Fidel Castro and his regime. As young people walk around with “Che” shirts on, celebrating a person responsible for the death of thousands on behalf of the Castro government, this is a chance to right a historical fallacy. As for the manager, who will have began this dialogue, perhaps Mr. Guillen has learned a lesson and might be permitted to stay.

The Reading List – The R’s

Please add to the list with a comment and explanation if you something that should be added.

Ross

Gargantua and Pantagruel, François Rabelais
Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
Selected Poems, John Crowe Ransom
The World’s Body, John Crowe Ransom
The Social Gospel, Walter Rauschenbusch
The Confessions, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
On the Origin of Inequality, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
A History of the Crusades, Steven Runciman

A Military Case of Free Speech

One of the downsides of social media forums like Facebook (and blogs for that matter) is that it gives people the opportunity to give their opinion, where in their actual lives, they would have neither a forum nor an audience. Some see this as the ultimate expression of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. However, it often serves as a transcript that can indict people who step over the line. Enter stage left Marine Corps Sergeant Gary Stein whose Facebook page, entitled Armed Forces Tea Party, included his statement that he would not follow orders from the president that violated the constitutional rights of fellow American citizens. As innocuous as that might seem to the average reader, there is an inherent danger as well.

Since the time of the Civil War, it has been an unofficial policy that military members have a reduced expectation of certain rights. Key among these is the freedom of speech. It should be said that, if his views are conducive to some of the fiscally conservative ideas of the Tea Party, I am sympathetic towards his goals. However, no civilian-controlled military can permit military members to express objections to the president’s authority. We are assuming that many other government and legal machinations would prevent the president from violating American’s constitutional rights. In that case, Sgt. Stein has no grounds for disobeying a presidential order. It does not matter whether he political agrees with the president or not, world history is replete with examples of what happens when military members move to protest or object to civilian policy.

What is most troublesome, not unlike the woman who went to a Catholic university and then demanded contraception, when one goes into the military, it is said and said often the relationship between their freedom of speech and the presidency. The president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of all armed forces and in that sense is Sgt. Stein’s boss. From the beginning of his enlistment and throughout his career (as a sergeant, it can be assumed he has been in at least six years), he has been told that he cannot criticize the president or his policies openly. I’m not sure if Sgt. Stein is challenging his dismissal from the Marine Corps as a protest to the policy but it cannot be from a position of ignorance. He knew the military policy on such political writings and to that degree, he must face the consequences.

It might seem odd that a conservative take this point of view but this is not about politics or the current administration. This is about sound military order and discipline and as president, Barack Obama cannot ask his military to do something, he must be able to order and expect immediate and dutiful compliance with the same. Anything short of that and the country runs the risk of a military that can pick and choose the orders they follow. As we’ve seen in so many other countries, that never works out.

Update: Late yesterday, a military board ruled in favor of dismissing Sgt. Stein from the Marine Corps. If I remember my Uniformed Code of Military Justice correctly, the decision goes before a general who can either sign off on it or reject it. Afterwards, we will have to wait and see. The sergeant's lawyers expressed shock at the verdict. ("I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.") Hard to know how to respond to that one.

The Court Takes Center Stage

As a government teacher, among other subjects, there is nothing like discussing and analyzing Supreme Court decisions. For my students, it is a no brainer because the Court and its cases represent the most controversial issues of its day. How can that not grab their attention and bring them in? Last week, the Court heard The Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida, et. al. and in doing so, stepped into one of the most contentious issues of the last decade. My students have opinions but they are their parents’ opinions. However, they are beginning to learn that they are not just watching a court case but a battle over the meaning and intent of our Constitution and our Founding Fathers.

As I’ve mentioned before, I give no hint to my political persuasion in front of my classroom but on this blog, I can flex my ideological muscles a bit. A few years ago, my school hosted some German students as part of a two week home exchange. This was around the time of the initial debate over what would be the Affordable Care Act, passed in the waning hours of 2009. These German students were sharp and very politically aware and since I was the history/government teacher, their teacher asked me to visit with the group to discuss the matter and explain the various sides of the issue. In particular, the teacher, who knew me and knew my attitudes, wanted her students to understand the opposition to the then-bill. Since they came from a country that accepts the notion of nationalized health care as a matter of course, they were confused about the objections.

When the Court heard arguments from the Solicitor General over the idea of the individual mandate, the justices were rather rapid-fire in their questions. The reason for so much attention to the idea that all Americans would be mandated to buy insurance is that it infringes upon a basic notion Americans have had since its inception. I told the German students that Americans have often defined freedom by the amount of choices they have. Throughout our history, we have balked at mandates, economic and otherwise. It dates back to the British mandating taxes, adherence to commerce restrictions and fealty to the Crown. I further explained that any time the government proposes taking choices from Americans, it has, as Justice Anthony Kennedy said last week, a heavy burden of justification. It is here where the law could meet its Waterloo.

When the Germans asked about those that cannot afford health care or insurance, I re-emphasized the point that programs exist for those individuals but these programs need a greater responsiveness by the government and more financial commitment. It was important that they understood that objection to the president’s plan did not equate to a heartlessness towards those who cannot afford health insurance, no matter the attempts, then and now, of the program’s supporters to propagate.

The president recently questioned the Court’s right to rule his plan unconstitutional and it does nothing to serve his cause. It also furthers the perception that he considers himself a bit above the process and the Constitution. The Constitution was not written to empower the federal government. It was written to limit the federal government. It is my assessment that the Affordable Care Act is, at least partially, unconstitutional. The Court will render its opinion by early June.

The Reading List – The O’s and P’s

Another installment of great books. I wanted to do a post entitled the P's and Q's but I don't have any books under the latter. Perhaps, you know one? Or any other book for that matter that should be on the list. Send a comment.

Ross

Quodlibetal Questions, William of Ockham
The Complete Stories, Flannery O’Connor
Everything that Rises Must Converge, Flannery O’Connor
Mystery and Manners, Flannery O’Connor
The Violent Bear it Away, Flannery O’Connor
War Blood, Flannery O’Connor
One Thousand and One Nights,
On First Principles, Origen
On Prayer, Origen
1984, George Orwell
Animal Farm, George Orwell

Pensées, Blaise Pascal
The Essential Writings, Charles S. Peirce
Oration of the Dignity of Man, Pico della Mirandola
Leisure: the Basis of Culture, Josef Pieper
The Philosophical Act, Josef Pieper
Apology, Plato
Crito, Plato
Laws, Plato
Meno, Plato
Parmenides, Plato
Phaedrus, Plato
Republic, Plato
Symposium, Plato
Enneads, Plotinus
Poetry and Tales, Edgar Allan Poe
Remembrance of Things Past, Marcel Proust
Contrasts, Augustus Pugin