Sep 28, 2018 04:24 PM
(This post was last modified: Sep 28, 2018 07:24 PM by C C.
Edit Reason: added link
)
https://theness.com/neurologicablog/inde...istocracy/
EXCERPT: . . . In its original form, epistocracy is a patently terrible idea that, thankfully, does not appear to have legs. Also, thankfully, it would require a constitutional amendment in the US, which is unlikely.
But the article about the Indian government’s epistocracy is about something else – something more subtle and insidious. This is not about rule by the knowledgeable, but rule through the control of not only knowledge, but what constitutes knowledge. This kind of epistocracy does not require a constitutional amendment, just an erosion of understanding and respect for genuine knowledge and expertise. It might only need a relative prioritizing of partisanship over process and fairness (sound familiar?).
As The Wire reports: "The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has proposed a new textbook that will discuss the ‘Indian knowledge system’ via a number of pseudoscientific claims about the supposed inventions and discoveries of ancient India, The Print reported on September 26. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) signed off on the move, and the textbook – drawn up by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan educational trust – is set to be introduced in 80% of the institutions the AICTE oversees."
Essentially the Indian government is using their political power to insert rank pseudoscience into textbooks – but pseudoscience that is meant to glorify Indian culture. This, in turn, is justified through a subtle but powerful logical twist. The idea begins with the truism that knowledge is power. It then reverses this idea, making into the claim that power is knowledge.
Historically, they argue, the West has used their power to impose their knowledge onto India. And now India has to take back their power by imposing their own knowledge – one that is gratifying to Indians, and celebrates their cultural contributions. Who cares if some of those contributions are fictitious – and what is fact anyway? There are no facts, only power.
This reasoning is circular, however. It concludes that power is knowledge by assuming that power is knowledge, in order to justify using power to control knowledge. The most effective lies are built around a kernel of truth, and this is the case here also. Historically Western powers were colonial (and remain so, to a lesser degree). They did use their power to impose their culture on the people they conquered. But as it turns out, part of that culture is science, and science has an independent validity outside any power structure. That is the crucial fact that the new epistocracy ignores or misunderstands.
Essentially what the Indian government is saying is this – foreign powers in the past have oppressed you, so to make up for that we are going to use our current power to oppress you further, but we will do it in the name of our own culture, so it’s alright (and it won’t be as easy to notice). So when we claim that ancient Indians made batteries and flew in airplanes, you should not think too carefully about it. Just believe it. Any contrary information is just a Western conspiracy....
MORE: https://theness.com/neurologicablog/inde...istocracy/
RELATED: Noocracy
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EXCERPT: . . . In its original form, epistocracy is a patently terrible idea that, thankfully, does not appear to have legs. Also, thankfully, it would require a constitutional amendment in the US, which is unlikely.
But the article about the Indian government’s epistocracy is about something else – something more subtle and insidious. This is not about rule by the knowledgeable, but rule through the control of not only knowledge, but what constitutes knowledge. This kind of epistocracy does not require a constitutional amendment, just an erosion of understanding and respect for genuine knowledge and expertise. It might only need a relative prioritizing of partisanship over process and fairness (sound familiar?).
As The Wire reports: "The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has proposed a new textbook that will discuss the ‘Indian knowledge system’ via a number of pseudoscientific claims about the supposed inventions and discoveries of ancient India, The Print reported on September 26. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) signed off on the move, and the textbook – drawn up by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan educational trust – is set to be introduced in 80% of the institutions the AICTE oversees."
Essentially the Indian government is using their political power to insert rank pseudoscience into textbooks – but pseudoscience that is meant to glorify Indian culture. This, in turn, is justified through a subtle but powerful logical twist. The idea begins with the truism that knowledge is power. It then reverses this idea, making into the claim that power is knowledge.
Historically, they argue, the West has used their power to impose their knowledge onto India. And now India has to take back their power by imposing their own knowledge – one that is gratifying to Indians, and celebrates their cultural contributions. Who cares if some of those contributions are fictitious – and what is fact anyway? There are no facts, only power.
This reasoning is circular, however. It concludes that power is knowledge by assuming that power is knowledge, in order to justify using power to control knowledge. The most effective lies are built around a kernel of truth, and this is the case here also. Historically Western powers were colonial (and remain so, to a lesser degree). They did use their power to impose their culture on the people they conquered. But as it turns out, part of that culture is science, and science has an independent validity outside any power structure. That is the crucial fact that the new epistocracy ignores or misunderstands.
Essentially what the Indian government is saying is this – foreign powers in the past have oppressed you, so to make up for that we are going to use our current power to oppress you further, but we will do it in the name of our own culture, so it’s alright (and it won’t be as easy to notice). So when we claim that ancient Indians made batteries and flew in airplanes, you should not think too carefully about it. Just believe it. Any contrary information is just a Western conspiracy....
MORE: https://theness.com/neurologicablog/inde...istocracy/
RELATED: Noocracy
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