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T H E I D E A O F H O L I S T I C M A N AN INQUIRY INTO THE EDUCATIONAL POSSIBILITIES STUART HOPE University of Cape Town A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Education, University of Cape Town, for the Degree of Master of Education. Cape Town 1987 The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town THE IDEA OF HOLISTIC MAN ABSTRACT Educational theory and practice stems from the generally accepted concept of Man, such as apartheid ideology which forms the basis of the South African educational system. Separatist thinking of some kind determines the perspective and actions of many people throughout the world. The pathology of this mode of consciousness has generated numerous crises, and is the root cause of the psychotic behaviour which is currently dominating the international scene. Inherent in any crisis is opportunity. New ways of being emerge through the struggles and mistakes of living. Counteracting the reductionist trend is the balancing notion of holism. This thesis examines the suitability and necessity of a holistic educational paradigm, particularly in this country. It explores the emerging holistic world view in two important areas of human endeavour - science and religion. Furthermore, it looks at the nature and psychology of change, Smuts's concept of holism, defines holism as modes of seeing, knowing and being, and describes the new world person with reference to South Africa's future. However, further work is needed to formulate a holistic concept of Man in order to derive a more comprehensive educational theory and practice. THE IDEA OF HOLISTIC MAH ; ; DECLARATION I declare that this dissertation is my own, unaided work. It is being submitted for the degree of Master of Education through the University of Cape Town. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination at any other university. Signature removed Stuart Hope · 1987 day of -----,----rJ_, . THE IDEA OF HOLISTIC MAN ii i PREFACE There are a number of reasons why this thesis took an inordinate amount of time to research and write. Firstly, it was conceived and researched as part of a much larger work, approximately one-fifth of the overall draft, which will endeavour to develop and set out a holistic concept of Man from which educational principles and theory could be derived. Secondly, I had great difficulty in articulating the original idea. To find the words and concepts to express and order amorphous intuitions, and sometimes chaotic impressions; to assimilate ideas, opinions and arguments from various disciplines, and to synthesize what appeared to be disparate viewpoints, proved no easy task. Thirdly, many of the references that I needed to consult were not available in any of the libraries in the country. This meant that I had to order these books from America and Britain which took approxi­ mately six and three months respectively. I could not have managed this without the invaluable assistance of June Abrahams from ID Booksellers. I am greatly indebted to her for setting up a tributary to the mainstream of ideas. Fourthly, I underwent the whole roller-coaster psychology of thesis writing that all post-graduate students seem to go through, made all the mistakes, had all the set-backs, and ended up in many cul-de­ sacs before I found the golden thread on which to weave my ideas. Throughout all this I had the support, patience and belief of two people especially - Professor Steinberg, ex-Chairman of the Higher Degrees Committee, and my supervisor, Dr van Wageningen, who has given .DEA OF HOLISTIC MAN iv me invaluable guidance. I am extremely grateful to them both that they decided to persevere with me. I would also like to thank my father for his invaluable assistance in the laborious task of proof-reading the manuscript. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to Jenny Zinn for her expertise, advice and skill in capturing and editing this thesis on the word processor. I value her friendship and admire her striving for excellence. THE IDEA OF HOLISTIC MAN V TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract i Declaration ii Preface iii Introduction 1 Chapter One: THE EMERGING HOLISTIC WORLD VIEW 3 Two Dominant Mind Sets 4 The Age of Transformation 13 The Schism Between Heaven and Earth 19 Cyclic Transformations 22 Quest for the Sacred 27 Summary 31 Chapter Two: THE GREAT AWAKENING 33 Problems of Historical Perspective and Contemporary Evidence 34 Building the Rainbow Bridge 49 Revitalization Movements 63 The Great Approach 71 A New World Religion? 85 Difficulty at the Beginning 88 Summary 90 THE IDEA OF HOLISTIC MAN vi Chapter Three: THE CARTOGRAPHY OF CONSCIOUSNESS 92 Mapping the Geography of Consciousness 94 Beyond the World of Indirect Knowledge 97 Words are not Things 103 The Map is not the Territory 109 Summary 111 Chapter Four: REVISION REALITY 113 What is a Paradigm? 119 Paradigm Shifts 121 Fear of a World without Walls 124 To See with New Eyes 129 Mazeway Resynthesis 130 Summary 131 Chapter Five: ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL 134 In Whose Image? 136 The South African Educational Matrix 142 Mind-Forged Manacles 149 The Struggle unto Being 155 Summary 158 THE IDEA OF HOLISTIC MAN Vi i Chapter Six: THE CONCEPT OF HOLISM 160 Holism as a Paradigm for Educational Inquiry 161 Smuts's Concept of Holism 169 / The Holistic Mode of Knowing 176 Holism Defined 195 Summary 197 Chapter Seven: THE IDEA OF HOLISTIC MAN 200 Entering the Labyrinth 204 Know Thyself 209 Some Characteristics of the New Man 213 Summary 220 Chapter Eight: CHOOSING THE FUTURE 222 The Rights of the Child 224 The Need for Redemption 238 The Emergence of Holistic Thinking in Education 246 Summary 250 Chapter Notes 254 References 269 THE IDEA OF HOLISTIC MAH 1 Introduction I H T R O D U C T I O H This thesis had its genesis in personal experience, by witnessing first hand, in the classrooms and through the anguish of the schools boycotts, the devastating effects on children and the corrmunity at large of a reductionist concept of Man. Educational practice in the schools for the oppressed is a travesty. Our children are victims of a great injustice because the theoretical foundation of our education system is based on misconceived not ions of what human beings are or should be, as well as the type of world in which they are expected to 1i ve. English-speaking academics in our universities have been ex­ tremely critical of fundamental pedagogics, the deformed brainchild of their Afrikaans-speaking counterparts, and have been reluctant to formulate any concept of Man from which an educational theory could be derived. They have taken the analytical approach, focusing mainly on particular educational problems and issues. They justify their stand by pointing out the defects in our present system and the damaging effects that an ill-conceived notion of the human being can have on a child's self-image and self-esteem. Most Afrikaans-speaking academ­ ics, on the other hand, adopt the phenomenological approach, and have countered these criticisms by pointing out that the education of a child must be based on some conceptual understanding of what the child ought to be. They have criticized their English-speaking colleagues for not having formulated some concept of the human being. THE IDEA OF HOLISTIC MAH 2 Introduction There are certainly merits in both arguments. This thesis, however, takes the stand that all educational theory and practice should be based on some conception of the human being, in particular, a spiritually conceived, holistic concept of Man and not one that engineers human nature to fit some racial, social, political, economic or scientific mould. This conception of the human being should not be static and, in fact, must undergo periodic revisions as our knowledge and understand­ ing of human nature expands and develops. It is analogous to the dynamic growth of a great tree. It must be deeply rooted in the universal and spiritual ground of human existence; its trunk is the axis mundi from which all branches of human knowledge extend. These branches symbolize the plane of manifested differentiation which are synthesized through the holistic approach. It is like the Cosmic Tree which unites heaven and earth and represents the unity in diversity. THE IDEA OF HOLISTIC MAN 3 The Emerging Holistic World View CHAPTER ONE T H E E ME R G I H G H O L I S T I C WO R L D V I E W We bear witness, during this world epoch, to a profound and unique moment in the brief history of humankind on this planet. Something is happening for which we have no precedent, no previous experience or knowledge of; something which we can only comprehend in an amorphous, undefined way. It is an awareness that, till now, has defied descrip­ tion; a perception that is more a holistic sensing of something truly significant which is about to affect this planet as a whole. 11 11 Our civilization is undergoing a paradigm shift , a realignment in our thinking that is precipitating a cultural transformation of such dramatic proportions that its causative effect will possibly continue for many generations into the future. A new vision of almost limitless possibilities is opening up before us challenging the pres­ ent generation to transcend the Damoclean horror of nuclear war, which threatens to extinguish the entire human race and all life on this planet, through a belief in the regenerati~e power of the human spirit to make the seemingly impossible possible.

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