A nine-letter word

"The culture and traditions that exist today can be preserved and transferred to the next generation with the help of moral education"

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One may question what is progress and how has it paved the way for humans to reach such a point where their natural instincts lost track altogether? What is growth towards what is it aimed? The primitives reached a point where their fragmented or reductionist mindset adamantly advocated the future to have a rational more scientific outlook. The urge to describe and justify everything in said terms left us ostracizing any humane features of our evolution.

We have come a long way from discovering how to light a fire to literally touching the Sun but somewhere somehow we lost touch with humanity and our chief purpose in life; to be a better being. Humanity is pacing towards wreck along with all other living organisms vanishing if the rational and describable justifications or evidence are not halted. The need to establish equilibrium between material and moral values is undoubtedly the most critical task of humanity as of now. Speaking of moral values, these are generational wealth that can easily be tossed away if not transcended to newer generations.

The culture and traditions that exist today can be preserved and transferred to the next generation with the help of moral education. Although science gives ample explanations for many of the mysteries of this world, it still cannot measure or be close enough to speak on behalf of human perceptions of vice and virtue.

Science – the fundamental feature of the modern era, roaring in an all-knowing scientific culture, is the advocate for everything and anything material, be it piecemeal, infinitesimal, tremendous or complicated, and for science, the reality is assumed as quantitative; without consciousness or life. It speaks for the mechanisms with which the world functions; from defining the behaviours of a living being to explaining the unknown matter present in the universe, science has had the opportunity to be one lap ahead of any other concept(s) to coexist in yielding accurate descriptions. Practical aspects of science accomplished its goal; controlling and conquering nature. Ironically, individuals only know what exists through sensory experiences in a mechanistic way.

There exists a debate on science and morality painted as a dichotomist problem where scientists believe that morality in its existence is improbable and cannot yield any appropriate explanation for the way individuals or society should function. The lackadaisical attitude towards value and its institutions is haunting the modern world. The degeneration of human society and reappearance of barbarism, selfishness, clashes and conflagration gives an insight into the future before us. The thought process is losing its abstract foundation and becoming a mechanic. The dynamics of human moral virtues and values are deteriorating. Learning to be human is a critical aspect that is unfortunately missing. All economic analyses reject the idea of morality and boil it down to mechanical and mathematical explanations. There have been numerous objections to the nature of morality must be left out since they are subjective and cannot be observed or measured by objective criteria.

For science, values and value judgments are sensual, personal and subjective, something it deems unnecessary and unworthy of discussion. It is rational and objective in its nature but, unjust to abstract concepts of the mind and morals for not does it only disregard them but also considers the entirety of morality to be vague and dismissible.

Science assumes teachings of moral values to be a waste of time, and a hindrance in the path of so-called progress. Morals may exist, but they are trivial or complicated in nature to be comprehended by the ordinary senses and are regarded as invisible realities that cannot be known, hence they are worthless. Modern society is in a serious social and moral crisis – facing a dilemma. Theorists and philosophers who discuss these issues are not entirely cognizant that we are at an impasse. Morals and values are constantly pressured to prove and rationalize their existence. Values are labelled not only as unknowable but also unrealistic.

The idea that society and individuals within it are progressing side-by-side is a facade. There is a desperate need to revive and rebuild values and rejuvenate the foundations of our civilization. The present educational system needs moral, spiritual and aesthetic values for the society to live. Education is merely a nine-letter word when the system becomes a business. It is quite hard to find schools inculcating morals and values in education. Since little is known about how teachers engage students in social and moral values acts in the classroom, parents should also provide constant and visible models of behaviours showing better character development. Parents have the strongest influence on the child. Their communication with their children is one aspect of children’s social experiences that may be used in the construction of moral knowledge. In the essence of everything stated above, moral values are integral to human development not only in terms of philosophical and moral but also in scientific dimensions.