The Phenomenon

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(No Transcript)
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GKAS 3011

• The Phenomenon
• of Globalization (II)

ktk.ulapland.fi/GKAS3011
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Lecture structure (idea)

• Truly meaningful and relevant knowledge result
  in seeing the overwhelming greatness of
  creation, and feeling small and humble (not
  humiliated) before the greatness of creation.
• Seeing greatness involves romantic wonderment
  in creation the ability to be amazed, intrigued
  and delighted by things that are of no immediate
  use or amusement to oneself the fruit of true
  knowledge is always humility therefore,
  arrogance is an outcome of ignorance.
• Structure (1) presentation of a statement or
  claim, (2) questions to understand the
  statement/claim, (3) rational (not ad hominem)
  arguments to support or refute the claim based
  on ones sincere opinion.
• The purpose of argumentation is not to win an
  argument but to search for genuine meaning
  thus, successful argumentation results in new
  collective understanding (win-win), not victory
  over others (win-loose).

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GE(II)/1 Evolution towards globalization (contd
)

• GE(II)/1.1 Globalization is the most
  influential trend in todays world!
• GE(II)/1.2 Globalization is, visibly, a
  socioeconomic and political phenomenon of global
  market.
• GE(II)/1.3 The progressive stages of society
  reached, so far, have been family/clan, tribe,
  city-state, nation-state!
• GE(II)/1.4 Humankind has progressively and
  unfailingly attempted and achieved a broadening
  conception of society!
• GE(II)/1.5 History has a plot progress
  towards maturer, broader forms of social,
  cultural and political cooperation!
• GE(II)/1.6 Human history is a continuous,
  progressively unfolding evolutionary process
  towards coherent unity!
• GE(II)/1.7 The process of unification and
  social maturation is a historical and
  evolutionary imperative!
• GE(II)/1.8 Evolution signifies development and
  progress (as opposed to mere change)!
• GE(II)/1.9 Human evolution can be reactive or
  proactive!
• GE(II)/1.10 Education makes the difference
  between reactive vs. proactive evolution!

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GE(II)/1 Evolution towards globalization (
contd)

• GE(II)/1.11 World religions have, in the last
  analysis, had a decisively positive (or
  constructive) effect on civilization!
• GE(II)/1.12 World religions have been,
  essentially, an educational effect in history,
  the evolutionary engine of civilization!

GE(II)/2 Globalization as evolutionary
bifurcation (contd )

• GE(II)/2.1 Globalization is an inevitable
  consequence of a unifying civilizational
  evolution throughout human history!
• GE(II)/2.2 Globalization is both (a) an evident
  superficial process and (b) a fundamental
  evolutionary process!
• GE(II)/2.3 The current global paradigm is ripe
  with risks of global breakdown but also offers a
  platform for civilizational breakthrough and
  maturation!

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GE(II)/2 Globalization as evolutionary
bifurcation ( contd)

• GE(II)/2.4 There is a possibility, even
  likelihood, for a sustainable future!
• GE(II)/2.5 The present confusion in the world
  is just a transitional stage in the evolution of
  humankind!
• GE(II)/2.6 Globalization can be said to be
  constrictive, if it is (a) sustainable and (b)
  inclusive!
• GE(II)/2.7 Constructive (sustainable)
  globalization requires unity of purpose in vital
  global matters and in core values!!
• GE(II)/2.8 Constructive (inclusive)
  globalization needs diversity of implementation
  within the cultural and mental spectrum of human
  experience (i.e. individual, local, cultural,
  national etc. ways of life and thought)!
• GE(II)/2.9 Sustainable and inclusive
  (constructive) globalization requires unity and
  diversity or Unity in Diversity!

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GE(II)/3 Education as a change agent for
realizing human potential

• GE(II)/3.1 RE Evolution signifies development
  and progress (as opposed to mere change)!
• GE(II)/3.2 RE Human evolution can be reactive
  or proactive!
• GE(II)/3.3 RE Education makes the difference
  between reactive vs. proactive evolution!
• GE(II)/3.4 Only education can realize the
  inherent potentialities of human existence
  (individually and collectively)!
• GE(II)/3.5 Education is a fundamental human
  right!
• GE(II)/3.6 Education is, potentially, a
  manageable change agent for international, social
  and human development!
• GE(II)/3.7 The purpose of education, for the
  individual, is to realize the inherent
  potentialities in the individual and, thus, to
  produce good human beings!

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GE(II)/4 The ingredients and dynamics of society
(contd )

• GE(II)/4.1 The purpose of education, for the
  individual, is to produce good human beings,
  specifically good citizens!
• GE(II)/4.2 One can be a citizen only in what we
  call society, implying certain qualities or
  conditions of citizenship!
• GE(II)/4.3 A society has three basic
  ingredients or participants the individuals (or
  private citizens), the institutions (or system of
  government), the community (or social identity
  and fabric) i.e. members, structure, cohesion!
• GE(II)/4.4 The three ingredients of the society
  (individuals, institutions, community) must
  function properly and in collaboration for the
  society to be wholesome, prosperous and
  sustainable!

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GE(II)/4 The ingredients and dynamics of society
( contd)

• GE(II)/4.5 A society has two fundamental
  unifiers or safeguards a moral foundation
  and a legal structure!
• GE(II)/4.6 The moral foundation and the legal
  structure of the society are interrelated but
  different they interact and, at best, complement
  each other but cannot replace each other
  particularly, law cannot replace morals (cf.
  responsibility freedom vs. obligations
  rights)!

GE(II)/5 Prospects of a global society (contd
)

• GE(II)/5.1 Societies are generally associated
  with nation-states!
• GE(II)/5.2 The concept of society has multiple
  levels and exists on hierarchical levels of
  broadness (or geography)!
• GE(II)/5.3 We may be witnessing the first signs
  of the formation of a global society!

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GE(II)/5 Prospects of a global society (
contd)

• GE(II)/5.4 The global community is confused,
  lacks a common sense of purpose, is riddled with
  conflicts, disunited, and unaware of the richness
  of its constituent elements!
• GE(II)/5.5 Global issues (conflicts,
  environment, famine etc.) create a sense of
  shared destiny and are driving people towards
  collective responsibility they force humankind
  to view itself from a global perspective, as one
  entity!
• GE(II)/5.6 The global community, humankind as a
  whole, is beginning to see itself, for the first
  time in its history, as a single organic entity
  with the Earth as its homeland!
• GE(II)/5.7 The global community is taking its
  first fumble steps towards a more coherent
  collective life!
• GE(II)/5.8 A global society, like any society,
  consists of individuals or world citizens!
• GE(II)/5.9 A global society, like any society,
  consists of institutions or global governance!
• GE(II)/5.10 A global society, like any society,
  consists of community or universal sense of
  solidarity!
• GE(II)/5.11 A global society, like any society,
  must be unified by a moral foundation or some
  universal ethos!
• GE(II)/5.12 A global society, like any society,
  must be safeguarded by a legal structure or
  global laws!

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GE(II)/6 The predicament of the modern western
civilization

• GE(II)/6.1 RE The three ingredients of the
  society (individuals, institutions, community)
  must function properly and in collaboration for
  the society to be wholesome, prosperous and
  sustainable!
• GE(II)/6.2 RE The moral foundation and the
  legal structure of the society are interrelated
  but different they interact and, at best,
  complement each other but cannot replace each
  other particularly, law cannot replace morals!
• GE(II)/6.3 In many non-western societies, the
  role of the community may well be preserved, but
  the individual and particularly the institutions
  may be functioning with insufficient efficacy!
• GE(II)/6.4 In modern western societies,
  society is, primarily, viewed as being
  constituted of individuals and institutions!
• GE(II)/6.5 In modern western societies the role
  of the community is often undermined!
• GE(II)/6.6 In modern western societies , legal
  measures have come to replace the missing moral
  substance, including a sense of community and
  common purpose!

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GE(II)/7 Consequences of one-eyed individualism
and materialism (contd )

• GE(II)/7.1 Modern liberal world views are based
  on individualistic and materialistic view of
  human reality!
• GE(II)/7.2 The individualistic-materialistic
  world view is often aggressive and assumes a
  fanatical characteristics!
• GE(II)/7.3 The individualistic-materialistic
  world view is steadily becoming a global
  substitute religion!
• GE(II)/7.4 The pursuit of happiness is
  increasingly transmuted into an aggressive and
  almost unlimited self-justification to pursue
  ones own advantage without committing to common
  weal or a greater purpose!
• GE(II)/7.5 The moral consequences of the
  individualistic-materialistic approach are
  eroding the lives of both the individual and the
  society, and causing unprecedented havoc to sense
  of community natural to human beings!
• GE(II)/7.6 The collapse in the sense of
  community and the self-destructive behaviour
  caused by the one-eyed individualism-materialism
  are, by themselves, an empirical indication of
  the falsity of this approach!
• GE(II)/7.7 Single-minded and fanatical
  individualism-materialism is not an exhaustive
  interpretation of reality and is, in fact, a
  misguided distortion of reality!

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GE(II)/7 Consequences of one-eyed individualism
and materialism ( contd)

• GE(II)/7.8 While retaining many virtues (e.g.
  sense of enterprise, efficient administration,
  well-developed science technology), it is the
  western civilization that, primarily, spreads the
  culture of individualism and materialism!
• GE(II)/7.9 It is generally the modern western
  civilization that sets the mode of international
  processes and practices of political relations,
  of development policies, of human rights, of
  jurisprudence etc.!
• GE(II)/7.10 The international processes and
  practices of political relations, of development
  policies, of human rights, of jurisprudence etc.
  suffer from a distortion brought about by the
  individualistic-materialistic culture!

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GE(II)/8 Solutions based on the power of
education

• GE(II)/8.1 Setting right fundamental
  misconceptions of an individualistic-materialistic
  culture requires a contrasting culture of
  service, so that humankind can experience
  feelings of success in accomplishing something
  that profits and delights other people, the
  surrounding community, the society, the whole
  world at large!
• GE(II)/8.2 A sense of global responsibility and
  an accompanying culture of service are basic
  requirements of world citizenship!
• GE(II)/8.3 The concept of world citizenship and
  its requirements need to become the primary focus
  of education!
• GE(II)/8.4 RE Education makes the difference
  between reactive vs. proactive evolution!
• GE(II)/8.5 RE Only education can realize the
  inherent potentialities of human existence
  (individually and collectively)!
• GE(II)/8.6 RE Education is a fundamental human
  right!
• GE(II)/8.7 RE Education is, potentially, a
  manageable change agent for international, social
  and human development!
• GE(II)/8.8 Education is a profitable investment
  in future!
• GE(II)/8.9 The United Nations Organization
  (together with its various institutions and
  member NGOs), despite its many shortcomings and
  lack of effective power, is in key-position for
  promoting global education, and thus, global
  sustainable development!

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That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth
himself to the service of the entire human race.
... It is not for him to pride himself who loveth
his own country, but rather for him who loveth
the whole world. The earth is but one country,
and mankind its citizens. -- Baháulláh (circa
1885) --