Presenter: Dr. Hasan Shahpari
Audience: Faculty
Registration link: https://ccp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIrcu2rrjMjGNO1PZsw8Sebv5YBTcxB6zWs

Learning Goals
This phenomenological and historical presentation is based on a brief extraction from a longer paper titled: Reflections on a Split between Society and Culture: Two different epistemological positions, the Case of Community College of Philadelphia’s Essential Skills of General Education. In pursuit of promoting a discourse on symbiosis of society and culture, this proposal is intended to teach and open a philosophical/ sociological dilemma to students who are taking a course in social sciences or humanities (literature, philosophy, history, and arts). In the paper, I trace the history of educational movements and a report appeared in 1983 titled A Nation at Risk. General Education and its six skills seem not to address a nation to be at risk, technically, ethically or both. It is a broad attempt towards amelioration of educational skills at CCP concomitant with focusing attention to prepare students for a highly stratified market economy. General Education’s skills are far from sufficient to educate students with awareness and synthesizing ethical know-how and technical know-how when joined with labor force in a society known for objectification and a problematic record of concern for justice, racial and ethnic harmony. Accordingly, I argue that one of the six skills called cultural interpretation and analysis that dismisses to include the term society in thetitle should be revised. Epistemologically, the split deprives students from sociological analysis of their society skewing towards one sidedness of cultural interpretation. George Floyd was not killed by what I call “hidden racism.” It happened in a racially and economically stratified society. Metaphorically, the split between society and culture in the six skills of General Education is very similar to the split between ethical and technical know-how which can be reconciled. From what sources students learn their ethical know-how while through the six skills, we teach them more about technical know-how.

Know-how, which is a term for practical knowledge, referring to how to accomplish something tangible or intangible correctly. In ethical know-how, as Francisco Varela noticed, the reference is to action, wisdom and cognition. All rights and wrongs, demarcated and taught by either the religions or secular normative institutions are sociologically grounded. Ideals and ideas, values and norms as components of culture are linked to society in which we function. A Confucian in China, a Buddhist in Tibet, a Hindu in India, a Muslim in Afghanistan learn conception of rights and wrongs. Decisions about respecting class-mates, teachers, being honest, not to plagiarize, having no toleration for inhumane behaviors are done moment by moment, intuitively in contrast to an artisan who plans rationally ahead of time and deals with his/her materials skillfully. We, as the teachers cannot be the only source and exemplar of ethical know-how without prior family, communal and social media roles in socialization of students who attend our classes. The distinction between ethical know-how and technical know-how can be drawn, for example, by the degree and quality of participation in civic duties, developing goodwill, upholding justice, or what students have to learn about themselves as human beings in process of mental and physical growth need to be addressed in the content of the six skills.

As a matter of fact, there are connections, as Aristotle taught, between those realms of know-how (ethical and technical) and we should include them in our knowledge guiding activities in our classes to advance self-consciousness to make their own history at CCP via connection between sociology and the philosophical point of view.

Program Description
The seminar description will be evolving around nuances of the role of the teachers in transmitting two types of knowledge, factual and heuristic, the former is transmitted through the textbook and the latter by students engagement through heuristic extraction of knowledge from the teachers. Low levels of civic activity have been detected in America which refers to a low level of learning ethical know-how, either by the family, media, and peer group. In the seminar, the role of socialization and the method of socio-cultural interpretations based on the Continental philosophy suggested by Hans Gadamer will be focused upon.