Human angle :
Democracy education for World peace
by Prof. Dr. Özer OZANKAYA
Natural sciences and their implementation as a technology has reached an advanced stage, as is clear from current developments in areas like genetic engineering, automation, electronic communication, hypersonic planes and nuclear energy. The world has become a “global village”. But instead of being used for freedom, peace and the prosperity of humanity, these technologies are being used towards the destruction of these values in the hands of fascist, theocratic and communist oppressive regimes.
This destructive situation facing humanity is accompanied by world wars, regional wars and ethnic conflicts. How ought it to be prevented?
American musician Bob Dylan questions this situation in one of his songs:
“How many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned? ...
How many deaths will it take till we know
that too many people have died?
…How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn’t see?”
And with the sadness of not knowing the answer, he says,
“The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind;
the answer is blowing in the wind.”
Moral character of science
However a hundred years ago, one of the founding fathers of sociology, Emile Durkheim, argued that we should use natural sciences and technology for the freedom, equality and happiness of the whole humanity, and that sociology could contribute to this. I would like to bring this important view, which I referred to in the June 2005 issue of DÝPLOMAT, to your attention once again:
“Of all the elements of civilization, science is the only one which, under certain conditions, presents a moral character. That is, societies are tending more and more to look upon it as a duty for the individual to develop his intelligence by learning the scientific truths, which have been established. Science is nothing else than conscience carried to its highest point of clarity. Thus in order for societies to live under existing conditions, the fields of conscience, individual as well as social, must be extended and clarified. The more obscure conscience is, the more refractory to change it is. That is why intelligence guided by science must take a larger part in the course of collective life.” “To justify this chaotic state, we vainly praise its encouragement of individual liberty. Nothing is falser than this antagonism too often presented between legal authority and individual liberty. Quite on the contrary, liberty (we mean genuine liberty, which it is society’s duty to have respected) is itself the product of regulation… It is impossible for the State not to be interested in a form of activity which, by its very nature, can always affect all society…”
For example, after the foundation of the Republic, anti-republican forces’ continuous attempts to frustrate the principle, expressing the essence of democracy in Turkey and saying “Sovereignty Unconditionally Belongs to the Nation”, by accusing it as being “impiety” or “bourgeoisie deception” proves how important and current the subject is in terms of Turkish democracy. Moreover, a group recently came to power and saying “We have changed... Now we are not rejecting and considering national sovereignty as contrary to religion; on the contrary, actually we want the national sovereignty principle” has begun to clearly display that they understand the national sovereignty principle as freedom to be able to do whatever they want thorough majority (for example removing women from the position of being equal and free individuals, grounding judicial and educational order on religious dogmas). On this course the support they obtained from the Greater Middle East Project and USA and its collaborator EU proves that the democracy ideal is passing through a big depression period not only in Turkey but also in the world.
This means that democratic order in both intranational and international relations can only be achieved by the light of sociology, systematically and through consciousness.
Education and democracy culture
The aim of this article is to discuss how democratic order universally yearned for can be made efficiently and decisively effective through the institution of education.
Society functions thorough fundamental institutions such as state, family, education, economy and organised public. The essence of every institution is formed by ideas, principles, value standards that shapes the function it undertakes.
Each of these institutions mainly regulates a certain realm, however it is also necessary for them to be in harmony with each other and to be based on not hampering but supporting ideas, principles, value standards for each other.
For example for the democratic state institution to function efficiently and decisively, it is indispensable for education institution to adopt legitimacy standards, authority symbols, fundamental values and codes of conduct which democratic state is based on and to aim imposing these principles to the new generations and members of society that couldn’t be able to learn them yet.
Though it is obvious that, for political institution to have democratic quality, it is also necessary for family, economy and public forming institutions to have democratic quality like education institution. However for the success and security of democratic state institution, it is a necessity to expect the requirement of including particularly new generations to democracy culture essentially from the education institution.
Because, efficient imposition of principles, ethic, knowledge and forms of behaviour of democracy to individuals can only be achieved in the institutions named “school” specialised in education and training and by experts called “teacher” trained for this aim.
Neither family nor economic institutions such as companies and corporations, employee and employer unions, trade associations and even political parties which are indispensable elements of democracy or media considered as the forth power can have the necessary objectivity, knowledge, education methods and techniques.
For these reasons, it is vital for education institution that “shapes” all the members of the nation to equip new generations with values, legitimacy standards, authority symbols, codes of conduct, knowledge and skills of democracy for the efficient functioning and secure future of a democratic state order. Although it is true that education institution is established and formed within the general social structure, its special importance for the constituting, establishing and efficient functioning of democracy culture should not be ignored.
Democratic ethic of science
Since the legitimacy standards of democratic order and validity criteria of scientific method have the same quality, the basis of democracy education is the adaptation of validity principles of scientific method. We can list these criteria, which should be explained and taught justifiably and experienced practically with pedagogical methods and procedures compatible with the age of the students in the education institutions as follows:
a) It is necessary both for science and democratic order to take into account the facts as they are without diverting and hiding and without prejudices, beliefs, ideological obsessions and interests; namely to be objective.
b) Since reality constantly changes and no theory can be continuously valid, research should be permanent in science. Similarly, there cannot be constantly valid standards for public order. Free examination, criticism and new propositions of citizens should not be prevented by neither religion, sect nor on behalf of a class or an ideology.
c) Since science is not infallible, even the propositions thought to be based on most reliable researches should always be open to inspection and criticism of everybody and under the light of reviews necessary changes should be made. Similarly in democracy, governments are under the continuous supervision of parliaments, mass media reflecting the public and democratic organisations. The sanction of any serious mistake and failure should be resignation and/or removal of the government.
d) As science should define keywords and concepts reflecting the essence of the subject under examination clearly without uncertainty, similarly the propositions about the public life should be transparent and certain enough for society not to face with fait accompli in democratic regimes.
e) It is necessary to take into account that society functions through the interaction between the units forming it (family, city or village, trade groups, voluntary associations, political parties, unions etc.) and the order of the society in general. It is also necessary to make both diachronical and synchronical analysis to duly understand the present and securely prepare for the future.
In accordance with these principles, providing equal opportunity for every member of the nation, in other words without making discrimination on the basis of religion, sect, gender, race or wealth, education institutions should do the following:
a) allow every individual to freely develop his own judgement by research and comparisons; not to consider something true because it is written in the books, told by the teacher, reported on TV or radio or prescribed by an important person.
b) Students should be gained emotional strength for not being influenced by provocative, bright discourses and for this end it should be provided that they comprehend that the most dangerous misleading done through gilded discourses. They should be gained the habit of examining every subject in libraries and laboratories.
c) The education should be secular in every aspect without religious or ideological indoctrination.
d) The morality that would be gained in educational institutions should not be based on fear, but rather free thinking and internalisation.
e) Education institutions should teach students respect for humanity, love for the nation and the country, honour and independence. It should train them to be “honest experts” and “scientists” in their occupations.
f) The fundamental institutions and concepts of democratic order should be presented, including the meaning of basic rights and freedoms, the various lkinds of positive and negative rights, and the nature and significance of basic concepts like elections, voting rights and election systems, the separation of powers, the supremacy of the constitution, constituional justice, political parties, trades unions and the right to strike and lockout. Ýt should also be understood that social institutions and rules are not sacred: that while they are the arrangements made by prior generations based on their experience and reason, every generation has the right to establish its own institutions and rules as required by the conditions. It needs to be explained that the “principle of national sovereignty” does not mean that a haphazard majority can lead to “majority dictatorship”; that even to put any proposition violating inherent, indispensable, unassignable, equal rights and freedoms to the vote is illegitimate, and that the secular state order is imperative for democracy.
All these are necessary if individuals are to be “thinking persons” and if social life is to be influenced by intelligence guided by science. Unless individuals are thinking beings, anybody can lead masses towards good or bad at any time - and so they frequently do.
( DIPLOMAT - May 2006 - Ankara )