Education in the Spectrum of Humanitarianism

ANITA LIE

· 5 minutes read

Nadia Murad was chosen – alongside Denis Mukwege – as the joint winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. The 25-year-old woman has suffered through unimaginable horrors along with other Yazidi women as sex slaves in Mosul, the largest city under Islamic State (IS) group control.

Long story short, Nadia successfuly escaped the IS’ clutches thanks to a Mosul-based Muslim family. Now, as a human rights activist and United Nations (UN) Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking, Nadia devotes her life to ending Yazidi suffering. She said, “The IS wishes to take away our dignity but it is them who lost their dignity as humans.”

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize provides a global stage for two opposing ends of humanity: the lowest and the noblest points. Many Nobel Peace Prize laurates are those who have suffered through valleys of darkness and the violence of others.

The lowest point of humanity, as manifested in wars, genocides, acts of terrorism and environmental destructions, has devastated mankind’s sense of humanity and made many people lose hope. At the same time, it serves as a test for a handful of people to rise up and fight back the darkness.

Endless violence has torn down all pillars of life but it has not stopped mankind’s struggle through the darkness, much like Prophet Job and his journey to end his suffering one step at a time. Those who can be at peace with their suffering, go beyond and call for nothing but peace, will truly be exemplars in life. In the words of Armada Riyanto, “Peace and sorrow make up the uphill journey of men. It is a truly holy journey.”

Like wheat and weed that grow together, good and evil exist hand-in-hand at the same time. As looters tear down our sense of humanity amid the tragedies in Palu and Donggala, the heroic deed of Anthonius Gunawan Agung as an air traffic controller saved the lives of Batik Air flight crew and passengers at the expense of his own. The role of education is to sow the seeds of wheat and guide them to be strong amid the surrounding weeds so that, upon harvest season, they will bring blessings for all mankind.

Weeds of the future

In mankind’s many sufferings, valleys of darkness are commonly the creation of others. They can take the form of wars or acts of violence. Valleys of darkness can also be brought forth by mankind’s failure in understanding the universe and manage their lives in line with nature’s signs. In his book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, Yuval Noah Harari urges his readers to prepare themselves

in facing shifts in life challenges. Harari predicts that, in the coming centuries, calamities such as hunger, wars and diseases will no longer be serious threats. In their place, a new threat will arise: mankind’s ambition to play god through biotechnological advancements.

This century’s big agenda will consist creation and destruction through genetic engineerings, cyborgs and non-organic beings. Google Venture founder Bill Maris and PayPal founder Peter Thiel are funding a “superhuman project” aiming to prolong human life and even defeat death. On the other hand, this superhuman project may also involve the deletion of non-superior human seeds through engineering natural selections via lab experiments.

The question is: why should we extend human life? Will people be happy with longer lives or will they cause more suffering (upon themselves and others), instead? Other projects are then launched to find the formula of happiness through molecular biology engineering.

Mankind’s happiness

Aristotle said that education (should) help human achieve happiness. The launching of this century’s big agenda can no longer be stopped.

The general public may understandably be worried upon thinking of mankind’s potential destruction. Harari consoles his readers by urging them not to panic. The superhuman project, in its current path, will not end tragically like in Hollywood sci-fi movies. Rather, it will be a historical process of merging human with robots and computers. It is at this point that education can have a role in the spectrum of life’s lowest and highest points.

Science develops as mankind’s effort to conquer the universe. Mankind can use science to walk in the path of either good or evil. Alfred Nobel invented dynamites and regretted how his invention is used in acts of destruction. In his will, he said that his wealth must be used to fund the Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace (later on, economy was added).

Contemporary education systems in many countries are trapped in a race to produce students that excel in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), to support mankind’s ambition to be the best in ruling the world and conquering the universe. Surely, it is not a bad thing to teach students to excel in these subjects as humans are indeed blessed with the ability to develop themselves and those subjects have helped mankind improve quality of life. However, the formulation of STEM education in schools should not neglect arts, cultures and spiritualis, so that students will not get lost and forget their humanitarian side.

As the speed of mankind’s ambition to reach self-excellence in science can never be stopped, education systems must encourage students to fill their lives with meaningful deeds so that mankind will not be ensnared into the dark valley of alienation. Happiness is found in man’s use of freedom that liberates them from the shackles of their own makinhg and, of course, brings blessings for others.

The inspiration of Nadia Murad and other Nobel Peace Prize laureates who have managed to make peace with their sufferings, empower themselves out of the valley of darkness and encourage others to achieve for nobility, should serve as a roadmap of man’s freedom for students in the spectrum of humanitarianism. (ANITA LIE, Professor, Widya Mandala Catholic University, Surabaya)

Editor:

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