Truth Beauty And The Good

[Smacka Shock]

Thetranscendentals (Latin: transcendentalia, from transcendere "to exceed") are "properties of being", nowadays commonly considered to be truth, unity (oneness), beauty, and goodness.[citation needed] The conceptual idea arose from medieval scholasticism, namely Aquinas but originated with Plato, Augustine, and Aristotle in the West. It is believed to be prefigured in the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Hindu classic, which illuminates the doctrines of Yoga. Viewed ontologically, the transcendentals are understood to be what is common to all beings/things/identities, and all things that exist (theologically, metaphysically, normatively) can be judged, or appraised, or may be said to be or possess the innate qualities and characteristics which we consider or deem True (Thought and Logic), Beautiful (Aesthetic and Artistic) and Good (Morals and Action). From a cognitive and "first principles" horizon, going back to Aristotle, they are the "first" concepts, since they cannot be logically or deductively traced back to "a prior metaphysics" preceding their Rational unfoldment and display.

In the ancient, premodern subjective understanding of Aristotle, the transcendentals operate via man/woman's Reason, or the reasoning subject. Seen as a whole, rather than reducing everything to Truth, the transcendentals are part of a harmonious or complete unity each within its applied domain of Reason, which is within the domain of a possibly higher unity: Soul. Plato's conception may be more intangible but it certainly anticipated Aristotle, and later, Aquinas.

Prior to the Enlightenment Era of human consciousness, these spheres/domains were synonymous with rationality, or dispositions of rationality. Theoretical Reason (what I understand), Practical Reason (what I do), and Aesthetic Reason (what I appreciate) were understood for what they did rather than as mere abstractions.

The True, can be demonstrated empirically within: Mathematics, Science, and Metaphysics. Beauty can be seen empirically within: Aesthetics and Art. The Good, via Practical Reason can be seen empirically within: Ethics and Politics.

Finally, Reason is an underlying generalization in each. Each object-domain makes strides by uniquely generalizing from a particular level to the general concepts, rather than from the generals to any particular.

The transcendentals are, lastly separate, mutually interacting, and potentially coordinated whole domains, are ultimately distinct, cannot be reduced without serious harm to the transcendental in question, and are vast but expansive unto themselves.

Howard Gardner conceptualizes the Good as Goodness a property of relationships, the true as a property of statements, and the beauty as a property of experiences. The Golden rule stabilizes relationships at the local level, but according to Gardner, global relationships (the ethics of roles) consists of citizenship and work.[1] We must be good citizens, good people, and good workers. Citizens and workers collaborate in Commons to share the best ethical practices.

The Beautiful consists of experiences, or tastes concerning the natural world and the Arts. Beautiful experiences are interesting, memorable, and they invite returning. Some tastes seem quite universal, while others are divergent.

The world of truth is ever-evolving, as we seek to overcome postmodern conundrums. However, truth may still be established in this age. Truths generally converge. So Gardner thinks there's hope. Truth and False can be seen by noting the type of truth and the methods that were used to obtain legitimacy preliminary knowledge.

There are two types of truth: Truths emanating out of academic disciplines (history, science), and truths emanating from daily life (professions, trade crafts). Within these fields propositions and statements are the basis for making truth claims. Statements and propositions are either True, False, or Indeterminate. There is no longer a singular truth, but now many truths and meta-cognitive truth. We may never obtain Truth, but our knowledge in these domains points us in a proper direction.

Aristotle's substance theory (being a substance belongs to being qua being) has been interpreted as a theory of transcendentals.[4] Aristotle discusses only unity ("One") explicitly because it is the only transcendental intrinsically related to being, whereas truth and goodness relate to rational creatures.[5]

In Christian theology the transcendentals are treated in relation to theology proper, the doctrine of God. The transcendentals, according to Christian doctrine, can be described as the ultimate desires of man. Man ultimately strives for perfection, which takes form through the desire for perfect attainment of the transcendentals. The Catholic Church teaches that God is Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, as indicated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.[10] Each transcends the limitations of place and time, and is rooted in being. The transcendentals are not contingent upon cultural diversity, religious doctrine, or personal ideologies, but are the objective properties of all that exists.[citation needed]

A former K-5 public school principal turned author, presenter, and leadership coach, Peter DeWitt provides insights and advice for education leaders. Former superintendent Michael Nelson is a frequent contributor. Read more from this blog.

We live in an increasingly complicated world. Some of us have a moral compass that is shaped by our experiences. We all have our own opinions on what truth, beauty and goodness means. However, we also meet people who have diverse opinions of those three virtues and thus problems ensue.

Our society has changed a great deal. The implementation of technology and the need to remain connected 24/7 has many implications for all of us. In addition, in order to meet the demands of mandates and high stakes testing, some of what we taught to students that offered a liberal arts education has been thrown aside to prepare students for a faster-paced society. Unfortunately, although I like to stay connected through social-networking sites, I enjoy listening to classical music and going to art museums. I worry that our students are missing out when they do not get exposed to these experiences.

I began to read books about Multiple Intelligences by Dr. Howard Gardner and instantly fell in love with his ideas. It was almost as if he gave me permission to teach in more than one way. This may not not sound like a groundbreaking concept but during the times of whole group teaching in every subject, it was groundbreaking and still is today. It helped me realize that all students have strengths and weaknesses. Some are more musical, while others are good with words. To be perfectly honest, it gave me hope as I entered my classroom each day.

PD: Do you feel high stakes testing has had an impact on the teaching of the three virtues you highlight in your book? If so, how can we, as educators, find common ground between high stakes testing and the teaching of things that are truthful, beautiful and good?

HG: There is no single truth, but each of the scholarly disciplines has methods which lead one ever closer to the truth. Students need to be apprised of this state of affairs and be given the tools to both judge and add to current knowledge. In some ways, the Internet makes the task harder, because there is so much garbage out there. But the chances of discovering truth, or getting closer to it, is actually greater than ever before--if you are willing to take the time. Increasingly, classroom time should be devoted to giving students the tools for ascertaining the truth value of propositions.

HG: While truth is ultimately convergent, beauty is ultimately divergent. No one can and no one should tell anyone else what that person should consider beautiful. Our job as teachers is to help students distinguish among experiences in the same genre--two paintings, two poems, two discussions, etc.--and then, if we like, indicate why we prefer one rather than the other.

HG: It is true that students tend not to attach the same weight to behavior on the internet that they do to behavior offline. That may change over time. In the meantime, it is important that respected role models or mentors (of any age) indicate what is acceptable behavior, what is not, and why. We have developed a curriculum called Our Space which deals with the major ethical dilemmas that arise in the use of digital media. You can learn more about the curriculum at goodworkproject.org. especially the entries on the Good Play project.

Dr. Gardner explores the three virtues in depth and provokes the reader, as he always does, to look at their definition of what truth, beauty and goodness is, and consider how others can see the same virtues in a much different way.

Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He also holds positions as Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and Senior Director of

Harvard Project Zero. Among numerous honors, Gardner received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship in 1981. He has received honorary degrees from 26 colleges and universities, including institutions in Bulgaria, Chile, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, and South Korea. In 2005 and again in 2008, he was selected by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines as one of the 100 most influential public intellectuals in the world. The author of 25 books translated into 28 languages, and several hundred articles, Gardner is best known in educational circles for his theory of multiple intelligences, a critique of the notion that there exists but a single human intelligence that can be adequately assessed by standard psychometric instruments (retrieved 8/05/11 from howardgardner.com).

Prominent philosophers through the centuries have called these three cosmic values transcendentals. A transcendental refers to something that exists beyond the time-space-matter world. It is a universal reality that extends beyond our everyday sensory experiences and is thus considered nonphysical, immaterial, conceptual, or even spiritual. In philosophy, the transcendental relates to and seeks to describe the nature of reality or being. Therefore, one may think of these values as timeless universals and attributes of being.

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