Journal of East China Normal University(Educationa ›› 2016, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (1): 38-44.doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2016.01.005

• Basic theory of Education (教育基本理论) • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Debating Characteristic of Human Mind and its Cultivation

GU Er-Huo   

  1. The Faculty of Education Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610068, China
  • Online:2016-03-15 Published:2016-03-31
  • Contact: GU Er-Huo
  • About author:GU Er-Huo

Abstract:       Debating is a common phenomenon throughout educational history in both China and abroad. The world history witnessed largescale debating ideological trends in ancient Greece, India and China respectively, and there emerged three major debating academic systems across the world, i.e. logistics in ancient Greece, Yinming Reasoning in ancient India, logic and argumentology in ancient China. Why is debating so popular in human history? What is the relationship between debating and human thinking? What does debating mean for education, and how can the ideas and methods of debating enhance educational quality? The article attempts to explore the connection between the debatingcharacterized human life and its correlation with education. Then it discusses the link between debating and thinking, involving the rudimentary issue of mental development in cognitive games. The findings show that from the point view of the link between debating and thinking, human mind has the characteristic of debating. In terms of the realistic life, human thinking is a process of cognitive game of inherent dialectic. Besides, not only is the speed of thinking improved, but also the quality is enhanced through debating. The essence of education is to develop the minds, and the minds characterized by debating can be completely developed through the dialogue education. As an educational construct, debating is an important approach to understanding oneself and the world. Dialogue is the realistic negotiation of meaning between different thoughts as well as the search for truth and selfrecognition. Education through dialogue means that there is no fixed educational models, and both the learners and the teachers can think freely; and the teaching aim to stimulate students’awareness of inquiry. This educational method aims to arouse students’internal potential to discover the answers, instead of imposing answers by teachers. In the context of accelerating Big Data Age, the MOOC and the Flipped Classroom provide important external conditions for dialogue education. In the traditional classroom, teachers tend to teach new lessons in the classroom, and students are required do homework at home. But in the Flipped Class, the location of both home and school has been changed. All the teachers and students can communicate with each other, do their work, and solve problems together in the classroom.       In order to cultivate the debating mind,the article suggests that the learners should dialogue with “text” before class, dialogue with “others” in class, and dialogue with “themselves” after class. The process involves feeling, expressing and understanding. Understanding before you have to express, expressing before you have to feel, especially to feel the important things. But the feeling comes from meaningful experience, and the expressing need courage, especially open expressing. In addition, understanding requires curiosity, imagine and logic. It is noteworthy that dialogue with “text” before class is the precondition of dialogue education practice. This is an important approach to building “knowledge base” through indirect experience.Dialogue with “others” in class is the key of dialogue education practice. It is a process through encouraging learners to communicate with different “others” and form “inquiry groups”. There are two important moral qualities involving dialogue with “others”: good at listening to “others” and questioning “others”. Dialogue with “themselves” after class is the purpose of dialogue education practice. This is a process of facilitating learners to write, selfreflect, selfdigest, and to form proper knowledge structures.