姜小白对《The Courage to be Happy》的笔记(2)

“PHILOSOPHER: Say, for example, that there is a student who never even tries to study. Questioning the student by saying ‘Why don’t you study?’ is an attitude completely lacking in respect. Instead, start by thinking, ‘What if I had the same heart as him? What if I had the same life as him?’ In other words, one thinks what it would be like if one were the same age as the student, lived in the same household and had the same friends and the same interests and concerns. If one does so, one should then be able to imagine what sort of attitude that self would adopt upon being faced with the task of one’s studies or why that self would refuse to study. Do you know what this sort of attitude is called?

YOUTH: Imagination?

PHILOSOPHER: No. This is what we call ‘empathy’.

“PHILOSOPHER: Well, let’s think about this together. Why do we stick to the principle of ‘One must not praise’ in the education setting? There are children who enjoy and benefit from being praised, so why must one not praise? What are you risking by engaging in praise?

YOUTH: I wonder what quibble you’re coming up with next. Look, I’m not going to make any concessions here. If you’re going to revise your arguments, now is the time.

“PHILOSOPHER: Earlier, I brought up the subject of the classroom being a democratic nation. You remember, right?

YOUTH: Ha-ha, when you started calling people fascists? How could I forget?

PHILOSOPHER: Then, I made the point that ‘An organisation that is under the command of a dictator cannot escape corruption.’ When we think a little more deeply about why this is so, the reason ‘One must not praise’ should become clear as well.

YOUTH: Do tell.

“PHILOSOPHER: In a community that has a dictatorship in place instead of an established democracy, all rules regarding what is right and wrong are determined at the sole discretion of the leader. This is the case for nations, of course, and corporate entities as well. And it is the same with families and schools, too. The rules in such communities are applied in a quite arbitrary manner.

YOUTH: Ah, companies with top-down management and such are the epitome of that.

PHILOSOPHER: Now, though one might think that dictatorial leaders are despised by their citizens, this is not always the case. Actually, there are probably more instances in which they enjoy their citizens’ ardent support. Why do you think this is so?

“YOUTH: Because the leader has some charismatic appeal?

PHILOSOPHER: No, that is not why. That is only a secondary, superficial reason. The main reason is the presence of a cutthroat system of reward and punishment.”