Latest news with #Socrates
Economist
24-07-2025
- Science
- Economist
AI labs' all-or-nothing race leaves no time to fuss about safety
IT IS COMMON enough for new technology to spark a moral panic: think of the Victorians who thought the telegraph would lead to social isolation or Socrates, who worried that writing would erode brain power. But it is unusual for the innovators themselves to be the ones panicking. And it is more peculiar still for those same anguished inventors to be pressing ahead despite their misgivings. Yet that, more or less, is what is happening with the tech world's pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI), meaning an AI capable enough to replace more or less anyone with a desk job, or even superintelligence, meaning an AI so smart no human can understand it.
NDTV
23-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
India's Classroom Crisis: Why Your Teacher Is So Clueless About Everything
Why are we discussing the revised NCERT history books for schoolchildren? In all likelihood, most readers will not retain the new facts beyond the exam room. Fifteen years later, they would struggle to even spell Akbar or Aurangzeb. As for stirring the communal passions, bleak as it may sound, our children need no assistance from their textbooks for that. When 'education' - the whole eighteen-year stint with it for those with graduate degrees - fails to mark the student in even a rudimentary way, why even discuss its contents or philosophy? I've spent the past month in my ancestral village, setting up a dream project. What I've encountered here, once again, is a paradoxical crisis - an education system so hollowed out that hope and despair now coexist in equal measure. Teachers Who Can't Teach... There's no shortage of applicants for teaching roles - many hold MA, MSc, and degrees. And yet, subject knowledge is almost nonexistent. The degrees, in fact, seem inversely proportional to competence. Despite offering a competitive, scaled to match the local cost of living, it's nearly impossible to find a candidate who can explain concepts meant for 10-year-olds. Most arrive without even basic grooming or communication skills, something I'm willing to overlook if they exhibit even the slightest enthusiasm for the job. It's as if they've passed through their education years in a zombie-like state, absorbing nothing. One 26-year-old science graduate said mournfully, ' Humein toh ye sikhaya hi nahin gaya ' (Nobody taught us this). 'This' being the VIBGYOR: the seven colours of the visible light spectrum. I find myself rejecting dozens of applications a week - young people whose aspirations outstrip their abilities. This is India's 'demographic dividend' disaster unfolding in real time: a generation credentialed but not educated, credentialed but not skilled. Many possess neither critical thinking nor usable handiwork skills. ...Make Students Who Can't Think Socrates demanded that the educated citizen be one who could reason independently. Responding to the Athenian democracy on the brink of political decay, he prescribed not data or dogma, but dialectic: the ability to think. Today, India faces a widespread absence of education. And the failure lies where the future begins: in the classroom. Teaching - the one profession tasked with cultivating the next generation of thinkers - has been reduced to a fallback job for the unemployable. The result is not merely disappointing examination scores or declining international rankings, but an epistemological crisis: a population that has not been taught how to think. Barring a few exceptions, most school classrooms in India are manned by underqualified, underpaid, and often semi-literate teachers who are, at best, unmotivated and, at worst, actively undermining the formation of young minds. Why No One Has An Original Thought A teacher is supposed to encourage students to engage the mind in a rigorous dialectic of ideas, to distinguish truth from half-truth, to interrogate, to analyse, and to discover - as the Greeks put it - the archai of thought, the deep principles of truth, goodness, and beauty. The land of sage-teachers like Dronacharya, Vashishtha, and Chanakya knows that education at its best stirs the soul toward these foundations. At its worst, it deadens the intellect. Today, the Indian schoolchild is often condemned to the latter. And this has been our tragic intergenerational bequest. 'I did not write anything even remotely related to the question paper in the exam room but still have 80% marks in all the subjects,' confided an old acquaintance who proudly flaunts his law degree. Nathan Pusey, the legendary educationist who became the 24th president of Harvard University, once warned, 'In the eagerness of the developing nations to achieve health and plenty, there are urgent pressures at work to emphasise the material benefits of the university.' This is no longer abstract philosophy. Its consequences are seen in the young job applicant who cannot write a coherent sentence or frame an original thought. Anything Goes Education is not a luxury for the elite. It is the bedrock of national character. Societies are made - or unmade - by what happens in their classrooms. But how can one move to the philosophical goals of education, the capacity for judgment, for reason, for moral clarity, when even the rudimentary needs of literacy cannot be met there? In India, a silent catastrophe is unfolding today. But what's most troubling is the apathy towards it. There's no public outrage, no reckoning. Education is seen not as a process of growth but as a transaction - degrees as passports to jobs. The actual learning, the life of the mind, seems irrelevant. Were it otherwise, we would see uprisings, not resignation. There is no simple fix. But we must begin by demanding more of our teachers - not merely in qualifications but in the spirit of education. Without teachers, for whom education isn't merely degree acquisition and teaching not the last shot at employment, no number of tablets, start-ups, or skill certifications will save us. Amid eager schoolchildren waiting to be taught, I keep wondering: who will teach them, and what exactly will be taught? For now, I can only pray that they retain their spirit of enquiry for as long as they can hold on to it and not turn into zombies too soon. (Nishtha Gautam is a Delhi-based journalist and author)
Telegraph
18-07-2025
- Telegraph
Violent prisoners taught philosophy
Prisoners have been taught the philosophy of stoicism under schemes that have reduced violence and conflict behind bars. Watchdogs at Wayland Prison in Thetford, Norfolk, have revealed the inmates have been undergoing classes based on the works of Socrates and Zeno of Citium. The theories behind stoicism were developed by Socrates, the Greek philosopher, while Zeno is credited with having developed the concept and founded the stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC. Stoicism, which was taken on by the Romans, teaches individuals to focus on what they can control – their thoughts and actions – and to accept what they cannot, such as external events and outcomes. Stoics strive to develop virtues such as wisdom, courage, justice and temperance to achieve a life of tranquillity and virtue. The classes at the category C prison are said by its watchdog, independent monitoring board (IMB), to have been so popular that they have been scheduled throughout the year to meet demand. The IMB said the innovative approach was proving an effective remedy to combat drug use at the jail and contributing to a decline in the amount of violence. Data published by the watchdogs showed that assaults on staff and other prisoners had decreased. 'It is this sort of effort, which distances itself from both punitive and simply educative approaches and, instead, seeks to increase a prisoner's inner resilience, which we would encourage and were recommending in our commentary on the 2024 prisoner attitude survey,' said the watchdogs. 'We therefore recommend to the governor that the prison takes the success of this course and examines how additional resilience and prevention training could be introduced as an expanded weapon in its war on the evils of drugs and the rehabilitation chances of its prisoners.' The move follows research by Manchester Met University into the impact of regular sessions on Descartes, Aristotle, Plato and other thinkers on prisoner's ability to trust and cooperate with other inmates, including some of the most dangerous Category A prisoners. Dr Kirstine Szifris, a researcher in the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, said the initial interactions were characterised by 'bravado, one-upmanship and competition' with the men not having any respect for any of their criminal counterparts. She led the prisoners through a series of philosophical problems to illustrate ideas such as Plato's ideal society, the Stoic philosophy of the Greeks and Romans, and the Socratic method of inquiry. One scenario led them to imagine they were shipwrecked on a desert island with other survivors and asked how they would organise their new society. She found that through an emphasis on philosophical conversation, the inmates began to appreciate the importance of listening to each other. 'They learned that working together to understand what Kant, Descartes or Plato were saying was more fruitful than trying to outdo each other,' she said.
Epoch Times
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Pericles's Funeral Oration
In 430 B.C., the Athenian statesman Pericles delivered a 'Funeral Oration' to commemorate those who had died in war. His speech exalted Athens as a free, beautiful, and courageous city, illustrating the need to articulate higher principles and kindle hope in times of trouble. The Greatest Statesman of Athens The 5th century B.C. is often called Greece's 'Golden Age.' Democracy became a legal and political reality, Greek city states successfully deterred a massive Persian invasion and secured two centuries of independence, and philosophers like Socrates began asking probing philosophical questions that continue to concern humanity. Playwrights , Sophocles, Aristophanes, and Euripides wrote some of the most famous dramas to this day, while the physician Hippocrates laid the foundations for modern medicine and the traveling bard turned history into an intellectual discipline in its own right.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ExxonMobil May Sell Singapore Fuel Retail Business in $1B Deal
Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM is in talks to divest its entire network of 59 gasoline stations in Singapore to Aster Chemicals and Energy, a joint venture between global commodities giant Glencore and Indonesia's Chandra Asri Group, according to a Bloomberg report. The deal, if finalized, could be valued at around $1 billion. A sale would mark a strategic shift for ExxonMobil, enabling it to redeploy capital toward higher-growth opportunities. The move aligns with CEO Darren Woods' broader strategy to streamline the company's downstream portfolio and concentrate on high-return investments, particularly in upstream oil and gas production and low-carbon initiatives. ExxonMobil has operated in Singapore for more than 130 years, primarily under the Esso brand. While the gas station divestiture would mark a significant change, the company maintains a sizable footprint in the city-state, including a refinery, chemical and lubricant manufacturing plants, a fuel terminal and an LPG bottling facility. According to the report, Aster Chemicals and Energy has been actively expanding its presence in Southeast Asia's energy sector. Its recent acquisitions include Shell's Singapore refining and chemicals assets, as well as Chevron Phillips Singapore Chemicals' polyethylene manufacturing facility on Jurong Island. Winning the bid for ExxonMobil's retail network would further consolidate Aster's position in the region's downstream market. Discussions are currently centered on finalizing the price and transaction structure. While no definitive agreement has been announced, the potential exit underscores ExxonMobil's global restructuring efforts and Aster's growing appetite for Southeast Asia's energy infrastructure. XOM currently carries a Zack Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the energy sector may look at a few better-ranked stocks like The Williams Companies, Inc. WMB, W&T Offshore, Inc. WTI and Oceaneering International, Inc. OII, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Williams Companies' strong base business performance and strategic expansions, such as the $1.6 billion Socrates project, further boost its outlook. Additionally, Williams' increased dividend, robust pipeline, and favorable credit rating upgrade suggest a solid foundation for long-term growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WMB's 2025 EPS is pegged at $2.11. W&T Offshore benefits from its prolific Gulf of America assets, which offer low decline rates, strong permeability and significant untapped reserves. The company's acquisition of six shallow-water fields in the GoA added 18.7 million barrels of proved reserves and 60.6 million barrels of proved plus probable reserves. The firm is focused on strategically allocating capital toward organic projects, which should boost its production outlook. WTI has a Value Score of B. Oceaneering International delivers integrated technology solutions across all stages of the offshore oilfield lifecycle. With a geographically diverse asset portfolio and a balanced revenue mix between domestic and international operations, the company effectively mitigates risk. As a leading provider of offshore equipment and technology solutions to the energy sector, OII benefits from strong relationships with top-tier customers, ensuring revenue visibility and business stability. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OII's 2025 EPS is pegged at $1.79. The company has a Value Score of B. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (WMB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report W&T Offshore, Inc. (WTI) : Free Stock Analysis Report Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
