Education Without Indoctrination: Can It Exist? Stephen Blackwood, John Vervaeke & David Butterfield

Ralston College Humanities MA: https://www.ralston.ac/humanities-ma

Stephen Blackwood is the founding President of Ralston College, with advanced degrees in Classics and Religion and visiting positions at Harvard, Toronto, and Cambridge.

David Butterfield is a renowned Classicist based at the University of Cambridge, and Editor of the Classics website Antigone. His work centres on the critical study of classical texts and their survival from antiquity.

John Vervaeke, PhD, is an award-winning professor of psychology, cognitive science, and Buddhist psychology at the University of Toronto.


What are the fundamental principles required to cultivate an educational environment free from ideological bias?

In this episode, Stephen Blackwood, David Butterfield, and John Vervaeke explore the current landscape of higher education and its pervasive ideological influences. They discuss the importance of fostering genuine freedom of inquiry, intellectual diversity, and non-coercive teaching practices. Through personal anecdotes and reflections on academic experiences, the conversation examines the conditions that make real dialogue and meaningful education possible. This episode challenges listeners to reconsider the essence of true education and its role in developing critical, independent thinkers.

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00:00 Introduction and Exploring Education Without Indoctrination
02:20 Defining Indoctrination in Education
05:25 Current State of Higher Education
09:05 Neo-Marxism and Power Dynamics in Education
16:30 Teaching and Parenting: Fostering Realization and Free Agency
26:05 John Vervaeke:Exploring Logos, Love, and the Meaning Crisis
35:35 The Dual Aspects of Free Speech: Good Faith and Inquiry
38:30 Audience Q&A: Handling Classroom Dynamics and Approaches
53:45 Conclusion: University Traditions and Political Orientations

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Authors, Ideas, and Works Mentioned in this Episode:

Friedrich Nietzsche
Thomas Jefferson
Martha Argerich
Descartes
Jordan Peterson
Education without Indoctrination
Freedom of Speech
The New Criterion
Meaning Crisis
Dialectic into Dialogos
The Vervaeke Foundation

Re-Humanising Education By Stephen Blackwood and Bernadette Guthrie — ARC Research https://www.arc-research.org/research...

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Additional Resources


Dr Stephen Blackwood
https://www.stephenjblackwood.com/

Dr Butterfield on the crisis in the Humanities
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/march-...

Ralston College (including newsletter)
https://www.ralston.ac/

Support a New Beginning
https://www.ralston.ac/support/giving...

Ralston College Humanities MA
https://www.ralston.ac/humanities-ma?...


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Thank you for watching.