College of Light

The Factories and College of Light

By John Taylor; 2009 July 28, Kalimat 15, 166 BE

The first of two chapters about education in Panorthosia is the sixteenth, "Concerning the Universal Bond of Learning, The College Of Light." (p. 223) This chapter proposes a school of the world with a unified philosophy or Pansofia grounded in the light of God.

"... they will attend to the light of wisdom itself in all the variety of the natural world and in all its entirety, kindling it well, purifying it clearly, and spreading it effectively from nation to nation all over the world. For just as the sun in the heavens is not created for the exclusive benefit of one region but rises upon all, whirling to the south and turning unto the north, traversing the universe in its circuit (Ecclesiastes I, 5), so the sun of the mind, which is wisdom, is even now arising clear and bright, and these apostles of light will see and ensure that it is not confined to one nation or a certain few, but circulates throughout the whole world of mankind: in so doing they will become the world's brightest light-bearers, bringing the dawn to break upon the darkness of every people ..." (Panorthosia, Ch. 16, para 4, p. 224)

This institution of universal enlightenment would function with affiliates at every level, from a room devoted to learning in every home, to a sort of equivalent of UNESCO at the United Nations. The college of light would be a world government's "department of education," except that, as we have already mentioned, Comenius saw the members of this world-level college of light being elected directly by and from among working teachers, not appointed by and beholden to a separate branch of government, as is done today in nationalist states. The task of the college of light is extremely ambitious, including not only education but also directing what we now call science.

"It will be the responsibility of these Colleges to supervise the dealings of the Mind with Reality, that is, to exercise control over all human knowledge, curbing its excesses or defects or any tendency to go astray at any stage or in any circumstances, seeking ever to increase and improve the dominion of the human Mind over the real world, and to spread the light of Wisdom throughout the minds of nations all over the world. They might even be described as Mankind's Training-school, and the Heaven of the Church, and the major Luminaries of the World." (Comenius, Panorthosia, Ch. 16, para 1, p. 223)

This is the genius of Comenius, to refuse to contemplate what we routinely do, that is, artificially divorce science from technology, and science from education, as if they were entirely separate entities. All are part of our one, universal need to learn about God, the universe, and each other, so why treat them differently? By uniting teaching and science in a single enquiry the college of light will forge what he calls the "universal bond of learning." This bond avoids the pitfall of forcing the vast diversity of human thought and culture into one mold by some propaganda campaign. The emphasis on light (what we know and agree upon) and darkness (what is unknown or disputed) allows a world educational program to be entirely truthful, to permit truth itself to do the uniting.

As we have seen, the college of light is one of three democratic institutions of world governance, the other two being a political wing and a religious parliament. Presumably, a citizen in a Comenian order would exercise her franchise with three votes, one for each institution. Since every large household and neighborhood has an affiliated branch, a classroom, a place of prayer and a consultation chamber, local elections for each of the three, based on direct personal contact, could be frequent and regular.

We are used to jostling and rivalry among institutions but Comenius points out the advantages of ending that. A strong college of light would cordially cooperate with the other two branches, and by doing its part well would narrow their range of activity as separate bodies.

"To this end the Colleges of Light will also have friendly relations with the other two, which are assistants, as it were, in the universal spreading of light, and will help them as much as possible with sound advice like polishers and smiths, sharpening their hoes, ploughshares, and scythes, and solving any problems arising between churchmen and politicians so that nothing is left to the court of the Church except a decision in cases of conscience, and the political court concerns itself only with acts of violence and their prevention." (Panorthosia, Ch. 16, para 13, pp. 229-230)

This chapter explores the idea of the colleges of light adopting as their own bailiwick the publishing industry, which now would include the internet and the movie and video game industries. "The writing of books in future should not be in the hands of politicians nor churchmen but of the Colleges of Light, since the latter deal with theory, the former with practice." This is an intriguing idea. If the internet and information industry were owned, policed and operated by teachers, the excesses we now witness could be curtailed without heavy-handed, self-serving censorship. The motives of governmental and religious interference are always suspect. Since the goal of the college of light is enlightenment and the advance of knowledge, its motives are beyond reproach.

As it is now, scientists tend to specialize in pure research without application in teaching or social change; for example in economics, Jeffrey Sacks in The End of Poverty called for a new discipline called "clinical economics," which would combine theory and practice, general principle and specific context. All this is inherent to what Comenius proposed centuries ago. Every ivory tower would be torn down and experts would be directly involved in every decision on every level. No social program would go into action without careful vetting by all three branches of governance, educators, religions and political leaders. Only when all three agree would any policy be put in place.

"Therefore the other two should approach the Colleges of Light for anything that is needed in theoretical reasoning, but the latter should not issue any publication without having the practice tested by the other two and obtaining their censorship and approval respectively. The Politicians should hold the symbols of power, and concentrate on maintaining universal peace. The Churchmen should administer the Word, the Keys, and the Sacraments, and devote themselves wholly to keeping men's souls close to God. Thus there will be no confusion in their duties." (Panorthosia, Ch. 16, para 13, pp. 229-230)

Today our monolithic nationalist governments have lost trust because they tend to extend their tentacles beyond their legitimate goal of just maintaining peace and order. Nor are religious groups any better; they fanatically look beyond other-worldly welfare and attempt to steer the world their way. Comenius envisions a cooperative division of labour among all three institutions, each representing a major faculty of humanity. This would be more flexible than the artificial "separation of powers" that suspicious nation builders have welded into the present machineries of government.

What we need is truly universal education that puts wisdom, not technical wizardry, first, and thus sustains everything, like the sunlight does the earth. Teachers in such a system will become like captains of industry, the overall product of whose thriving factories is enlightenment.

"... they will attend carefully to the factories of Light, the Schools, so that these are opened throughout all Nations and all communities of human society, and are kept open and gleam with constant light. For just as the Sun fills its Planets with its light, and enlightens the whole sphere of the world (except where it turns away and seeks the shadow among the bodies of darkness), so they must enlighten the whole scholastic world which has been assigned to them. They will therefore impress upon leaders of states and churches everywhere that they must not tolerate any home, village, city, or province where reading and writing are not taught with wisdom." (Ch. 16, para 5, pp. 224-225)

John Taylor

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