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Observatory
Socrates was one of the first to recognize the intimate and necessary relationship between education and personal commitment. His pedagogy was skillfully shaped to penetrate the protective armor of custom and opinion to release in the suddenly exposed and vulnerable individual a sense of shocked engagement. The aim of the elenchus—the name given to his teaching method—was to give birth to a desire for authentic learning. Intellectually the elenchus, as it worked on the student, moved from strongly held opinion, to floundering uncertainty, to loss, to not-knowing, that engendered the authentic quest for meaning, the desire for finding out. Emotionally, the elenchus began with smug ease (‘I know what I think’) that dissolved into unease, then into anguish, then into concern and, finally, into collaborative and reflective curiosity.
-Peter Abbs, The Educational Imperative.
*Picture taken at Siena, Italy
The Observatory is our place of discovery. Here we engage our genuine human curiosity to further our knowledge and understanding. Our inquiry is driven by sheer passion and awe.