【求批改】issue 153 关于质疑精神

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153."Students should bring a certain skepticism to whatever they study. They should question ？what they are taught instead of accepting it passively."


Should students be skepticism about what they are taught? To this question, the speaker said Yes. In my point of view, undue skepticism might be counterproductive for a young child`s education, however, skepticism is helpful to the process of our society.

Skepticism makes our society process. If we students accept whatever the teachers taught us, we will never touch the truth. Without skepticism, we will never know the earth is not flat, in that situation, science will never exist. In the contrast, if we keep saying "why is this case?"， we can know more about this world. We should remember that that, the aim of education is not produce computers with immense storage of information, it is aimed at cultivating critical thinkers and independent individuals.

Through skepticism, sciences and philosophy evolve and grow, the moment a person casts doubt on the current theories, he/she starts the journey on the path to truth. And history is filled of examples of person who challenged the prevailing principles, thereby paving the way for scientific progress. William Harvey(1578-1657), English physician, who discovered the circulation of blood and the role of the heart in propelling it, thus refuting the theories of Galen and laying the foundation for modern physiology.

Skepticism is not only important in the field of physical sciences, but also some other fields, such as political science, sociology, arts and so on.
A democraric society is sustained by citizens who can use reason independly, not guided by some others. Only in this case, can the society make progress, can the society avoid being misled by demagogues, who are very skillful at catering to those whose judgement is susceptible to wonderful rhetoric and popular opinions. In addition, in the area of law, the students must grasp the skill of skepticism, and should continually question the fairness of current law. Otherwise, our laws would not evolve to reflect the changing societal values.

Admittedly, lack of skepticism is harmful to our society, we should also avoid undue skepticism, which might be counterproductive in educating young children. Before be skeptic, the children should develop a foundation of experiential knowledge.

To sum up, the skepticism is useful skill in most fields, including physical sciences, arts, Laws, political science and so on. Therefore, we should encourage skepticism among us except the basic levels of education.