Four Stages of Intellectual Growth

CONTENTS:   Thoughts on Personal Growth and Change
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Warren Z. Weinstein  --  Philosophy and Asian Studies Departments
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THE FOUR STAGES*

 
Dependence
Emergence
Independence
Interdependence
KNOWLEDGE is:
 Right/Wrong Right/Wrong/Not Yet Known Personal Truth Contextual Truth
defined by:
 Authority Authority/Reasoning Reasoning/Individual Adequacy/Context
seen as:
 Discrete, rigid, concrete, unrelated Interesting, sometimes disturbingly complex Complex and sometimes interrelated Complex and interrelated
focus on:
 What to believe How to learn How to think How to evaluate
TEACHER offers:
 Right answers Ways to find right answers Alternative ways to think about and frame problems Expertise in a defined realm of knowledge
LEARNER must:
 Memorize facts; Accept authority Search for answers; Find sources/methods for learning Find own voice; 
Question authority		 Evaluate; Seek most adequate response
PEERS offer:
 Factual information; Friendship Interesting sources of diverse perspectives Legitimate resources for knowledge Crucial sources of knowledge; Genuine learning community



CHANGES WITH GROWTH*

THE WORLD which once seemed rigid, simple and concrete becomes increasingly more flexible, complex and abstract.
KNOWLEDGE which once seemed certain becomes increasingly more uncertain, speculative and interrelated.
AUTHORITY which once seemed an infallible source is increasingly viewed as a fallible resource.
THE LEARNER who once was a passive recipient becomes more active as a sense of personal agency develops.
PEERS are increasingly seen as valuable to learning, as the individual moves from isolation to community.



STAGES ARE NOT STATIC AND CANNOT BE RUSHED

Individuals tend to display a variety of orientations, depending upon the situation, the issue under discussion and the personal investment in the matter under review.  When individuals feel threatened, they tend to revert to earlier, less flexible stages.
The ability to handle higher and higher levels of abstraction is a maturational skill whose appearance varies normally from individual to individual, usually developing in the late teens or early twenties. It cannot be rushed any more than walking, talking, or puberty.



AN ILLUSTRATIVE STORY

Having been taken to meet the great scientist, a boy is invited by Albert Einstein to go for a walk at sunset in the woods behind the physicist's home. During a lull in their conversation, the boy tells Einstein that though he has learned in school that it is the earth which is turning, the idea conflicts with the experience of his senses. "I don't feel like I'm turning, and it definitely looks to me like the sun is going down, rather than the earth which is coming up."

Einstein replied, "You may be right. I have thought about it, and what makes the most sense to me is that the appearance of the setting sun is caused by the rotation of the earth. But this is only a theory. I suggest that you think about this matter further to see if you can come up with a different theory. And if you do, please promise that you will let me know at once, so that you and I together can investigate whether your new theory is a better explanation of the facts than the old one."

Which orientation was the boy displaying?  Which orientation did Einstein display?  Is either surprising to you? 

*  After Perry, William G., Jr. Forms of Intellectual and Ethical Development in the College Years--A Scheme, 1998, 1968, and William Moore et al., 1999

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