Reconstituting the Curriculum

Gary M. Zatzman has decades of investigative journalism and research experience, dozens of articles in technical journals, and three previously published books: Sustainable Resource Development, Sustainable Energy Pricing, and Economics of Intangibles (with M.R. Islam).

Jaan S. Islam is the executive editor of Ummah Youth Journal published in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has been involved in research in the social sciences as well as technology development and has published numerous papers.

Foreword xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Preface xvii

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Widespread malaise — a Summary 1

1.2 Thought as Material 8

1.3 Renewal of Thought-Material Resources and the Nature-Science Approach 9

2 Curriculum — The Place Where Tangible Content Wrestles Intangible Process 19

2.1 Introduction 19

2.2 What is ‘Human Thought Material’? 21

2.3 Why This Starting Point? 22

2.4 HTM from the Nature-Science Standpoint 24

2.5 Commodification of HTM 46

2.6 HTM vs Commodification 47

2.7 Skills Development versus Learning from Acts of “Finding Out” 57

2.8 Current Practices in Education 65

2.9 The Need for the Science of Intangibles as the Basis for Education 69

2.10 The Tangible-Intangible Nexus 70

2.11 The Encounter between European and Islamic Outlooks — a Delinearized History 74

2.12 Final Words About Education and Training 85

3 Intention: Its Individual and Social Purposes 87

3.1 Introduction 87

3.2 Human Thought Material: A “Root + Pathway” Analysis 88

3.3 Foetal Learning 88

3.4 Aspects of Pre-School Learning and Early Development of Individuals’ own Thought-Material 90

3.5 Intention: Origins 91

3.6 Nature for Sale? 102

3.7 Conclusions 107

4 Fundamental Changes in Curriculum Development 109

4.1 Introduction 109

4.2 Struggle for Educational Reform: Internal and External Factors 111

4.3 Muslim-Christian Conflict: A Delinearized Short History 112

4.4 Why did the Scientific Revolution Break Out in Europe and Not the Islamic World? 116

4.5 Education and Civilization: a Delinearized History 117

4.6 Education and Civilization: the Delinearized Future Prospect of a Reconstituted Curriculum 123

5 Sustainability and Change in Curriculum Development: The HSSA Syndrome and Other Maladies 125

5.1. Truth is Knowledge, Knowledge is Peace, So … What’s the Problem? 125

5.2 What is Sustainability? 126

5.3 What Happens When a Process is Not Sustainable 127

5.4 Theories Proven Wrong? How About ‘Laws’? 131

5.5 Could this be Averted, and if so, How? 136

5.6 Theory, Empirical Outlook and Disinformation in the Social Sciences 141

6 The Nature-Science Criterion 151

6.1 Introduction — Can Modern Science Distinguish Truth From Falsehood? 151

6.2 Tangible-Intangible Nexus & the criterion of Truth vs Falsehood 159

6.3 Negative Impacts of the Science of Tangibles 163

7 The HSSRAR Phenomenon 191

7.1 Introduction 191

7.2 The HSSRAR (Honey �� Sugar �� SaccharinR �� AspartameR) Pathway 193

8 Concluding Remarks & Observations 207

8.1 Introduction 207

The Appendices 209

Appendix 1a 211

Appendix 2a 325

Appendix 3a 411

References and Bibliography 463

Index 505

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