Updated - 22 October 2018
Copyright - G P Sagar  2015
The Plato Gap
There are no perfect men in this world, only perfect intentions. Robin Hood
The Scene was Set Long Ago !
ACADEMIA PRACTICAL
“They   are   to   be   gentlemen,   unsullied   by   trade   and   the   menial labours    of    agriculture    and    craftsmanship:    and    they    are    to follow     the     gentleman's     calling     of     public     service     in     the administration   and   the   army.   Whereas   the   civilian,   with   his vulgar   interests   in   his   craft,   in   money-making   and   in   family- life,   is   a   natural   subject,   the   ruler,   conscious   of   the   the   social responsibility   which   higher   intellectual   and   moral   capacities bring is a natural gentleman.”
Being   attributed   as   the   father   of   western   philosophy   Plato   has   to   be   responsible   for   the   division   between   the   academic and   practical   spheres   within   our   society.   Contemporary   philosophy   through   our   universities   sadly   perpetuates   this   status, and   even   amplifies   it.   The   notion   that   someone   who   works   with   their   hands   is   somehow   inferior   is   forefront   in   our everyday concerns. Our   society   has   never   been   a   to   shake   off   this   concept   of   and   the   division   between   the   academic   world   and   the   practical. Considerable   blame   must   be   levelled   at   our   universities   which   have   prompted   early   times   have   been   aloof   from   the general   public.   The   concept   of   'ordinary   people'having   the   capacity   of   abstract   thinking   has   always   been   stifled.   The reasons   for   this   are   too   complex   for   discussion   here.   The   fact   remains   that   the   craftsman   before   he   can   execute   his exquisite   masterpiece   has   to   expend   much   effort   and   mental   agility   in   planning   his   work   which   quite   likely   would   tax   many respected academics. I   cannot   emphasize   just   how   serious   the   situation   is   regarding   the   academic   sphere.   The   academics   of   our   time,   and indeed   those   of   generations   past,   just   do   not   listen   or   hear   or   even   tempt   to   understand   the   arguments   relating   to craftsmanship   or   the   practical   people   who   pursue   technological   goals.   There   is   something   of   a   physical   barrier   when   the subject   is   aired   within   professional   circles.   This   I   come   across   time   and   time   again,   even   with   close   family   members, particularly when discussing teaching, learning, and training.
Rough notes below
I,   Theophilus,   an   humble   priest,   servant   of   the   servants   of   God,   unworthy   of   the   name   and   profession   of   a   monk,   to   all   wishing to    overcome    or    avoid    sloth    of    the    mind    or    wandering    of    the    soul,    by    useful    manual    occupation    and    the    delightful contemplation of novelties, send a recompense of heavenly price. (THE TREATISE of THEOPHILUS, also called RUGERUS, UPON VARIOUS ARTS,) As   shown   in   the   previous   section,   back   in   early   times   there   was   obvious   discussion   concerning   the   role   which   individuals   had within   society.   In   fact   the   Greeks   in   these   times   were   immersed   in   philosophical   ideas,   and   the   structure   of   society.   Plato   made it   very   clear   that   in   his   ideal   society   people   who   worked   with   their   hands   and   laboured   were   to   be   regarded   as   of   a   lower   class. Owing   to   the   prominence   of   these   individual   they   were   listened   to   and   the   class   system   took   hold   with   the   result   that   it   was perpetuated around most of the world continuing right up to this very day. Our own education system is designed to perpetuate this ideal.
A fifteen year old dislexic student produces this superb example of a working model to go on and win an adult competition. How can you equate this with the elevated status of the ‘academic’  when considering the eliments of planning, understanding the visual communication, the spacial awareness, and all the other attributes of a craftsman in the making.