The Necessity to Redefine the Role of Intellect in Transforming the Education System

This article pursues two goals. 1. Explain how the status of intellect has declined and its role has changed. 2. Explain the necessity to redefine intellect and its role in shaping the developments of the education system. To that end, the relations between scientific developments and the changes in the realm and status of intellect have been explained. Considering intellect a self-governing reality along with the metaphysical understanding of it as a current intelligence in the whole world gives intellect a determining role in assessment, in setting criteria for prioritization, and eventually in steering. This definition of intellect requires an understanding of the intellectual structure of the world. But, models defining movement, developed by physics and biology, are not compatible with such understanding of intellect. Observation of intellect as a human or personal issue and an internal thing that depends on brain – viewed as subject as opposed to object – came along with the development of science and technology and interlinked instruction of science with a materialistic view. It helped promote an understanding that looked at universe as a nonintellectual, fatalistic, neutral, norm-less and goalless structure. Removal of intellect from the world and its personalization makes theoretical and practical requirements necessary to teach science. It also links education strategies with the economic policies of dominant groups. Theoretically, in order to maintain the independence of the education system and transform it in a targeted way, intellect should be redefined. On the practical front though, these two objectives depend on the role of intellect in setting goals and determining criteria to prioritize.