This article analyzes the causes of academic demotivation among modern teens and young adults and considers how realism, which aims at the pursuit of truth, can contribute to motivating learning. It suggests how realism can provide motivation to dedicate oneself to scientific research through its religious function.
The motivation for learning among adolescents and young adults today is much different than in the past: many study not out of academic curiosity, but because someone tells them to, or for their own advancement. To address this issue, we need to look at the purpose of modern scientific research. Some modern scientists studied to enrich lives through the application of their discipline, while others conducted scientific research for purely academic purposes. For the latter purpose, old scientists and philosophers debated the question of ‘what is truth’. It was a debate about whether the pursuit of truth was meaningful. Although realism lost that debate, we’d like to examine its effect on this phenomenon in the modern world.
In a nutshell, realism is the position that the ultimate goal of science is the pursuit of truth. Realists think through human, intuitive cognition. They look at what science has accomplished so far and believe that the best scientific theories can hold true despite some unobservables, relying on intuition, e.g., “Can you deny Maxwell and Hertz’s theory of electromagnetism by listening to FM radio?” However, realists run into the counterargument of anti-realism and pessimistic induction.
Van Friesen, a prominent anti-realist philosopher, offered an evolutionary counterargument to realism: it is foolish to celebrate science for producing only successful theories. It is natural for science to be prolific. It’s evolutionarily self-evident that the best-adapted theories survive and succeed, rather than being dismissed out of hand. In other words, just because science is successful doesn’t mean it should follow realism.
Another problem is pessimistic induction. According to the American philosopher of science, Laudan, the old theories that dominated the history of science have always failed. Eventually, like Kuhn’s scientific revolution, the old paradigm collapses and a new one emerges. This suggests that the current paradigm will one day be overturned by a new paradigm, so the premise that science is currently successful is not true, which undermines the core of realism: the success of science.
These two key rebuttals eventually led to a dwindling number of people clamoring for realism and the pursuit of truth. However, I don’t think this means that realism should be discarded; I see it as similar to religion. Specifically, it seems to be similar to religion in general in its pursuit of unseen truths and belief in the existence of an invisible God. Religion united people, especially in the Middle Ages. Similarly, I believe that realism served to unite scientists to dedicate themselves to their work. Despite the great effort and sacrifice required, many unsung scientists set out in search of the light of truth, resulting in scientific advances.
Nevertheless, as realism gradually loses its persuasive power, modern times are characterized by thinking that is limited to the problem at hand, or the pursuit of one’s own self-interest, rather than the pursuit of truth. For example, the same can be said for the academic eagerness of today’s youth: learning is a means to an end, not an end in itself. University students take classes for credit and focus on results rather than the joy of learning. In South Korea, the purpose of high school education has also shifted to improving college entrance exam performance. Students are extremely confused and doubt their knowledge and learning, regardless of whether they succeed or fail. It is only when they reach college that they realize that their studies have been a meaningless chore. I believe this is due to a lack of long-term, meaningful motivation to learn during adolescence.
At this point, the hope that existentialism can offer is great. As I mentioned earlier, if realism functions as a religion and contributes to motivation to learn, then perhaps there will be more dedication to the advancement of science and less to the search for truth. Thinking that rejects realism with pessimistic insights may cause scientists to see their hard work as wasted. Of course, it’s a waste in the sense of “not contributing to our understanding of the world as God made it,” but a more compelling perspective is anti-realism. We are human beings, and we have clearly defined limitations. It is impossible for us to approach the “God-made system of this world.” Realism is a mindset that cannot fulfill its purpose. As such, realism is clearly a deficient and ultimately defeated explanation. But it does have a place in the educational revolution that our society needs. The values of realism, learned in early childhood, should continue to be expressed when a person becomes a scientist or engineer.
My tentative conclusion to the question “So what specific mindset should we adopt?” is this Pursue the truth, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that your achievements are a step closer to the truth. The phrase “one step closer to the truth” is itself ambiguous, and according to counterfactualism, it may not even be a step because it is an achievement that will fail at some point. But let’s use realism only for motivation: to teach the beauty and nobility of the pursuit of truth, to make people feel that they are truth-seekers. Someone might object. “What’s the point of deceiving yourself?” but I believe that realism can function as a religion. The God believed in in common religions is invisible, yet people believe it is visible and rationalize their beliefs. This serves society as a net function (if it’s a normal religion, not a cult). It is my hope that by deluding oneself with realism, one contributes to the progress of science.
It would be better for scientists to pursue truth on the basis of realism, and to work with the idea that they are contributing to it. So far, we’ve briefly discussed realism, and thought about how realism can contribute to society. To summarize, we would like to see scientists working on theories with an infinite drive, satisfied with their own small achievements in the pursuit of truth. We expect that having a mindset of truth-seeking before learning and exploring science in depth will contribute to the desire to explore.
