I am reading some interesting things on the internet of Henry David Thoreau. I ought to read Walden sometime. THe thing I find intriguing are his views. THough, I have heard his views on education were interesting because he does not believe in Tests or grades as we know them.:
Thoreau's philosophy on moral individualism is distinctively American. The main concept in his philosophy is that of "independence". First of all, he declared his independence of the deep-rooted Calvinism of New England, and especially the doctrine of the Original Sin, by insisting upon man's aboriginal innocence and the responsibility of each individual to recover it. He also decalred his independence of tradition and even of his past self. This was the meaning of his celebration of "morning" in his book Walden. Morning is his great symbol of rebirth and re-generation; it is the opportunity for a new start.
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According to Thoreau, all persons by nature of personhood are innately invested with unique potential worth. His term for that is "genius", and regards it as that person's "reality" or true self, which his actual self may or may not reflect. This exists in potentia. In childhood one's distinctive potentiality is latent but during adolescence the responsibility for self-discovery starts. According to him, self-discovery can only occur experimentally, and it consists in the discovery, not of an idea of ourselves, but of what "rightfully attracts" us. In other words our genius or innate self subsists as a system of preferences and aversions. Our first responsibility is the work of progressively actualizing our distinctive potential worth. This is the primary moral business. "Let everyone mind his own business, and endeavor to be what he was made.
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http://www.everything2.com/index.pl