Hidden Contradictions Research Articles

Perspectives Near and Far

If a pupil telling about the famous Newtonian apple cannot formulate the law himself, a well-deserved "2" [unsatisfactory, or "D" grade] awaits him. But if the same pupil, without reading a single line from War and Peace, can tell the teacher that L. N. Tolstoi created the epic at Iasnaia Poliana, he will receive at least a "3" [satisfactory, or "C" grade]. For what? Supposedly for a knowledge of literary criticism. And so it turns out that in the actual content of a school subject there are certain hidden contradictions that make it possible for obvious ignorance suddenly to become "knowledge."