The Idiot Guide to Sanity

THE IDIOT GUIDE TO SANITY presents an outline for a sane and holistic, consciousness-based education. The author's educational approach starts from what is, not from what should be, not from an ideal, thus, but from the actual constitution of the human being, with all the complexity inherent in it. He contends that children are born sane and are rendered more or less insane by an educational system that till now considers the human being as the impossible human, that is, a creature that is basically faulty and has to be improved and upgraded by education, and morality. The present view view opposes this patriarchal educational paradigm and shows that traditional education brings about fragmentation, ignorance and widespread violence. The author shows in this guide that a sane educational approach is functional, and not moralistic, and that it must overcome the neo-platonic dualism that is rooted in the death instinct, rather than in our libido. As the child is whole by nature, education does not really need to do anything for raising healthy humans. It should rather restrain from doing many things it usually does and that are counter-productive to raising children sanely. The sane educator is one who is able to maintain a healthy balance between emotions and intellect. He will be an observer rather than a manager, a witness rather than a judge, a friend rather than a parent replacement. He accompanies the child, as a guide, a tutor. The audience for this guide are all those involved in educating children, as well as educational policy makers, also parents, educational associations, politicians, pediatricians and child psychologists, and also the lay public, especially those who are looking for a new way to educate children now and in the future.