From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of each other — above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received. Life isn’t worth living, unless it is lived for someone else.
— Albert Einstein
Goal and mission
The School of thought helps you to improve the quality of your thoughts and activities as measured by the responsible autonomy with which you conduct your daily life.
The mission of the School of Thought is not so much to teach as it is to liberate. It aims to liberate individuals from restraints that they impose on themselves or that they allow society to impose on them. Liberated individuals develop a high sense of realism that allows them to direct their own life (instead of being unwittingly directed by, and hence serving, others); they take control of their destinies through effectively contributing to and manifesting the futures that they aspire to realize. In doing so they become a constructive influence in their environment.
For that reason teaching at the School of Thought is aimed at the skills and knowledge that allow one to be and feel competent during an ever growing fraction of one’s lifetime. This – justified – sense of competence allows one to explore, to create, to challenge, and to lead.
Background
The School of Thought originates from science into for example open-ended development, the biological roots of moral behavior, how people experience and appraise their environment, and how agent adequacy is related to wisdom
In addition considerable efforts have been aimed at the study of identity development in especially adolescents. This has let to a number of insights and articles that together shed a novel light on the route to adulthood, wisdom, and self-actualization. This growing body of texts is compiled under the Vision-section of the website.