{"id":4922,"date":"2019-03-26T09:22:11","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T13:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anthroposophy.ca\/?p=4922"},"modified":"2025-01-19T17:09:15","modified_gmt":"2025-01-19T22:09:15","slug":"4922","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anthroposophy.ca\/en\/4922\/","title":{"rendered":"The sensory migration from the real world to the digital world"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sensory migration from the real world to the digital world<\/strong><\/p>\n

An article by Chantal Lapointe on two lectures given by<\/p>\n

Philippe Perenn\u00e8s<\/p>\n

PART TWO<\/p>\n

How can we counteract this sensory migration phenomenon?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first thing we must consider in order to find ways of dealing with this situation is the fact that the child lives more outside the \u201cself\u201d than inside; that is to say that a child has not yet developed a large degree of self awareness. The following excerpt from a work by Adeline Dubreu-B\u00e9clin focussing on the effects of screen exposure on psychological development (in L\u2019\u00e9volution psychiatrique 83 <\/em>(2018) p. 399-414), will throw some light on this situation:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe emergence of thinking and the development of the psychological sheath require first of all a solid physical foundation. In order for the self to find its place in time and space, the child must experience \u201cholding,\u201d (being \u201cheld\u201d) by the parent. The child needs parental \u201cholding,\u201d but also must be given time to engage with the surrounding world through sense perception. The dominant factors in the young child\u2019s life are physical growth and the development of motor coordination. The entire psychological life of the child is expressed through movement, at least up until the moment when the ability to speak is acquired. The child\u2019s motor expression is of course a reaction to organic needs, but it is also the child\u2019s first way of communicating with the surrounding world. This interaction is vital to the formation of the sense of self as subject, and also to the creation of a \u201cspace\u201d for thinking. As the child stumbles along, exploring the surrounding world, motor intelligence is gradually raised to the level of mental imaging. Therefore, we can attest to the importance of the solid physical and rational foundations which lead to the development of the sense of the self as subject. This leads us to conclude that overexposure to screens at an early age, by disturbing this double developmental foundation, alters the emergence of thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

This means in reality that in order to develop awareness as an \u201cI\u201d or \u201cself,\u201d the child must have the benefit of both sensory experiences and relations with human beings. This reality must absolutely be taken into consideration.<\/p>\n

Children are the future of humanity, and Perenn\u00e8s shares Saint-Exup\u00e9ry\u2019s view that: \u201cAs far as the future is concerned, the important thing is not to foresee it, but rather to make it possible.\u201d We must make it possible for children to develop, which means making it possible for something, or rather someone, that we do not yet know, to emerge. We have to commit to \u201callowing freedom to develop.\u201d But how? How can we allow a child to become what he or she truly is? We must start by not putting obstacles in the way of what wants to emerge, by not allowing something we would like the child to be or become get in the way of what the child truly is. Perenn\u00e8s explains that the three pillars of Waldorf education are designed to respond to that very need:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Cultivating a clear intention<\/li>\n
  2. Developing manual skills<\/li>\n
  3. Developing and educating all the senses<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 1. \u00a0 Cultivating a clear intention:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    There is a clear distinction to be made between the intentionality of the child and that of the adult. The child\u2019s intentionality is still more or less instinctual, and is closely linked to life forces: hunger, thirst, the need to feel safe, etc. And if this primitive instinctual intentionality, turned exclusively towards one\u2019s own self needs, persists in adulthood, it becomes a problem. Intentionality must of necessity evolve over the course of one\u2019s life \u2013 but towards what, and how?<\/p>\n

    In the training course Rudolf Steiner gave in 1919 in Stuttgart to the teachers of the first Waldorf school, he spoke of how in the evolution of a human being one can see a certain interiorization of the will forces accompanied by a movement of feeling towards the thinking sphere. Insofar as we can consider feeling to be the \u201cmotive\u201d for willing, we can sense how thinking gradually penetrates and gives intention to the forces of willing. Instinct appears therefore as what we could call an \u201cinferior\u201d state of willing, and can be clearly expressed in the physical forms in which the various animals appear. In Study of Man,<\/em>Rudolf Steiner points out how we see in the very bodily form of birds, bees, beavers, their instinctual ability to build their dwellings. He goes on to say that on higher level, even in some animals, the will no longer expresses itself as instinct, but rather as \u201cimpulse,\u201d which is more internal in nature, whereas instinct is driven by something external. On an even higher level, will becomes desire. Yet, even though \u201cimpulse\u201d is \u201cconstant\u201d throughout the course of one\u2019s life, \u201cdesire\u201d is not always present, \u201cit wells up and then recedes.\u201d Instincts, impulses and desires are manifestations of animal nature, which ceases to be the case when they are sufficiently internalised to be perceived by the \u201cI\u201d, and although animals may have desires, we cannot say that they have motives. The highest forms of will are the \u201cwish, or desire\u201d to \u201cdo better next time\u201d (to improve oneself). A \u201cplan\u201d results when a wish\/desire takes on a \u201cclearer contour\u201d and aims at a concrete goal. The \u201cplan,\u201d after having matured for some time, then becomes a \u201cresolve.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    In order for this evolution of the will to take place, to become more human, less egotistical, more in tune with one\u2019s community, it must be carried within the hearts of the adults with whom the child is in contact, the adults that the child will imitate and take as role models. Educators, and all the adults in a child\u2019s surroundings, must be imbued with intentionality that is not animal in nature, but rather as human as possible. This of course requires that the educator\u2019s intentions not be determined by questions of money, but rather by more noble motives, until such time as the same intentionality can blossom within the child\u2019s own heart.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Of course, deep-rooted intentions can very well lurk far beneath the level of our normal consciousness. We are not always aware of why we do something or other, why we end up at a certain place. \u00a0And yet, the intentionality reveals itself in the very actions we take. Therefore, as adults, we must practice careful introspection. It behoves us to examine our actions to attempt to become aware of our deep-rooted intentions.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Developing proper knowledge and skills<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      What we do is who we are. Obviously, a child cannot look back over his life to discover who he is. Until such time as the child reaches an age where his or her own actions can become a defining life feature, a child defines his or her own being by what the parents do: \u201cMy daddy is\u2026 he knows how to\u2026 My mommy is\u2026\u201d. Writing one\u2019s own biography entails engaging with the world of time and space, and in order to do this, the child must experience the ability to make the surrounding real world move. Children who do not manage to make things work or move are fragile: they are either withdrawn or become troublemakers. In this respect, art activities and handicrafts are precious tools.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Educating all the senses<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        The first thing we need to do is to become familiar with all the senses (see the explanatory note at the end of the article). The next step is to cultivate the senses, to care for their development. This is why more and more kindergartens and day care centres are choosing to locate in a natural setting (http:\/\/www.communityplaythings.com\/resources\/articles\/2018\/long-term-effects-of-nature-based-education<\/a>).<\/p>\n

        A fundamental characteristic of true perception of the real world is coherence<\/em>. When a child picks up a piece of wood, he feels its weight, sees its shape, can taste it, smell it, explore the nuances of its various colours, make sounds with it, test its strength, etc. If Waldorf schools reject the use of plastic toys, it is because the child needs this coherence of perceptions that plastic does not offer: plastic objects all have more or less the same weight, taste, and uniform texture.\u00a0 External sense coherence fosters inner coherence.<\/p>\n

        Thus, to counteract the effects of sensory migration, Perenn\u00e8s suggests that we put into practice the three pillars found in Waldorf education:<\/p>\n