In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy.
Ivan IllichRead
Schools are designed on the assumption that there is a secret to everything in life; that the quality of life depends upon knowing that secret; that secrets can only be known in orderly successions; and that only teachers can properly reveal these secrets. An individual with a schooled mind conceives of the world as a pyramid of classified packages accessible only to those who carry the proper tags.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the traditional school system's belief in exclusive knowledge and structured learning.
Ivan Illich's quote highlights the limitations of conventional education, suggesting that it enforces a hierarchical structure of knowledge that only a select few can access. He argues that this approach fosters a narrow understanding of the world as a series of categorized secrets, rather than promoting a more open and inclusive exploration of life's complexities.
Themes
EducationKnowledgeSecretsLearningHierarchy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about modern education reform, one might quote Illich to emphasize the need for a more open approach to learning.
More from Ivan Illich
All quotes →School is the advertising agency which makes you believe that you need the society as it is.
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School prepares for the alienating institutionalization of life by teaching the need to be taught. Once this lesson is learned, people lose their incentive to grow in independence; they no longer find relatedness attractive, and close themselves off to the surprises which life offers when it is not predetermined by institutional definition.
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The pupil is ... 'schooled' to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say something new.
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The myth of unending consumption has taken the place of the belief in life everlasting.
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Effective health care depends on self-care; this fact is currently heralded as if it were a discovery.
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