HUNTINGTON BEACH : Technology Makes Philosophy Relevant

It occurred to Pierre Grimes some years back that there existed a common perception that the study of philosophy was not relevant to the modern-day man or woman.

For Grimes, a teacher of philosophy, this was troubling.

So, during his 24 years as a Golden West College instructor, his intellectual pilgrimage has not only been one of developing his philosophy, but of devising means through which to give his ideas practical applications.

To accomplish that, Grimes has employed modern technology, such as the video camera and the computer, as primary teaching tools.

Such techniques are attractive to students, he says, and provide an ideal vehicle for his quasi-psychological approach to teaching critical thinking and self-actualization, which he calls “philosophical midwifery.”

“I’ve long been aware of the fact that a real problem in education is that you can’t put anything new or significant into the mind of a young person until you’re sure there’s room for it,” he said. “Quite often there are preconceived, opposing ideas in one’s mind . . . that pose blocks to the acceptance of new ideas.”

Consequently, Grimes considers himself a “philosophical midwife” in that “we have these characteristics that we’re pregnant with, and we need to give birth to them and examine them,” which he strives to help students accomplish, he said.

Upon examination, he said, those conflicts between accepted ideas and new ones often can be resolved, he said.

Grimes has created a computer program as one way of inducing “labor” to expel such ingrained beliefs.

The program includes a catalogue of about 500 questions, designed as a Platonic dialogue, he said.

Students answer selected questions and follow-ups according to their individual beliefs, until they’ve narrowed down their inner conflict and have identified the root of the problem.

“I thought the computer was an ideal way to present this material, because the program is designed for the viewer to type answers to various questions himself or herself,” thereby discovering contradictory beliefs through self-examination, he said.

“The objectivity a computer affords,” as opposed to a subjective human, “is a great help,” he said. And the student’s resulting computer printout “can be easily accessed . . . as a repository of your own reflections.”

Grimes has used the video medium to record performances of two philosophical plays he has written, including his most recent work, “Is It All Relative?”

The latest play, he said, is an illustration of his philosophical midwifery theme that was taped this year, which he has since used in teaching his classes.

He said he has also used the video camera to document subjects’ philosophical self-analysis, with Grimes serving as the “midwife.”

By recording the session, one can continually review its revelations, and build upon them to develop a student’s critical thinking, he said.

“I must have in excess of 5,000 videotapes out there that I’ve been on one way or another,” he said.

The use of video, he says, “is a great tool. I think it will open up a new kind of reflection--the reflection on meaning.”

Grimes insists his philosophical approach cannot be classified as psychology, but added that some psychologists have been intrigued by its applications to their field.

“One of the psychologists here who had viewed the computer program said, ‘If this is successful, I’ll be out of a job,’ ” Grimes said.