Indoctrination
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2008-06-11T21:48:28Z
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'''Indoctrination''' is the process of [[wikt:inculcate|inculcating]] [[idea]]s, [[attitude (psychology)|attitudes]], [[cognition|cognitive strategies]] or a professional [[methodology]]. It is often distinguished from [[education]] by the fact that the indoctrinated person is expected not to question or [[critical thinking|critically examine]] the [[doctrine]] they have learned. As such it is used [[pejorative]]ly. Instruction in the basic principles of [[science]], in particular, can not properly be called indoctrination, in the sense that the fundamental principals of science call for critical self-evaluation and skeptical scrutiny of one's own ideas.
{{wiktionary|indoctrination}}
==Definitions==
Indoctrination refers to a wide range of different activities, and finding a single definition is problematic. In the fields of [[psychology]], [[sociology]] and educational research, more precise terms are often preferred, including (but not limited to): [[socialization]], [[propaganda]], [[manipulation]], and [[brainwashing]].
In [[education]], distinguishing (undesirable) "indoctrination" from the (acceptable) teaching of values is particularly problematic.
==Religious indoctrination==
[[Religious indoctrination]] refers to customary rites of passage for the indoctrination of persons into a particular religion and its extended community.
Most religious groups instruct new members in the principles of the religion; this is usually not referred to as indoctrination, because of the negative connotations the word has acquired. [[Mystery religion]]s require a period of indoctrination before granting access to [[esoteric]] knowledge. (c.f. Information security)
==Military indoctrination==
The initial psychological preparation of soldiers during training is referred to (non-pejoratively) as indoctrination. See [[Recruit training]].
==Information security==
In the field of information security, indoctrination is the initial briefing and instructions given before a person is granted access to secret information. <ref>The [[National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual]] defines indoctrination as "the initial security instructions/briefing given a person prior to granting access to classified information."</ref>
==Criticism==
[[Noam Chomsky]] remarks, "For those who stubbornly seek freedom, there can be no more urgent task than to come to understand the mechanisms and practices of indoctrination. These are easy to perceive in the totalitarian societies, much less so in the system of '[[brainwashing]] under freedom' to which we are subjected and which all too often we serve as willing or unwitting instruments."<ref>{{cite web
| last = Chomsky
| first = Noam
| authorlink = Noam Chomsky
| title = Propdaganda, American Style
| url = http://www.zpub.com/un/chomsky.html
| accessdate = 2007-06-29 }}</ref>
[[Robert Jay Lifton]] argues<ref>{{cite book
| last = Lifton
| first = Robert Jay
| authorlink = Robert Jay Lifton
| title = [[Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism]]: A Study of "Brainwashing" in China
| publisher = University of North Carolina Press
| date = 1989
| pages = 524
| isbn = 0-8078-4253-2 }}</ref> that the objective of phrases or slogans like "blood for oil," or "cut and run," is not to continue reflective conversations but to replace them with emotionally appealing phrases. This technique is called the [[thought-terminating cliché]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
* [[Behavior modification]]
* [[Brainwashing]]
* [[Manipulation]]
* [[Propaganda]]
* [[Recruit training]]
* [[Religious indoctrination]]
* [[Self-deception]]
* [[Socialization]]
==External links==
*[http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/ Students for Academic Freedom]
*[http://www.atheistfoundation.org.au/indoctrination.htm Overcoming Religious Indoctrination] Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc
*[http://www.vusst.hr/ENCYCLOPAEDIA/indoctrination.htm Habermas and the Problem of Indoctrination] Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Education
[[Category:Propaganda]]
[[Category:Anti-cult terms and concepts]]
[[Category:Mind control methods]]
[[Category:Religious behaviour and experience]]
[[Category:Social psychology]]
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