Awareness and the Limits of Abstraction: A Kantian Meditation on Pedagogy, AI, & Perception

• In Event: Mind, Awareness, and Pedagogical Practice

Abstract

This paper explores how contemporary pedagogy—particularly in STEM—risks diminishing the human capacities for observation, reflection, and presence. Guided by Kant’s maxim—“Concepts without percepts are empty; percepts without concepts are blind”—we contrast the mechanized intelligence of Large Language Models with human ways of knowing rooted in embodied experience. Drawing from Eastern contemplative traditions such as Vedanta and Buddhism (Mookerji, 1947), as well as Borges’ Funes the Memorious and the film Ankhon Dekhi, we examine the limits of abstraction without perception. Holistic education (Ergas, 2018) provides pathways to restore awareness and attentional clarity, particularly during mental health crises. We offer educator and student practices as examples: attentional exercises, site-based observation, reflective journaling—to reframe learning as grounded, perceptual, and imaginative.

Authors

• Raaghav Pandya, City University of New York

• Punya Mishra, Arizona State University