Richard Feynman and Science as Knowing

We are now turning to science as a way of knowing.

One of the most extraordinary people of the 20th century was Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winning physicist who left an lasting impact on science. His impact was in part due to his discoveries, and in part due to his amazing ability to teach science. Unconventional and creative, he engaged people in viewing the world in a manner at once poetic and scientific, balancing rigorous thought and enormous awe.

In class we began watching a video on Feynman. Please finish watching the video outside of class and record a reflection here. What does Feynman say about science as a way of knowing?

The Pyramids in Bosnia and Testing for Truth

In class yesterday we watched a brief news clip about the discovery of pyramids in Bosnia. How can we evaluate the validity of this claim? In previous classes we have seen that different tests can be applied to knowledge claims. We can test by reasoning, by observation, by seeking a reliable source, by emotion. What tests are used to validate the claim in Bosnia? What tests can invalidate it? What do you personally think about the claim?

Knowledge and Wisdom

In the last two classes we have isolated and discussed briefly three categories of knowledge:

• Experiential Knowledge
• Factual Knowledge
• Skills Knowledge

We also turned our attention to wisdom. In reflecting upon what constitutes wisdom, several students articulated that it encompasses all three categories, but emphasizes experiential knowledge. It also requires reflection.

Students too mentioned specific classmates who seemed wise in that they firmly and compassionately understood what was important and meaningful in specific situations.

Can wisdom be taught? If it cannot, what does this tell us about learning? If it can, could you create a course on wisdom and what would you teach? How would you teach it?

TOK Summary Activity

The Theory of Knowledge course is not intended to deepen extensively the knowledge of students in new areas. For example, as we learn about the four Ways of Knowing in the center of the TOK diagram, the student is not expected to become a scientist, a psychologist, a linguist or a logician. But by investigating the Ways of Knowing, and by comparing and contrasting the Areas of Knowledge as we go forward , the course can create a sharper awareness of how knowledge is gained and how these ways of gaining knowledge have different assumptions, methods, conditions, expectations, and conclusions.

So the focus of TOK is not on extensive new content, but on raising a new awareness of knowledge issues. This term refers to the issues that intersect and interact in claims of knowledge and the methods of arriving at these claims. Phrased in questions, some of these issues can be: In arriving at this knowledge, what have we assumed regarding our sensory perception, emotion, language, or reasoning? How are we using our senses, our emotions, our language, or reason? What method was used to gain this knowledge? What are the limits of this knowledge? What responsibility do we have because we have this knowledge?

As we move forward in the course, this focus on knowledge issues must remain sharp.

ACTIVITY

IB Mission Statement

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

Question:
Earlier in the semester we reflected on the IB Mission Statement, and in the intervening weeks we have examined four Ways of Knowing: Sensory Perception, Emotion, Language, and Reason. Please reread the Mission Statement and reflect on how these four Ways on Knowing are present there.

Please post your answer of 600 words minimum on the blog by 21 December, 2010.

What is the Best Way for Me to Learn?

In class we have been pursuing the TOK curriculum in a straightforward way, looking first at the Knower, then at the four Ways of Knowing. In doing this we have also tried different strategies of learning. For example, we have had whole class discussion and small group discussion. We have tried different activities. We have scripted contributions to break out of a teacher-centered pattern of discussion. We have divided topics in small groups and had students teach other students. We have looked at brief videos. We have done in-class writing. We have used the blog.

I have consciously avoided lecturing.

But what works best for you? My own sense is that cooperative group work is the most worthwhile strategy, students teaching and learning from other students. Students talking to students. The IB mission statement, as well as the Marymount Goals and Criteria, speak of fostering lifelong learners, and so my desire is that we have activities that help you learn how to learn, how to work with others, how to think critically, how to dialogue sincerely and openly, how to listen tolerantly.

These skills are marks of an authentically educated person, someone unafraid to examine another point of view, someone who will actually seek out another point of view. Where these skills are lacking there is a lack of education. What usually takes their place is arrogant and insecure dogmatism that will seek to intimidate others into thoughtless and silent conformity.

There are many cheerleaders of conformity.

In a university you will not be immersed in games and poster-making, as fun and worthwhile as these can be. You may even find an authoritarian manner of teaching or managing that can quickly stifle a community: individual participation is not encouraged or it is rigidly controlled and censored. In many leading schools, however, cooperative or collaborative groups are an integral part of the educational experience. The University of Illinois at Chicago and Harvard Business School, to cite two examples, both use and promote study groups. Many law schools assign or encourage study groups, for they are effective and lessen anxiety. In life we will most likely be working and learning in a group. Why not learn how to do it well?

So what works best for you? In your entry could you speak about what learning strategy works best for you personally. Look at what your classmates have written and, if possible, take this into account in your own comment. Please do not feel you have to agree with me!!!!!

Logical Fallacies, Or How to Change the Subject to Win an Argument

Our next subject in class will be logical fallacies. A logical fallacy, used knowingly or not, is basically a sneaky way to win an argument regardless of its validity or truth. In some way the fallacy changes the subject, making you react or assent to something irrelevant.

Alchin lists fifteen fallacies, which are all relevant but also a lot to remember. Some of the more common would be:

1. Ad hominem
2. Hasty generalization
3. Appeal to authority
4. Appeal to common practice
5. Straw man
6. False dilemma
7. Ad bacculum
8. Post hoc ergo propter hoc

We will discuss these in class for they are encountered often in daily life. For example, when someone, or a small group of people, begins or repeats a vicious rumor to discredit someone in the community, this is a form of ad hominem argument. This can be accompanied by mobbing, the intentional exclusion of a person from activities or discussion (but this last phenomenom is not a logical fallacy). Or, for another example, when someone is caught cheating or stealing, but claims that it is ok because everyone does it, this is the fallacy of common practice. At election time many fallacies will come into complex and bewildering play, as newspapers and television networks crackle with personal attacks on politicians, and policies are caricatured to provoke a response from the voters. Lastly, when someone says or does something unpopular, and threats are used to intimidate and silence him or her, they are often phrased with an ad bacculum fallacy. "You should be careful about what you say."

What is a syllogism and why should I care?

A syllogism is a valid deductive argument in which there are two premises (one major and one minor) and a conclusion. If the premises are true and do not contradict each other, then the conclusion is valid.
Why is this important? For many reasons, but if we could isolate one, it would be that a syllogism makes one conscious of premises and how they are related. One learns to reason more carefully and precisely. A syllogism is an expression and exercise of deductive reasoning, one idea leading from another to a conclusion. There are other kinds of syllogisms, and one can begin a long walk down the varied history and different forms of Logic in pursuing this topic. At the end of the corridor would be Aristotle, the tutor of Alexander the Great.
For this week's entry on the TOK blog, please formulate a correct syllogism and post it in the Comments.