[Dan] Cool stuff here. Lots of great reading that pertains directly to this discussion. If I haven't said it before, this is why I belong to this group. I've learned so much over the years and it never ceases to amaze me how great it is. Thanks everyone.
On Fri, Jan 24, 2014 at 1:47 PM, ARLO JAMES BENSINGER JR <ajb...@psu.edu> wrote: > [DMB] > Wow. Thanks, Arlo. The paper was easy to find and it's free. I've downloaded > and printed it. So cool to see Pirsig's name in an abstract. Looking forward > to reading the thing. > > [Arlo] > Sure thing, I too am always excited to see Pirsig cited in academic papers. > This one was especially interesting to me because I had been exposed to > Freire's work through my interest in Vygotsky and socio-cultural theory. And > while its no secret I find symbiosis between these philosophers, its > additionally encouraging to find others have made that connection as well > (and in this case as far back as 1980). > > Another article that came to my attention today is just from last Friday, but > I think it touches on everything we've been talking about (although this > article lacks Pirsig's vocabulary to frame the problem). > > http://thefederalist.com/2014/01/17/the-death-of-expertise/ > > "The death of expertise is a rejection not only of knowledge, but of the ways > in which we gain knowledge and learn about things. Fundamentally, it’s a > rejection of science and rationality, which are the foundations of Western > civilization itself." > > "Critics might dismiss all this by saying that everyone has a right to > participate in the public sphere. That’s true. But every discussion must take > place within limits and above a certain baseline of competence. And > competence is sorely lacking in the public arena." > > "This subverts any real hope of a conversation, because it is simply > exhausting ... to have to start from the very beginning of every argument and > establish the merest baseline of knowledge, and then constantly to have to > negotiate the rules of logical argument." > > "... I like the democratization of knowledge and the wider circle of public > participation. That greater participation, however, is endangered by the > utterly illogical insistence that every opinion should have equal weight..." > > "As a result, many academic departments are boutiques, in which the > professors are expected to be something like intellectual valets. This > produces nothing but a delusion of intellectual adequacy in children who > should be instructed, not catered to." > > [Arlo continues] > Yes, I did read your article (for those who may not have seen it, > http://www.partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/01/20/truth-without-the-capital-t/#more-24507). > I think you could make a strong argument that, for Freire as well, education > is much more about examining the 'reality goggles' as it is about describing > reality through those goggles. The first part of his statement (induction > into the logic of the present system) is about just the latter, while his > second point (creatively transforming the system) rests on critical > evaluation and adjustments to the goggles. > > You mentioned in closing Pirsig's comments on maps, and this reminded me of a > related topic that I was made aware of through my interest in Freire, > "counter-mapping". Wikimedia's article is lacking, so you'll find more > interesting and well-presented information in the (dreaded) "academic > literature" ;-) but the idea shares Pirsig view while adding that the map > making itself is not neutral and often includes very specific > power-reinforcing elements. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-mapping > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org/md/archives.html -- http://www.danglover.com Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
