Hi
On Sat, 27 Jan 2001, Mike Lee wrote:
> I consider myself scientific in my ways of thinking. Yet, I
> see no harm in the pursuits of an undergraduate student
> wanting to go beyong psychology, that which, psychological
> science has yet to explore. I think that if psychology wants
> to move forward, it should perhaps consider the broader
> spectrum of its subject matter.
> At 09:49 AM 01/26/2001 -0800, K Jung wrote:
> >Watch it, Paul. You're also paid to teach them to think critically, which
> >means they must consider all possible explanations. Not to teach them
> >what you believe to be the truth, again, that would be religion, not science.
> >I'm fully aware what I'm paid to do - much of which is nurturing
> >curiousity and allowing students to recognize they can make a career of
> >their passions. Their passions may not match mine (or your's),
> >nonetheless, I wouldn't say these are any less valuable.
There are several problems with Mike and Kitty's positions.
1. The areas in which they and Kitty's student are interested
have not been ignored. Psychologists and many others have
considered the non-natural speculations about human behaviour and
the world, and, although some disagree, have find little if any
evidence to support those speculations. Mike's mention of
parapsychology is a good example. To continue a strong belief in
this premise is simply ignoring a wealth of negative evidence.
Nor is it the case that people who now speak against these ideas
have not considered them and perhaps even read quite widely in
the areas. Exposure to shoddy ideas usually, I would hope, leads
to rejection of those ideas.
2. The claim that our job is to teach students to think
critically, but not what we believe to be true is simply
incoherent. The guidelines for how to think critically, for
example, would be examples of truths that students need to learn.
Or is your position that anyone's view of critical thinking is
equally valid (whatever validity means in the context of such a
worldview)? Moreover, thinking critically (properly defined) and
scientifically leads one to learn certain things about the world
(e.g., evolution, gravity, Mike's example of priming, the failure
of most empirical efforts to substantiate paranormal phenomena,
...). Surely, you are not suggesting that we withhold these
truths with students? Leaving every generation to (hopefully)
rediscover the results of every prior generation is a sure way
for psychology or any other discipline to stagnate; the whole
idea of science is the cumulative development of better ideas
about the world.
3. Related to 1, the appeal to open-mindedness is not a
carte-blanche to forever prevent commitment to well-founded
beliefs about the world. Perry's research on development of
thinking in university students showed a growth from black-white
to relativistic thinking, but that was not the end of development
for all students. A small number progressed even at the
undergraduate level to the position of reasoned commitment. For
me, this last position is the one we should be striving to
develop in our students. Superficially, it might look like the
black-white position because people are again committed to
certain positions on issues. The fundamental and critical
difference is that the new commitment is a reasoned one; that is,
it is justified by the kinds of critical thinking skills that
Kitty once us to develop in students. Perhaps the most important
commitment that we need to develop is to critical and scientific
thinking about the world and people. But we must recognize that
a commitment to reason and science leads to commitments on a
whole host of other issues that follow from the application of
sound intellectual principles. It does not lead, as some would
have us believe, to a wishy-washy, anything-goes view of the
world and human behaviour.
Best wishes
Jim
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James M. Clark (204) 786-9757
Department of Psychology (204) 774-4134 Fax
University of Winnipeg 4L05D
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
CANADA http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark
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