Chapter 4 Question 3

My favorite topic from this week is about Kant’s ethical philosophy. Although I am a business major rather then philosophy, one of my favorite aspects of philosophical was thought experiments. This is when we used situations in (very odd) ways to practice and use theories. With Kant’s ideas about how we treat people, it can be applied to any sort of situation. Kant says to not treat people as just a means but as an end as well. Meaning, people are not just tools for what your own personal goals are, but they have their own goals as well. It is immoral to treat people as if they do not have their own ends themselves. I think that we are often taught in college about how to manage people and how to be the upper level employees. We are not always taught about the people that might be under us in our line of work. I think Kant’s theory for how to treat other people is a really important thing to keep in mind.

Chapter 4 Question 2

In “Evaluating Evidence for the Existence of Unidentified Flying Objects”, there are 3 different perspectives when it comes to UFO’s being real. Condon is a firm believer that due to the many reports of UFO sightings, that UFO’s are a real viable thing. Because Condon thinks that the reports are true, he also believes that they deserve to be published in scientific journals. Standing in more of the middle ground, Hynek believes that more clarity needs to be brought on the stories from those who reported seeing UFO’s. He proposes that psychological studies need to be done to better understand what those people really saw or did not see. Lastly there is Paynter who is on the other side of the spectrum. Paynter says there is not enough evidence to even start believing the reports of UFO sightings in the first place. I think it is difficult to decide who has the best argument because I think bias comes from what you believe as well. In my opinion I think that it is easier to believe the skeptic over those who go out on a limb and believe something that does not have a lot of supporting evidence.

Chapter 4 Question 1

Wisdom is define as the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.

Knowledge is the acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition.

When looking at these definitions side by side, they seem very different. In college I think that we are gaining knowledge in school by being educated. We are also gaining wisdom by going through the process of being a college student. It is a time where many people learn more about themselves then any other time in their life. Yes, we are learning facts, dates, formulas and theories, but we are also learning about the adults we will eventually become. Hopefully these things we experience in college make us wiser by deciding what we think is right and wrong, or what we believe in and value. All the different facets of college bring both knowledge and wisdom to us.

I think that technology is making us more knowledgeable just because I know I Google everything. Having a conversation and someone says they want to climb Mount Shasta. Type in Mount Shasta I have every tid-bit I could ever want about that mountain. I did not need all the information, but I got it and it was extremely easy. Technology is making it easier and easier to gain facts like that regardless if it makes us wiser or not.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wisdom?s=t

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/knowledge

Chapter 3 Question 3

Using language in different ways is what I thought was really interesting from this weeks readings. Language can do so many things, and I am sure as many of us have experienced in our studies, can mean different things to different people. From working in groups to writing a paper, language can affect the way our audience perceives us. Recently in a sales management class I was introduced to hard and soft words. These words can change the way a customer will take what we are saying. This can make an interaction with our client positive or negative. This would be the difference in saying we “are not able to at this time…” (more positive connotation) or “no, we can’t” (more negative connotation). Like the book says, emotions, body language, and even the way words are put are all ways that we can affect the way a person hears what we are saying. In a business setting it is important to be aware of how we are communicating to others.

Chapter 3 Question 2

In chapter 3 we have a lot to consider when thinking about language. Not only is it important in what we say but how we say it. That definitely brings me to my first (probably most frequently used) device, sarcasm! I loved Wikipedia’s explanation of sarcasm as “a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt”. An example of how I used sarcasm is as writing this blog, I asked my boyfriend “When was the last time I used sarcasm this week? It’s just SO hard to nail it down.” This was an obvious example since I use sarcasm possibly, too often. Another rhetorical device that I have to use all the time are euphemisms. I work as a preschool teacher and when I am speaking with the other teachers or parents I really have to watch my language. This is why I will substitute out harsh or somewhat inappropriate words to lessen the harshness, just incase young ears might be listening.

Chapter 3 Question 1

Sally Ride embodies a great critical thinker in many ways. Ever since she was a child there are examples of how she was developing her critical thinking skills. In the article there are accounts of Sally enjoying the process of focusing and problem solving. As a young adult these skills were put to work in her college career, and Sally would concentrate, be creative, and critically think, which then paid off in the huge opportunities she had in NASA. On page 12 the main points of a critically thinker are as follows:

Have good analytical skills

Possess effective communication skills

Be well informed and possess good research skills

Be flexible and be able to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty

Adopt a position of open-minded skepticism

Be a creative problem solver

Be attentive, mindful, and intellectually curious

Engage in collaborative learning

In her very short bio it shows that Sally Ride clearly has the analytical, communication, and problem solving skills. She also showed to be creative, open minded and generally well rounded and is therefore a great critical thinker.