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On learning, critical thinking, disagreeing and bullshit.
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,759
When I read this little story I thought right away of AMT and some of the things we’ve discussed here and the way we’ve discussed them. It just seems to fit and maybe some of you will feel the same way. And if nothing else, it has a funny ending. Derrick Jensen is describing here an early meeting with a writing class he is teaching. Or actually, not teaching. He says to the class:
"My style doesn’t work for everyone. And the fact that it doesn’t work for everyone is not a reflection on either me or you- it’s like having two books on a shelf, one of which is red and the other green. They just don’t match. But if you’re willing to ride the wave, and let the wave ride you, if you want to write from the gut, from the soul, then reach deep into the tiger’s fur and hold on tight, because we’re all in for a wild ride."
Nobody moves.
"Since it’s my experience that, as Carl Rogers wrote, the only real learning is self- discovered, self-appropriated learning, I won’t try to teach you anything. It’s my job instead to create an atmosphere where you can teach yourself.
And one of the skill that is oh-so-necessary in these days of decaying mythologies and rampant corporate and governmental doublespeak is the ability to think critically. To question authority, to question everything. My friend Jeannette Armstrong says, ‘We all have cultural, learned behavior systems that have become embedded in our subconscious. These systems act as filters for the way we see the world. They affect our behaviors, our speech patterns and gestures, the words we use, and also the way we gather our thinking. We have to find ways to challenge that continuously. To see things from a different perspective is one of the most difficult things we have to do.’
She continues, “I have to constantly school myself in the deconstruction of what I believe and perceive to be the way things are, to continuously break down in my own mind what I believe, and continuously add to my knowledge and understanding. In other words, never to be satisfied that I’m satisfied. That sounds like I’m dissatisfied, but it doesn’t mean that. It means never to be complacent and think I’ve come to a conclusion about things, to always question my own thinking. I always tell my writing class to start with and hold on to the attitude of saying bullshit to everything. And to be joyful and happy in the process. Because most of the time its fear that creates old behaviors and old conflicts. It’s not necessarily that we believe those things, but we know them and so we continue those patterns and behaviors because they’re familiar.’
So it’s wonderfully acceptable, I say, to disagree with me. It’s wonderfully acceptable to disagree with anyone. Just be agreeable, at all times respectful, in the way you disagree. Be full of thought, and thoughtful in your disagreement."
Silence.
"Any questions so far?"
A young man raises his hand.
I nod.
He says, ‘You said the word bullshit in class.’
"Yes?"
“Will you say that again? I’ve never heard a teacher say that before.”
"Bullshit", I say.
From Derrick Jensen's Walking on Water, pages 20-21.
"My style doesn’t work for everyone. And the fact that it doesn’t work for everyone is not a reflection on either me or you- it’s like having two books on a shelf, one of which is red and the other green. They just don’t match. But if you’re willing to ride the wave, and let the wave ride you, if you want to write from the gut, from the soul, then reach deep into the tiger’s fur and hold on tight, because we’re all in for a wild ride."
Nobody moves.
"Since it’s my experience that, as Carl Rogers wrote, the only real learning is self- discovered, self-appropriated learning, I won’t try to teach you anything. It’s my job instead to create an atmosphere where you can teach yourself.
And one of the skill that is oh-so-necessary in these days of decaying mythologies and rampant corporate and governmental doublespeak is the ability to think critically. To question authority, to question everything. My friend Jeannette Armstrong says, ‘We all have cultural, learned behavior systems that have become embedded in our subconscious. These systems act as filters for the way we see the world. They affect our behaviors, our speech patterns and gestures, the words we use, and also the way we gather our thinking. We have to find ways to challenge that continuously. To see things from a different perspective is one of the most difficult things we have to do.’
She continues, “I have to constantly school myself in the deconstruction of what I believe and perceive to be the way things are, to continuously break down in my own mind what I believe, and continuously add to my knowledge and understanding. In other words, never to be satisfied that I’m satisfied. That sounds like I’m dissatisfied, but it doesn’t mean that. It means never to be complacent and think I’ve come to a conclusion about things, to always question my own thinking. I always tell my writing class to start with and hold on to the attitude of saying bullshit to everything. And to be joyful and happy in the process. Because most of the time its fear that creates old behaviors and old conflicts. It’s not necessarily that we believe those things, but we know them and so we continue those patterns and behaviors because they’re familiar.’
So it’s wonderfully acceptable, I say, to disagree with me. It’s wonderfully acceptable to disagree with anyone. Just be agreeable, at all times respectful, in the way you disagree. Be full of thought, and thoughtful in your disagreement."
Silence.
"Any questions so far?"
A young man raises his hand.
I nod.
He says, ‘You said the word bullshit in class.’
"Yes?"
“Will you say that again? I’ve never heard a teacher say that before.”
"Bullshit", I say.
From Derrick Jensen's Walking on Water, pages 20-21.
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.
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Everyone should have at least one teacher like Jensen.
TL
Barrie, ON '98
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Hamilton, ON '05/'11
Newark, NJ '10
London, ON '13
Buffalo, NY '13
Detroit, MI '14
Ottawa, ON '16
As I was reading this I half-expected the joke to be that they were pre-schoolers. :P
Later in the book he talks about how, because it is geared to create automatons, our educational system "destroys student's souls". He quotes dean of education at Stanford, Elwood P Cubberley (for whom, get this, my high school was named!):
Schools should be factories in which the raw products, children, are shaped and formed into finished products... manufactured like nails, and the specifications for manufacturing will come from government and industry. (p. 37)
Lovely, eh? This was the part of the quote that I thought might be useful here.
Jensen's Walking on Water is one of the best books I think I've ever read. Actually, I'm pretty sure I say that every time I read one of his books. :-)
Barrie, ON '98
Toronto, ON '00/'03/'06/'09/'11/'16(x2)
Hamilton, ON '05/'11
Newark, NJ '10
London, ON '13
Buffalo, NY '13
Detroit, MI '14
Ottawa, ON '16
http://www.derrickjensen.org/work/endgame/endgame-premises-english/
Thank you Brian
Barrie, ON '98
Toronto, ON '00/'03/'06/'09/'11/'16(x2)
Hamilton, ON '05/'11
Newark, NJ '10
London, ON '13
Buffalo, NY '13
Detroit, MI '14
Ottawa, ON '16
Re-modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are founded primarily (and often exclusively) on the almost entirely unexamined belief that the decision-makers and those they serve are entitled to magnify their power and/or financial fortunes at the expense of those below.
Re-modification of Premise Twenty: If you dig to the heart of it—if there were any heart left—you would find that social decisions are determined primarily on the basis of how well these decisions serve the ends of controlling or destroying wild nature.
The one I have the hardest time with, that I struggle hugely with- both because I do not want to believe it and because, deep down, I do believe it- is number 6. What I would give to see this one proven false:
Premise Six: Civilization is not redeemable. This culture will not undergo any sort of voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living. If we do not put a halt to it, civilization will continue to immiserate the vast majority of humans and to degrade the planet until it (civilization, and probably the planet) collapses. The effects of this degradation will continue to harm humans and nonhumans for a very long time.
Barrie, ON '98
Toronto, ON '00/'03/'06/'09/'11/'16(x2)
Hamilton, ON '05/'11
Newark, NJ '10
London, ON '13
Buffalo, NY '13
Detroit, MI '14
Ottawa, ON '16
Barrie, ON '98
Toronto, ON '00/'03/'06/'09/'11/'16(x2)
Hamilton, ON '05/'11
Newark, NJ '10
London, ON '13
Buffalo, NY '13
Detroit, MI '14
Ottawa, ON '16
Be the change you want to see and all that. Hopefully others do the same.
Very interesting thread Brian. Awesome!
:-t [-X
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
In a chapter titled “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection,” Sagan reflects on the many types of deception to which we’re susceptible — from psychics to religious zealotry to paid product endorsements by scientists, which he held in especially low regard, noting that they “betray contempt for the intelligence of their customers” and “introduce an insidious corruption of popular attitudes about scientific objectivity.” (Cue in PBS’s Joe Hanson on how to read science news.) But rather than preaching from the ivory tower of self-righteousness, Sagan approaches the subject from the most vulnerable of places — having just lost both of his parents, he reflects on the all too human allure of promises of supernatural reunions in the afterlife, reminding us that falling for such fictions doesn’t make us stupid or bad people, but simply means that we need to equip ourselves with the right tools against them.
Through their training, scientists are equipped with what Sagan calls a “baloney detection kit” — a set of cognitive tools and techniques that fortify the mind against penetration by falsehoods:
But the kit, Sagan argues, isn’t merely a tool of science — rather, it contains invaluable tools of healthy skepticism that apply just as elegantly, and just as necessarily, to everyday life. By adopting the kit, we can all shield ourselves against clueless guile and deliberate manipulation. Sagan shares nine of these tools:
Just as important as learning these helpful tools, however, is unlearning and avoiding the most common pitfalls of common sense. Reminding us of where society is most vulnerable to those, Sagan writes:
He admonishes against the twenty most common and perilous ones — many rooted in our chronic discomfort with ambiguity — with examples of each in action:
Sagan ends the chapter with a necessary disclaimer:
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Ahh, Jeanette Armstrong is an Indigenous Advocate who throws her voice in the campus near where I live. I asked her to supervise me in grad school at one point...
Reread that passage with this in mind...
2 people very missed on these pages. Nart is still around though. I talk to that asshole every now and again. lol
Good dude, that Nart!
Haha!