Last time

Prompt #2 explained that "My aim is for us to get some fairly clear ways to state beliefs clearly and unequivocally, and to look at some of the ways they make it hard for us to make decisions about whether they are actually beliefs some people (or maybe everybody) could hold." With that in mind, I asked everybody to complete a survey about some belief statements, and bring it back to class today. I'm hoping that as you categorized them, you found yourself thinking about what kinds of statements those are.

Today in class

We'll begin today by doing something different with those survey forms. I want to start thinking about some of the differences the prompt last time referred to in its title: "Beliefs, facts, opinions, and values." Those are all slightly different things, and the differences aren't trivial.

During the discussion last time we mentioned that  one of the "beliefs" we talked about -- "you can't take things at face value" -- was more like an opinion about how things work in the world, what a smart choice of behavior would be, than a belief. Clearly, you can do that, and in fact we do it all the time; but most of us would say it's not a very good idea. I called it a "truism" on the board, meaning a statement that everybody pretty much always agrees with, but which doesn't actually say much about what we believe. "Better safe than sorry," or "never judge a book by its cover," or "where there's smoke, there's fire."

On the other hand, the most contentious ("out there") belief on the board -- "feminists are out to get men" -- was a long way from a truism. While we spent some time discussing the fact that "feminists" and "out to get" are not  clearly defined, it was clear that in some sense that was something someone might actually believe. But it seemed that it was probably based on a more fundamental belief, that "feminism is bad." We didn't go this far on Thursday, but I would push that a step further, and say that that belief, in turn, is often based on a belief that some women (feminists) are exessively aggressive in expressing and acting on their beliefs -- one of which is that women have been assigned an appropriate place in the world. In a way, that's a belief about what feminism is. It may be connected to an even more basic belief about what the appropriate place in the world for women is -- that they should be subservient to men (or that things are fine as they are, whether they're "subservient" or not). That's a belief that might shape the way you thought about lots of things, including Oleanna.

What I've done in that paragraph is try to demonstrate that some beliefs are more general, more widely applicable, than others. Some are opinions about fact ("False sexual harassment accusations happen," or "Women and men have equal rights"), some are assertions of appropriate behavior ("It is demeaning to call a grown woman 'Baby'," or "Blackmailing is wrong"). And some are beliefs that support what we do from day to day, like "science is an effective way to understand natural phenomena" or "science is merely an agreement among scientists about what we should believe." Or, to take another example, "everyone should have equal rights," or "some people are inferior by nature and should not be given equal rights."

As I read through the belief documents from last time I was struck by two things. One was that many people seemed to think the question was "Do I believe this?" I understand why it's difficult to pull back from our own view, but what I'm trying to help people think about is the kind of belief it is -- most immediately, is it the kind of statement someone could hold as a belief, as it stands?

The other was that people who said "it depends" (often about the "you can't judge someone by a single incident" or "you can't take things at face value") regularly said it would depend on whether the judgement or the conclusion was justified in a specific case. To say that is to say that you do believe you can't, because there are cases where it doesn't work. It may help in thinking about it to say the opposite: "you can judge someone by a single incident" or "you can take things at face value." As statements about the world -- a single incident is enough to make a valid judgement about someone, or face value is all you need -- it's clear, I think, that if someone actually believed those things, and acted on them, they wouldn't last long in the world we all live in. In other words, both would be pretty fundamental beliefs, and would shape how you acted in lots of cases. (We're leaving aside right now the question whether or not there are people who do believe, and always act on, either of them.)

Right now

So, right now, go through your own survey and mark, with a star in the left-hand margin or a highlighter, the four or five beliefs on your list which seem to you most fundamental -- the ones that have the widest applicability, the ones that other beliefs and opinions seem to arise from or depend on.

We'll discuss them, beginning with some group discussions. I'll ask groups to agree on a couple of fundamental beliefs, and put them on a separate sheet of paper, write out an explanation of why you agreed on it, and sign it.

When we're done, I'll collect the surveys and the reports. I'm going to have a look and see what patterns I can find in them between now and Thursday. If for some reason you were unable to complete yours, if you can do that and get it to my mailbox in EC220 before tomorrow morning I'll be able to include it in the process.

For Thursday

There is a new Forum linked from the English 1006 page. It begins with four of the cartoons we looked at, back at the beginning of course. Each, I think, involves a set of beliefs, facts, opinions, and values -- ones it seems the cartoonist embraces, and ones the cartoonist expects his audience to embrace (in order to understand and "get" the cartoon).  Have a look at all four. Choose the one you think you might have the most to say about, click "Reply," and inkshed for ten minutes about it. Try to think beyond the obvious beliefs to other things you think, or guess, might be involved. Think about the cartoon, if you can, from the point of view of someone who generally agrees with the cartoonist, of someone who generally disagrees, and, of course, from your own position. Write for ten minutes; don't be satisfied with a couple of sentences. Keep thinking, and keep the keys moving.

Do this today. Before sleep.

Tomorrow, or any time before class meets Thursday afternoon, read as many of the responses as you can (to your own cartoon or the others), and reply to at least a couple of them. We'll continue the conversation in class Thursday.