The other day, I pondered how our students' "need for certainty" may impact our goal
of teaching them to critically examine their beliefs. There were several detailed
responses to this. I have been slowly working my way through them. I wish to begin
summarizing and expanding upon these responses. Here, I get partway through a reply by
the "Pauls" (Smith and Brandon).
(1) One important message that I got from their replies was that we need to show our
students that they have no choice but to be uncertain about their beliefs. Once they
come to realize that all beliefs are uncertain to varying extents, they may be more
receptive to using science to reduce their uncertainty. Arguing for this idea, Paul
Smith stated:
>We now know that we don't directly perceive causal relationships
>- that they're fallibly inferred, instead, from our experiences.
>A student who subscribes to Descartes' insistence on certainty
>would surely be devastated to discover that the causal beliefs
>she assumes are irrefutably established by her personal
>experience are in fact open to question
Knowing that a particular belief is uncertain causes any human to feel discomfort.
Paul Brandon suggested that, rather than feeling comfortable with uncertainty,
scientists are motivated by the discomfort caused by uncertainty:
>the scientist actively seeks to reduce uncertainty by gathering
>data and deriving general principles from it, rather than by
>denying (and avoiding) uncertainty by dismissing science.
Thus, we need not (and should not) teach students to be comfortable with uncertainty.
Instead, we need to teach them to be PATIENT when they feel uncertain (which is what
we really mean by the phrase "feeling comfortable" with uncertainty). By learning to
be patient, they will learn better ways to reduce their uncertainty--ways that can
involve the use of scientific methods.
Of course, some students may have such a strong need for certainty (i.e., extreme
discomfort with uncertainty) that they will be led to reject the notion that every
belief is fallibly inferred. If scientists state that scientific ways of knowing will
never lead to complete certainty, then such students will reject scientific ways of
knowing. There is a large number of cultural authorities out there claiming that they
are certain about what they know. Such students will tend to be attracted to these
authorities and especially to their ways of knowing (as long as the "certain beliefs"
are consistent with what the student already believes). Such ways of knowing usually
involve emotions and intuitions, which seem to be highly fallible ways of knowing the
world.
(2) Paul Smith also mentioned that admitting to uncertainty "is more likely to be seen
as a character FLAW." Thus, if we state in our courses that we are not certain about
what we think we know, students may be more likely to reject what we have to say. They
often are more attracted to those who seem certain about their knowledge. And these
people tend to use "other ways of knowing."
In addition, because of this equation of certainty with character, students may be
less likely to admit to themselves or others that they feel uncertain about their
beliefs when faced with contradictory evidence in our courses. This again will make it
difficult for them to learn scientific ways of knowing because they will be unlikely
to question their own ways of knowing (typically personal experience that relies on
emotions and intuition).
Again, as in #1, the solution to this problem is to show that that all reasoning is
fallible and, thus, that all beliefs are uncertain to varying extents. The more
evidence one has supporting a belief, the more certain one can be that the belief is
true. Admitting uncertainty is not a character flaw. Instead, it shows that the person
is being honest and sensible. Nevertheless, as in #1, this approach may fail with
those students who have a strong need for certainty.
This is as far as I've come with looking through the responses. I will continue with
this later.
Jeff
--
Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213
9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (480) 423-6298
Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626
"The truth is rare and never simple."
Oscar Wilde
"Instead of having 'answers' on a test, they should just call
them 'impressions'. And, if you got a different 'impression',
so what? Can't we all be brothers?"
Jack Handey
