Hi Thanks to Chris for taking the time to write his thoughtful response. I find it laudable that some of us think there are natural and discoverable explanations for human behavior and experience, including the subjective elements on which Louis focuses. Undoubtedly at the time of Newton there were many (a large majority?) of people who thought all sorts of natural phenomena (apples falling to the ground?) were either inexplicable except by design of our creator or so obvious that they did not need explanation. Happily, Newton and his like were not satisfied with mysticism or ignorance.
Take care Jim Jim Clark Professor & Chair of Psychology University of Winnipeg 204-786-9757 Room 4L41 (4th Floor Lockhart) www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark -----Original Message----- From: Louis Eugene Schmier [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2015 11:55 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Random Thought: Faith, Hope, Love, IV Chris, I rest my case. Make it a good day -Louis- Louis Schmier http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org 203 E. Brookwood Pl http://www.therandomthoughts.com Valdosta, Ga 31602 (C) 229-630-0821 /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\__ / \ / \ / \/ \_ \/ / \/ /\/ / \ /\ \ //\/\/ /\ \__/__/_/\_\/ \_/__\ \ /\"If you want to climb mountains,\ /\ _ / \ don't practice on mole hills" - / \_ On May 6, 2015, at 12:49 PM, Christopher Green wrote: > On May 6, 2015, at 7:57 AM, Louis Eugene Schmier <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> You know, sometimes I hate Isaac Newton, or, at least, his devotees who >> advocated that everything is a machine and is governed by intelligible, >> universal, and immutable laws. I say this because the scholarship of >> teaching and learning has turned the classroom in a Newtonian pedagogically >> and technologically mechanical system. > > I usually ignore Louis far-too-long and not-particularly-enlightening > ruminations on his life as a "real" teacher. But this particular claim misses > the mark by such an enormous distance that I feel I have to comment. Whether > some overly-excited science "boosters" like to speculate that "everything" is > governed by mechanical laws is not really the point. The point is that there > is far too great tendency among far too many people to presume, on the > contrary, that everything that is the slightest bit complicated (which is > pretty much everything) is somehow "mystical" or "divine" or otherwise beyond > human comprehension. The mechanist program says only, "Let's see which of > these phenomena we can explain in a mechanist fashion. For any phenomenon we > can model in that way, there is no longer a need to regard it as being > 'mystical.' For those things that we cannot model mechanically at present, > the question of how it works remains open." Thus, the famous line from > Laplace, when asked by Napoleon about the absence of God in his model of the > cosmos: "I have no need of that hypothesis." > > Now, to be sure, there are lots of people saying lots of stupid things about > education these days, and offering (for sale, note) various contraptions that > purport to "solve" the "problem." The issue here, however, has far more to do > with P. T. Barnum than it does with Isaac Newton (viz., "There's a sucker > born every minute."). Or worse yet, the politicians who over-ride the wisdom > of actual educators to impose these devices on the classroom (if even a > classroom remains) are having their campaigns financed by the very people who > are hoping to make a buck by replacing real teachers with their devices. That > is the problem. Not Netwon and not mechanism. > > In short, Louis, you have been badly diverted from the real issue, which is > exactly their intent. > > Regards, > Chris > ..... > Christopher D Green > Department of Psychology > York University > Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 > Canada > > [email protected] > http://www.yorku.ca/christo > ....................................... > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=931223.50b956e1f0f315eddcd01dfbd8b87 > bc1&n=T&l=tips&o=44565 or send a blank email to > leave-44565-931223.50b956e1f0f315eddcd01dfbd8b87bc1@fsulist.frostburg. > edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9&n=T&l=tips&o=44566 or send a blank email to leave-44566-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=44569 or send a blank email to leave-44569-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
