****UPDATE**** Thursday, 2/23/12 10:24 PM*******
By now, most of you have read this post and gotten through the comments section. If you have, then you realized that the post was missing the main part of your assignment, which is the Virtual Philosopher. We apologize for this confusion. Collectively, we assumed that you were being given this assignment by your professor and that we were just discussing the results of it here in the blog.
The comments that you posted made us re-evaluate the instructions we were given and we realized our mistake.
With our apologies, here are the instructions for this weeks post. (We realize that many of you have posted already and we are not asking you to do the assignment over, but felt we should include the instructions for those who have not yet posted and to clear up any lingering confusion). The original post will be followed by these updated instructions:
1. Click the link below which will take you to an interactive exercise called Virtual Philosopher developed by Dr. Wade Maki from the Philosophy department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Virtual Philosopher Link (must have updated FLASH to play correctly): http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/courses/vicecrime/vp/vp.html
2. Comment on your critical thinking reasoning that led to your decisions for all three scenarios: the friend's problem, the lifeboat problem, the liver problem.
3. Explain where your critical thinking gave way to your values, ethics, and beliefs. Comment on the differences you perceive between "ethical" and "critical" reasoning and what kinds of problems it caused in doing or reflecting on this exercise and even in your academic experiences.
4. Comment on how the Virtual Philosopher scored your response. From the comments you received about your responses, what insight have you gained about your own critical thinking and reasoning?
****END UPDATE*****************************************************************
Hey everyone. How we doing this week? We know this semester is already in overdrive, so hopefully this assignment gave you a chance to relax for fifteen minutes while you tried to relate to real-life examples that tested your critical thinking skills.
So the first part of the exercise asked three questions, would you ever lie, murder or justify whether it’s acceptable to save one life verses many equally?
The next activity involved three critical thinking situations:
First, your odd friend just got dumped because his girlfriend wants to date someone cooler. Next, you have six candidates all which need a liver transplant and all have extraordinary reasons why they should receive the transplant. Lastly, the life boat situation, only a certain amount of people
Now for the interactive part… Please reply to this post with your answers to the following three questions:
- How does including multiple perspectives and considering all sides of a situation before passing judgment or making a decision – thinking critically – relate to being interdisciplinary?
- What do you think about the score you were given by the virtual philosopher? Did you gain any insight about your own critical thinking and reasoning based on the comments given about your answers?
- In what way does the outline of your critical thinking disposition account for the way you responded to the situations during the virtual philosopher exercise?
Where do we find the Virtual Philospher and the critical thinking disposition?
ReplyDeleteCritical thinking dispositionis located in Repko's Interdisciplinary Research book. The virtual philosopher examination is located at this address: http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/courses/vicecrime/vp/vp.html good luck!
Delete1.How does including multiple perspectives and considering all sides of a situation before passing judgment or making a decision – thinking critically – relate to being interdisciplinary?
DeleteThinking critically relates to being interdisciplinary because you are using your different knowledge to come up with a solution. For example, when I think about my odd friend getting dumped because his girlfriend wants to date someone cooler, the first thing I want to do is comfort him and help him feel better, and then use a line from a book “She’s just not that into you” and he is better off without her. My thought process involved me using my teacher skills and comforting on a non-threatening level and also boosting his confidence, then I went to practicality and logic which is the math person in me that you need facts and proof in order to solve a problem. For each situation I am asked to solve, when I start trying to solve the problem I always have a mental list of questions that I need to answer and that leads me to the solution.
For the second situation, where my thoughts first started and my line of questioning, I do not want to offend anyone, so I am choosing not to post.
For the third situation, my first thought was to eliminate myself from the boat. I value my friends so much, and I do not know what I would do without them, and I would rather take my life then allow them to lose theirs.
But how does all of this relate to being interdisciplinary? It relates to being interdisciplinary because you are using multiple disciplines to think about a solution. For me, I use my math logic and proving skills to justify my solutions and I work best by creating a list and going through and answering questions to complete the list.
2.What do you think about the score you were given by the virtual philosopher? Did you gain any insight about your own critical thinking and reasoning based on the comments given about your answers?
According to the virtual philosopher I am consistent with my personal ethics and my choices. I found it interesting because I am the one my friends all turn to when they do not want anything sugar coated and they want the truth. I am blunt and I always will be. I also do not beat around the bush which I think goes along with my logical math thinking, because for many problems there is only one right solution.
3.In what way does the outline of your critical thinking disposition account for the way you responded to the situations during the virtual philosopher exercise?
I cannot find the Repko's Interdisciplinary Research book online anywhere for me to take the test without having to purchase it.
Ashley,
DeleteI really like that you related your logical math thinking to the situations. I love math myself and like to think of things from a mathematical perspective. In math there are many ways to go about solving a problem, but as you said there is only one right solution. You also mentioned that you are blunt, so when you consoled your friend and he asked if he was odd, what would you say?
Kasey-Marie Pike
I also liked that Ashley is blunt and will be straight-forward about her feelings. I've always wished to be like that, but I am always concerned about hurting peoples feelings and tend not to say what I think the full truth is. That's actually detrimental in certain situations. Sometimes people need to hear the truth even if it hurts.
DeleteAs far as the exercise goes, I would probably tell my friend that they were odd and that's what makes them priceless. I don't see how lying in that situation is going to be helpful in the long run. In the situation with the liver transplant, I'm not sure I agree that there is only one correct solution. But perhaps there is an optimal solution as far as who is most likely to benefit from the transplant, that could be based on statistics. Still, there are moral parts to the question that math can't solve.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteKasey-Marie,
DeleteJust like Tamara said, I would tell them that they are odd, and that's what makes them unique and why I love them. I know I am unique and different and I know that not everyone likes me for me, so... You just live life to fullest and know that not everyone on this earth has a connection.
Tamara,
My morals are with my faith in God and that in the end with prayer, the decisions will be made.
Ashley,
DeleteI like your perspectives on interdisciplinary thinking. You are so right, critical thinking requires different perspectives and disciplines to accurately resolve or comprehend the issue.
If we all think about it, we are always using our interdisciplinary skills in our daily lives whether we need to make a decision on a job opportunity or even looking for a new place to live. I know from my experience recently, I had been looking for a place to live beach side. It was difficult, but I had to research information on realestate, realestate companies, to the prices on water and electric bills in the area, it was endless. There was alot of information to research, but with all the different perspectives I was able to find a place that would suit my family. In my case, interdisciplinary methods helped to improve the quality of life.
I also like that you are upfront with your belief system, I admire that.
Suzanne Sanchez
Ashley,
DeleteI think that you have a very balanced interdisciplinary viewpoint. It seems to me that coupled with your ability to be straight-forward with people that you'd probably be a good counselor. If you continue to develop your critical thinking and problem-solving skills that could take you really far. The whole world is based on negotiations.
I could not find the Virtual Philosopher and the critical thinking disposition as well. Where do we access these items? I can, however, answer question number one without the interactive part.
ReplyDeleteThinking critically relates to being interdisciplinary because a requirement to claim interdisciplinarity is integration. Integration of multiple perspectives requires the consideration of all sides of a situation. Thus, thinking critically and being interdisciplinary go hand in hand. Being interdisciplinary calls for an individual to sit back and think of all situations and outcomes before making a decision in order to come out with the best solutions to an issue.
Kasey-Marie Pike
Critical thinking dispositionis located in Repko's Interdisciplinary Research book. The virtual philosopher examination is located at this address: http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/courses/vicecrime/vp/vp.html good luck!
DeleteCorrect and I agree with what you have said, thinking critically is definitely interdisciplinary and integration is important. I think you have a great grasp on the definition and you just need to complete your post after going to the link above.
DeleteWhen solving an issue, I feel it is impossible to not use integration so you must keep that in mind as well.
DeleteI agree as well. The ability to consider multiple aspects in order to make decisions relates. Thinking critically requires a deep thought process where integration in the interdisciplinary field calls for just as deep of a thought process.
DeleteSame here - I am confused as to where these topics and questions come in. I'd like to complete the posting today for extra credit.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Mary Gooseman
Critical thinking dispositionis located in Repko's Interdisciplinary Research book. The virtual philosopher examination is located at this address: http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/courses/vicecrime/vp/vp.html good luck!
DeleteI answered number one in my earlier post, but I will post it here again. Thinking critically relates to being interdisciplinary because a requirement to claim interdisciplinarity is integration. Integration of multiple perspectives requires the consideration of all sides of a situation. Thus, thinking critically and being interdisciplinary go hand in hand. Being interdisciplinary calls for an individual to sit back and think of all situations and outcomes before making a decision in order to come out with the best solutions to an issue.
ReplyDeleteI was scored consistent in all situations except situation 3: the liver problem. I thought this was interesting. When answering the initial questions I thought to myself 'okay?' When I was given the results I realized how we can think and believe one thing but do another. In situation 3 I initially said that all human lives are equal, but when asked what to do about deciding who should receive the liver I chose who I thought best to give the transplant to. I believe one thing, but when situations arise I went against my beliefs. I thought this was interesting because you never know what you are going to do until you are put in a situation. You can speak theoretically about a situation all day but once you are faced with it in real life, things change.
Kasey-Marie Pike
Kasey-Marie, it's so true that we often believe one thing and go in a totally different direction when we're faced with an issue that challenges our beliefs. What if one of the people needing the liver was a great political leader making real change in the world? What if the 8 year old would eventually grow up to cure cancer? It's a decision that must be considered carefully, which is why we have so many procedures in place for these situations.
DeleteMary, I think that you make a great observation about the possibilities that each person has in this world, and having decisions like these would definitely be a tough one. I agree we have protocols and policies in place to help in situation like these. Imagine all the rich people would be jumping to the top of the line with the "donations".
DeleteYou're right about how things change, Kasey-Marie. In the liver problem, I initially decided that it was first come, first served. Then the program prompted me to consider other factors before I confirmed my decision. I changed my answer after considering those factors and was then judged to be consistent with my beliefs on that question. That shows the importance of being flexible and open to outsider input. In a situation like that one, there would almost certainly be other teammates whose perspectives would also need to be considered.
DeleteFor the first question, the whole idea of thinking critically is indeed interdisciplinary. When confronted with a problem, for me at least, I like to look at a problem from every perspective before I make a decision. I would think that this would be an example of interdisciplinarity, because I am taking into consideration a bunch of things from different perspectives and integrating them to come up with one solution.
ReplyDeleteFor the second question, I was consistent in all of the situations. I guess I could say that this is pretty comforting to know, that I am consistent when it comes to my personal ethics. The "virtual philosopher" activity was extremely interesting and enlightening. The last situation- the liver transplant situation- was very difficult to make a decision about. That situation really made me think about different perspectives to come up with a solution.
For the third question, I can't really answer it as I have no way of accessing Repko's Interdisciplinary Research book.
Brianna Gonzalez
I agree that critical thinking is interdisciplinary. Perspectives are so important in every situation and sometimes they can be very difficult to except. The liver transplant was the hardest situation to deal with. After going through that process, I know I would never be able to be a doctor or someone who has to make that decision. I think that in order to make that decision your thinking has to be more open to options then making a quick decision.
DeleteI never quite finished answering the third question, so I'm going to go ahead and do that right now. In regards to the liver transplant situation, it was very hard to think critically AND ethically at the same time. I can't even imaging having to make such a decision in real life! For that situation, thinking critically required me to think who deserved the liver transplant the most. However, ethically speaking, should the liver transplant be on a first come, first serve basis? I was very conflicted when making this decision, but thinking of every situation and aspect that could come out of the matter helped me come up with my ultimate decision.
DeleteBrianna,
DeleteYou're right that the whole point of critical thinking is to consider different perspectives and integrate them into your decision making, and I agree that this is an essential part of the definition of what interdisciplinarity requires. It allows you to be more empathetic when you use it in your personal life and it also helps you make the right decisions.
I had a horrible time with the liver transplant too. I don't think that I would have been happy with any of the decisions but I made the best choice I could.
Brianna,
DeleteYes, you are absolutely right. Looking at a problem through different perspectives is interdisciplinary.
A good example I thought of was my passion for the extreme. I must say, when I was younger I was an extreme kind of sports athlete, I still surf but I am not going to jump into anything anymore without thinking of the consequences and looking at all sides of it. I really didn't take the time, and think about the possible dangers and other situations involved. I can't say I have regrets, because it is too late for that. But, I should have researched some things before I jumped so quick in the "hot seat". I started surfing when I was 11, hurricanes when I was 13, and throughout the years I have almost drowned, been chased by sharks, and stung by Portuguese manawars, and a variety more. I was skateboarding ramps all the way into my late teens, bridge jumping, and a bit more. As I get older I am feeling the effects of all this, and my injuries have been quite serious. Before anyone looks into doing all this stuff, they need to look into all sorts of perspectives such as, medical advice, to older athletes, and even the historical background on the sport. You can love what you do, but be prepared for future repercussions. Now if I am going to surf, I go out when it’s not storming heavy and instead of bridge jumping I will go skydiving with a professional, it is a lot safer. Oh yeah, and I do not surf at night anymore either, what was I thinking?
Suzanne
It is so true. The more I study interdisciplinarity the more I see that it permeates everybody's life. We have to know from a lot of things just to live our day to day. In fact I think it would be impossible to get to know about something deeply without using the concept of interdisciplinarity. That is also true for finding a solution to any kind of conflict.
DeleteI agree, I wasn't able to make the decision regarding the liver transplant either. In a way that relates back to my values, ethics and beliefs coming into play when making decisions. I view each life to be of equal value and who would I be to make the decision where one get a liver transplant over another. I guess that is why we have a system of lists and multiple factors doctors consider.
DeleteHi Brianna,
ReplyDeleteI like your first paragraph about what interdisciplinarity is. Yes, you have it correct, interdisciplinarity is a thought process. It is being able to view a problem from more than one body of knowledge and then creating a common ground and lastly coming up with a solution. Great job on understanding what interdisciplinarity is all about.
To be honest I think I would lie or murder if it meant saving many lives.
ReplyDelete1.How does including multiple perspectives and considering all sides of a situation before passing judgment or making a decision – thinking critically – relate to being interdisciplinary?
This works because you use multiple aspects in regards to the decision making to make it whole.
2.What do you think about the score you were given by the virtual philosopher? Did you gain any insight about your own critical thinking and reasoning based on the comments given about your answers?
I was not shocked by the score the virtual philospher gave me. I did gain a lot of insight on my critical thinking and it needs to improve and I think the reasoning was perfect and I need to allow myself to be more open ended.
3.In what way does the outline of your critical thinking disposition account for the way you responded to the situations during the virtual philosopher exercise?
It shows me that I am somewhat open ended but not completely and need to allow myself to bring integration into my life more freely.
Pauline,
DeleteI can understand lying to save lives, but murder? Would you not feel guilty? Even though you would be saving lives, would it really be worth it? I would never be able to take a life no matter the person. Also, I think it's great that you realize you need to allow yourself to bring integration into your life. Integration is a great skill to have in everyday life. I think being able to integrate is very helpful when trying to think on your feet.
Kasey-Marie Pike
I can relate or understand, I originally thought it'd be okay to kill one to save many and I still agree that that's a better situation then 3 versus 1 dying. Additional I would lie to a friend to who just got dumped to make him think it was her fault rather then his why they broke. Its almost common courtesy. lol
DeleteJeff, I can agree somewhat about common courtesy lol. But honestly I would probably tell the truth, but with "Vaseline" meaning I would not like say "hey your weird" but your unique!
DeleteThe situations we were given were pretty tough to answer, honestly! But I understand your viewpoint. Jeff, the whole common courtesy thing is very, very true, ha! In that situation though, I'd probably tell the truth, mainly because I don't take "being odd" as an insult. Rather, I like to think of it as a compliment! I'd much rather be weird/odd/quirky than normal! With the lifeboat situation, part of me wanted to throw the 400 pound guy off to save everyone, but I know I don't have it in me to do such a thing. I don't think I would be able to live with myself! I honestly hope I never have to be in any of those kinds of situations, lol.
DeleteBrianna Gonzalez
Brianna you do have a great aspect of what interdisiplinary is and I think that you just need to complete the last question. You seem to have a great grasp on what needs to be done in order to think outside of the box. This should allow you to be succesful in life and fully understand careers.
ReplyDeletekcpike:Correct and I agree with what you have said, thinking critically is definitely interdisciplinary and integration is important. I think you have a great grasp on the definition and you just need to complete your post after going to the link above.When solving an issue, I feel it is impossible to not use integration so you must keep that in mind as well.
ReplyDeleteIncluding multiple perspectives allows us to see the full picture and remove our own biases. If we force ourselves to consider several perspectives before making a decision, we avoid making a snap judgement based solely on our own experiences or point of view. This relates to interdisciplinarity because we are constantly using multiple perspectives to address problems.
ReplyDeleteAfter taking the quiz with the Virtual Professor, all of my answers were consistent. This encouraged me that my decisions were in line with my beliefs - but does that mean I was thinking critically or just sticking to my beliefs? This made me wonder if I was really considering all perspectives or not.
Mary, sometimes it is hard to separate your personal believes from your critical thinking because your personal believes mold and shape everything that you do, think, or say. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes it's good to get out of your comfort zone and wonder "what if" while thinking critically. I remember that when I did this, I also had similar results to you. After the fact, I wondered "what if" my believes were the reason I had chosen what I had chosen. Then I came into the realization that, for better or worse, those believes were a core part of what made up "Ivan" and without them, I wouldn't be me. I decided to play the "what if" game and think of the questions from outside my own perspective. I realized how some could come to their decisions but I kept steadfast to mine.
DeleteThe reasoning I have come up with regarding each problem depends on the situation. I do think sometimes a white lie is justifiable, however, everyone can justify something differently. I view each life to be of equal value, therefore, I don't agree with the participation of throwing over the 400 pound man. The liver decision problem comes down to a list of factors. I believe that is why we have a system and a list and the list is ever changing.
ReplyDeleteI think my critical thinking gave way to my values, ethics and beliefs in all aspects. I wouldn't consider myself to be the same person if i didn't take into consideration these things when make decisions, therefore, in all decisions I make my values, ethics and beliefs will come into play and over weigh all critical thinking.
I received incorrect, correct, correct. The only inconsistency I received was telling my friend she was odd and agreeing with a white lie to be okay. This comes back to the point of being able to justify a situation is done so differently by everyone.