Interpretation and Criticism in Practice
Responding Positively to Objections
We have learned in Chapter 8 that we are all subject to biases, including the confirmation bias in which we strongly tend to accept information that agrees with our own views. We are accordingly less prone to learn from sources that disagree with us. If our goal is to expand our minds we should actually have a goal to learn from others. This discussion helps us to learn to respond positively to and learn from others. Responding positively to objections is an important part of your final paper.
Prepare: To prepare for this discussion, read Chapter 9 or our book, paying special attention to the sections “Confronting Disagreement by Seeking Truth,” and “Case Study: Interpretation and Criticism in Practice,” including all sub-headings of each. Also watch the following video about the value of learning from opposing arguments [Link to http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_h_cohen_for_argument_s_sake.html]
Reflect: Consider what it means to be open minded (rather than dogmatic). How do you tend to react when people argue against your own strongly held views. Is it the most productive response?
Write: Provide an example of a good argument for a position with which you disagree or share an example of when you have learned from an opposing argument in the past. Explain your initial reaction to encountering evidence for an opposing view, and illustrate how you might lean from the counterargument. Rather than trying to prove it wrong, demonstrate what you might learn from this point of view, and model how you might respond positively, with the shared of goal of learning and discovering truth (rather than being right)
