...Understanding Self-Knowledge and Evaluating Understanding xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Grand Canyon University July 14, 2007 Understanding Self-Knowledge and Evaluating Understanding The purpose of this paper is to identify, describe, and critique personal views on the place of understanding self-knowledge from the point of view of both the teacher and the student. The paper will also provide an evaluation of the sequence and organization of instruction that was used during at least two teaching assignments (units). The focus of this evaluation will be toward the effectiveness of the sequence and organization in accomplishing the desired understanding expected from students. To allay the purpose of the paper, criteria from Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe’s (2005) “backward design” will serve as a background for much of the information included in the paper. According to Wiggins and McTighe (2005), self-knowledge is “the wisdom to know one’s ignorance and how one’s patterns of thought and action inform as well as prejudice understanding” (p. 100). In consideration of today’s teaching milieu, it is possible that there are far too many instructors who are not familiar with the positive academic gains that they could bestow upon their students by paying attention to criteria that warns against instruction is devoid of any understanding, appreciation or acknowledgement of students’ self-knowledge. One of the greatest teachers and philosophers of Western thought, Socrates (Wiggins...
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...(Wikipedia). Introspection tends to be the evidence one receives about their self as they look to their own thoughts and feelings, and adding an illusion to this mix adds a misty fog that people look through as they look inward. In this paper I will attempt to show how Introspection Illusion affects us not only in our day to day lives, but how it can also have a major impact on our financial decisions. Introspection Illusion was first defined by Emily Pronin. She observed how people viewed their selves and how aware they were of their motives, thoughts and feelings. This awareness, however, is often weak and unreliable. Eric Schwitzgebel argues this case by stating that “introspection is unreliable in the sense that we are prone to ignorance and error in making introspective judgments about our own conscious experience,” (Smithies). In this sense, our inner motives, thoughts and feelings are strictly biased based on our limited understanding of the world surrounding and with little thought to the personal introspections of others around us. So why then do we rely so much on our introspection? Pronin claims that it is because they are intimate and comfortable, which makes it easy and safe to believe in the classic statement of “I think therefore I am.” Believing hard enough in something about your self makes it easy to believe it is actually true. When people rely on this hazy self-perception and self-belief, it often gives a sense of overconfidence and superiority over our peers...
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...Self-motivation has a different meaning to everyone. Literally, the definition of self-motivation is: motivated to do or achieve something because of one’s own enthusiasm or interest, without needing pressure from others. In the novel The Color of Water, written by James McBride, he delineates self-motivation as, “The constant learning and yearning for knowledge…” (pg. 270) James McBride’s view on self-motivation is emphasized through his use of rhetorical terms such as: tone, parenthetical, point of view, and many other rhetorical terms. The attitude of a writer toward the subject or audience is helpful in identifying said writer’s views. In this case, views on self-motivation are being identified. James McBride’s tone in The Color of Water can be described as matter-of-fact. As James describes things his mother, Ruth, does in her retired years he states, “But that’s not enough to keep her busy.” (pg....
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...the perception of self appertain such a paradox in life; there is no apparent correlation between the ownership of objects, or even the non-material concepts of ‘ownership’ that emerged, and the perception of self and self-value. Yet, in an indirect manner, ownership influences how one perceives himself and is conducive to the level at which one’s self-perception exists. Ownership, of both material and nonmaterial objects, has the potential of establishing a sense of belonging that augments self-confidence,...
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...lead you on a road to success or failure, but it is the most crucial and important. Starting from your hygiene, eating habits, school, work, keeping your body in shape to just simple hobbies may have a big impact on your life's longevity and social aspect. The first step in building good personal responsibility, is by first realizing the flaws and mistakes that you have made, because although it is not an addiction we tend to create bad habits. From our early school years up until your set in your career we must have a schedule to keep us on track and at the same time develop self confidence and motivation to better our selves. Creating a physical work out routine will not only maintain your physical shape, but also provides more energy to the body acquiring more self motivation to keep active. Also while exercising your relieving stress from the body and the brain, establishing more space for knowledge and social view point, therefore, make it is easier to become more educated.When we think about how personal responsibility can be related to education we acknowledge that in order to succeed as a student one must form schedules to study and listen to the advice given to us by our teachers, hard work pays off. As a student eager to succeed in high school as well as college must know that asking for help when in doubt is also allowed. Building a foundation to communicate and interact with other people. Accepting new ideas...
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...mental structure that represents some aspect of the world. People use schemata to organize current knowledge and provide a framework for future understanding. Schemata influence our attention, as we are more likely to notice things that fit into our schema. If something contradicts our schema, it may be encoded or interpreted as an exception or as unique. Thus, schemata are prone to distortion. They influence what we look for in a situation. They have a tendency to remain unchanged, even in the face of contradictory information. We are inclined to place people who do not fit our schema in a "special" or "different" category, rather than to consider the possibility that our schema may be faulty. As a result of schemata, we might act in such a way that actually causes our expectations to come true. Schemata can influence and hamper the uptake of new information (proactive interference), such as when existing stereotypes, giving rise to limited or biased discourses and expectations (prejudices), may lead an individual to "see" or "remember" something that has not happened because it is more believable in terms of his/her schema. For example, if a well-dressed businessman draws a knife on a vagrant, the schemata of onlookers may (and often do) lead them to "remember" the vagrant pulling the knife. Such distortion of memory has been demonstrated. A schema for oneself is called a "self schema". Schemata for other people are called "person schemata". Schemata for roles or occupations...
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...literature can be ethically revealing is worth defending. At some level a great work of literature represents a form of human existence, to which we may respond as human beings. That there is a moral dimension to human existence I assume. Hence, it seems clear that literature may represent that dimension. Robert Bolt’s 1960 play can serve as an instance of how literature can stimulate ethical reflection. And, at the same time, it is not the kind of text where ethical themes are only marginally present; to the contrary, they are quite central and accessible. In this paper, my goal is to illustrate the potential of literature to stimulate ethical reflection by analyzing Bolt’s play. I will focus for the most part on three ethical themes: self and society, moral heroism,...
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...Across various cultures and time periods, the search for the authentic self perplexes many. However, several philosophers, scholars, and intellectuals attempt to define this concept and the path to attain it. The authentic self is comprised of an array of personality traits influenced by one’s knowledge of the world and acquired experiences throughout life that remain constant under various circumstances. David Hume, a Scottish philosopher, theorizes, “[Humans] are nothing but a bundle or collection of different perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity, and are in a perpetual flux and movement”. His theory, popularly known as Bundle Theory, demonstrates that the human identity is not a single element but rather numerous elements combined. In addition, Hume includes the fact that the self is continually transforming. However, Hume asserts that one’s self retains its overall identity over time despite the changes rather than altering due to events in life....
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...Self-Schema: A self-schema is a belief or idea about oneself that leads to a bias that is self-perpetuating. It could consist of a particular role in society or a generalization based on social sterotypes. If a mother tells her daughter she looks like a tom boy, her daughter may react by choosing activities that she imagines a tom boy would do. Conversely, if the mother tells her she looks like a princess, her daughter might choose activities thought to be more feminine. The self-schema becomes self-perpetuating when the individual chooses activities based on expectations instead of desires. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The term schematic describes having a particular schema for a particular dimension. For instance, a person in a rock band at night would have a "rocker" schema. However, during the day, if he works as a salesperson, he would have a "salesperson" schema during that period of time. Schemas vary according to cultural background and other environmental factors. Once people have developed a schema about themselves, there is a strong tendency for that schema to be maintained by a bias in what they attend to, in what they remember, and in what they are prepared to accept as true about themselves. In other words, the self-schema becomes self-perpetuating. The self-schema is then stored in long-term memory, and both facilitates and biases the processing of personally relevant information. The term aschematic means...
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...‘Our relationships with others help us to define who we are.’ Context 4, Sample B This sample uses the prompt to show understanding of the text, brings knowledge of various texts to the discussion and shows good control in the writing. Bruce Dawe suggests in the introduction to his anthology of poetry, that ‘Each of us is both a private person and a public person.’ Despite this simple truth, our personal sense of identity and individuality is under serious threat from two entirely separate, though equally negative entities, alienation and conformity. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye struggles to find a sense of belonging in a world that he feels is increasingly demanding conformity, resulting in his self-imposed isolation and lack of genuine sense of self. As a young person, about to embrace a largely foreign world, it is imperative for myself and other young people to find a balance between our own individuality and the concession we choose to make in regards to our individuality when seeking connections or relationships with others. Everyone must realise that while we are each unique, we are also members of the human species, sharing universal characteristics and experiences. Therefore, the relationships we have with others will inherently help determine much of who we are. Only once we have made these realisations can we begin to gain a coherent understanding of the functioning of society and avoid Holden’s predetermined fate...
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...Paradoxical Apotheosis of Individualism Adam Phillips’s essay “Sameness Is All” takes the form of a dialogue with two children to introduce the fantasy of cloning in which everyone is identical. Specifically, Phillips observes that cloning is a “denial of difference and dependence” which leads to a “refusal of need” (92). However, Phillip remains mindful that such fantasy of physical or psychological sameness is implausible as everyone is different - even clones. One then questions the significance of such wanting of sameness, or if the sense of sameness serves any purpose. Using the concept of Self and Other that Joanne Finkelstein examines in “The Self as Sign,” I propose that the sense of sameness that is offered by the illusion of cloning allows one to establish a sense of identity. In a final analysis, I will elaborate on Finkelstein’s arguments on the Self and Other to shed light on the question posed by Philips on whether cloning was the death or apotheosis of individualism, and suggest that cloning has the paradoxical outcome of reinforcing individualism even as one seeks uniformity. Cloning is supposed to lead to conformity and uniformity, the absolute sameness. Phillips argues that cloning is appealing to society because it seems to represent a cure for “the terrors and delights of competition” (90-91). What is interesting, however, is the eventual admission by Phillips that this absolute sameness is impossible as “people, in actuality, can...
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...Powerful moments of stillness can lead us to a true understanding of self, but to understand who we are we must look at what makes us unique as an individual human being. In Gwen Harwood’s “Alter Ego” she is at peace with the world and lives and breathes music. Her views are often overlooked in modern day society, but she remains true to the fact that she believes that we never really have a full understanding of our identity. Opposing this in Tim Winton’s “Land’s Edge” his true self resides in the ocean, a place where he feels most at home, his Australian coastal background, his main influence of his sense of identity. Both composers examine the moments of stillness in our lives and how it is only then that we truly get a glimpse or a sense of who we are. In “Alter ego” Harwood describes the alter ego as a part of herself...
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...Name: Course Name: Instructor: Date: Analyzing Weinstein’s ‘The Ethics of Work-Life Balance’ In the essay "The morals of work-life balance," Bruce Weinstein criticizes the huge number of employment adversities as encouraged by hard financial times of the 2008 subsidence. Notwithstanding, in spite of the huge monetary discouragements that pushed individuals as far as possible as far as work and the dedication thereof, Weinstein picks to review particular practices in light of ethics. The author observes that contrary to main feeling that ethics is a more noteworthy measure of how an individual treats others; it is additionally touches on how one treats himself/herself. Subsequently, the author noticed that while it is vital to buckle down, attempting to the prohibition of other life develops is not reasonable to the individual, and by expansion to those close him, for example, workmates and crew. Key to this paper is an examination of Weinstein’s disputes in light of the guideline of non-evil, an essential rule of morals. I agree with Weinstein's assessment. Weinstein states the primary reasons that individuals give for working hard in the midst of hard financial times. The head is the journey to keep one's employment. For this situation, an individual sees that his tireless work might be compensated with support if the association picks to downsize in future. What may be the cost unpreventable in looking for after this additional...
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...lives. The rapid development of technology has seen the ‘booming’ of social media. There are now countless ‘apps’ and sites to allow people to connect, regardless of whether you are best friends or strangers. What one might not realise is how powerful these social sites can be. The freedom to, literally, become whoever you want to be allows us to almost take control of our lives. However, in reality, all we are doing is creating a fake sense of security and belonging because eventually ‘Facebook friends’ will have to meet in person and how many ‘likes’ you get on your profile picture won’t mean a thing. In real life we don’t always get to choose who we are influenced by and often our identity is dictated by our lives. Discovering our true self is therefore almost impossible. Here is a little insight to my own experience. At the age of 14 I migrated to Australia from Malaysia and found myself thrust into a foreign world and foreign culture. I soon realised that what I knew about myself no longer existed because I could not retain my original identity when all I wanted to do was to fit in. For the whole year, I spent my time engaging in conversation about Australian Football teams and saying ‘arvo’ instead of ‘afternoon’. Yet a lingering feeling inside of me resented this new ‘me’, and so I found myself unable to belong in this new country. Eventually I developed a new identity but that took years and the sacrifice of many aspects of my life. To some extent, I can relate to Sandra...
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...language fluently and have also forgotten how to write in Chinese. As a grown man, he now struggles to face reality and is confined from embracing his own identity. From reading the story, I learned about his struggles and the discrimination he faces. But I also realized that Eric Liu is not different from me and from my culture. We also faced the same discrimination and prejudice from different groups of people. However, his struggle and his purpose is different from mine. I want to be known for who I really am and where I come from, but in his case, he wants to completely forget about his past. His fragmented knowledge about his father, his father’s past has left him a feeling of being incomplete which makes him ungrounded. In this case, he lacks the knowledge of his collective (personal and family) history which makes him lack the anchor for a sense of self and a bridge of intimacy and connection to people. My story is different from Eric Liu because if he feels ashamed of his true identity, I am proud of where I came from. I embrace my own native culture and traditions. I migrated to America from the Philippines with my family when I was twelve years old. Even if I am fully adjusted here, me and my family still holds a bridge and connection with our fellow Filipinos. My family and I still speak with our own native tongue and celebrate the Filipino...
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