Okay all political science freaks...(aka Dale and Tammy)...you want posts, you got it. I am taking a political science class and my professor posted the following question for us this week: Philosophically, do you believe that you and I develop opinions as independent individuals, deliberating about issues using values and principles that we explicitly understand? Or, do you and I go along with the group and develop opinions in a more collective fashion, perhaps absorbing and expressing opinions in a much more passive manner.
What do you think: are we lone wolves or bees in the beehive?
The thing is...I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THIS STUFF! I'm wondering if any of you have an opinion so I can answer the question and pretend like I care.
I don't know, I just don't care. I have my opinions about stuff and I don't really care about where it came from or if I'm a bee or a lone wolf. I don't think that's the answer he's looking for...so you're all invited to help me out! Good luck and I look forward to your responses. (Everybody...not just Dale and Tammy...come on, help me out here)
11 comments:
That is such a beautiful question. It brings back fond memories of the essays I had to write. I know, I'm sick because I actually enjoy assignments like that. My major was heavily focused on political theory/philosophy. I think Tammy successfully avoided that ... right Tams?
In order to respond productively, you have to take off the hat of your understanding of the plan of salvation because it is true and makes the analysis very simple. However, that won't help you in this class.
Anyway, a full response would take up a lot more space and time but in my experience, it is generally safe to say "both."
If you really want to wax philosophical though you could delve into an analysis of how can we really know whether our opinions are a product of our own internal values or those of society.
After all, from the day we arrive on the planet ... and blinking step into the sun (sorry, I got carried away, I think that is from Lion King or something), we are part of a society. Maybe a society of 1, maybe a society of many more than 1. So we may think an idea is our own, but how do we know if it is our own or a product of our experience in society?
In reality if one of the choices you were given is black and another is white, the answer is a shade of grey. Each person may fall in a different spot in the continuum, but how can a person say that his opinions are not influenced in the least by society (religious, secular, familial, etc.) and how can a person say that none of his opinions are formed from his own values?
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I'm going to second Dale's response. I'm no political science buff but one thing I have learned in my college experience is that when it comes to philisophical crap like the stuff you're dealing with now, it is best to argue both sides...a sort of devil's advicate approach. Talk about how we conduct our lives in units (families, communities, religious sections, etc) and how those groups give us a foundation on which we build our own understanding based on individual circumstance (gender, economic status, etc) of things we encounter.
Kapeesh?
OK so here's my take. I did not do a lot of fluffy lame slice philosophical stuff, mostly b/c I had 2 classes in it and nearly thought I'd have to change my major. That being said, I did do a lot of studying about political preference statistics. So here's the nuts and bolts part of the argument Dale and Coachney are making. About 75 % of people of voting age vote the way their parents do. It's impossible to determine if voters at that age vote because of values or of social pressures but that is the statistic.
Interestingly, in terms of the two largest political parties, statistically people who are least educated tend to vote Democrat. People then tend to vote Republican if they have some college education. As people move towards a B.A. or the equivalent, the stats switch back to Democrat. But people with the most degrees tend to vote Republican again. Now the arguments for why that is run the entire spectrum of reasons. And of course there are those outliers (Say, girls who voted for Clinton just because she was in a "phase" where she had to be belligerent and she knew it would drive her parents nuts).
So, a large part of the decision to align with a certain philosophical realm vs. another may have to do with a person's connection to his/ her family. It also depends on the person's age/ stage of development. It also is largely contingent on an individual's exposure (in positive OR negative situations) with people who believe strongly one or the other ideas.
Gosh, we Poli Sci folks sure do blabber, don't we? Adam and I both think that professor's question is unanswerable. I mean, nobody develops ideas in a vaccuum but since each person views every situation through the lens or his or her own experience, it's impossible to say that society is responsible for whatever ideas/ biases we end up wrapping our minds around.
Good luck and hugs and kisses. Love, the Poli Sci Freak (Part II)
Thanks for your help folks...I mean it. This is great. I had no idea how to formulate a coherent response so now at least I have somewhere to start...
Oh, P.S., throw "socioeconomic status" around when writing your paper. I don't know why but those Poli Sci types eat that right up. It's almost guaranteed to be a B+ or above on your paper.
Also, not to be too presumptuous but if you'd like a second pair of eyes to look at your paper before you send it in, shoot it my way. I used to do some editing in my dee and I'm happy to help if I can.
Court,
I'm so impressed, you sound like a real college student. And sadly you have reminded me how much my brain has atropy from my years of changing diapers and wiping snotty noses. I couldn't write an eloquent paragraph like that if I wanted to.
I think people tend to form their own opinions of things they understand, but float toward popular opinion (or opinions of those they trust) on matters where they don't understand all the background. That's what I do. So naturally in politics I have NO opinions that are my own--because I just don't get it.
Wow, I am glad you could even understand the question, becasue I read it twice and was annoyed at the jargony babble (clear as mud?)
How is school going, anyway?
:-)
Also, I can't type the word "because" for my life, so sorry about that typo!
Thanks Kate! Midterms are coming up this week and its sure nice to have a little confidence booster right before I get ripped to shreds, chewed up and spit out. Actually if you wouldn't mind I'll be needing a couple more of those boosters in a couple weeks when I'm through with all my tests and papers and doubting whether college is really for me.
Just call me.
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