{"id":26208,"date":"2020-03-03T09:20:31","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T17:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=26208"},"modified":"2020-03-03T09:21:45","modified_gmt":"2020-03-03T17:21:45","slug":"curiosity-under-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/curiosity-under-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"Curiosity Under Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Curiosity is the fountainhead of all learning, deep relational connection, and innovation. An increasing polarization and the resulting combative culture threaten curiosity on university campuses in the US. Brain researchers have noted the difference in how our brains work during conflict. Curiosity is impossible when one is feeling threatened. Instead, \u201cwe feel an involuntary need to defend our side and attack the other\u201d (Ripley). I\u2019m troubled by the culture of many liberal arts universities and question their ability to produce thoughtful, creative, and curious citizens in the near future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Continuing from last week\u2019s analysis of Jonathan Haidt\u2019s moral psychological approach to investigating culture, he, along with Greg Lukianoff, focus on the university setting in their book <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-26209 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/original-1024x653.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"671\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/original-1024x653.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/original-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/original-768x490.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/original-1536x979.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/original-150x96.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/original.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 671px) 100vw, 671px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here\u2019s a few topics that have their concern on today\u2019s university campuses:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Dominance of single partisanship <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8211; The welcoming of only one political ideology fundamentally is counterproductive to the intended university ethos &#8211; a civil discussion of varying ideas where students are able to present and challenge every idea during that immensely formational season (Lukianoff and Haidt, 99). One university I visited the day after the election I was met with students who attended university-provided grief counseling, confided in me that they didn\u2019t know a single person who voted differently than they did, and couldn\u2019t come up with a sane reason someone would vote for that \u201cmonster.\u201d I\u2019m purposely leaving left\/right language out of this because either way would be concerning in Academia.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Safe spaces<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> &#8211;\u00a0 Where absolutely, universities should be safe physically, and ideologically &#8211; in that students have the freedom to investigate claims from all sides, now emotional safety (i.e. \u201cnot being offended\u201d) is also of importance (Lukianoff and Haidt, 24-27). Interacting in echo chambers is a direct assault to robust education. Haidt (in particular) and Jordan Peterson are long friends and allies on this point.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Lack of empathy training<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> &#8211;\u00a0 \u201cIn the wake of the 2016 presidential election, Americans are discovering that they are more deeply divided than they had realized. Rising cross-partisan hatred is intensifying an \u2018us versus them\u2019 attitude that motivates people to accept the worst possible version of the other side\u2019s beliefs, and the most flattering version of their own\u201d (OpenMind, an organization co-founded by Haidt).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Soundbyte culture <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8211; Professors now need to consider how their lectures will appear on Twitter and out of context. This provides little nuance for complex topics in lectures.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These issues attack the very foundation of the university &#8211; a seeking of the truth. The book <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Coddling of the American Mind <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">found its impetus in an article written for<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Atlantic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> three years before the publication of the book with the same name. Here, Haidt and Lukianoff describe the learning process:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There\u2019s a saying common in education circles: Don\u2019t teach students <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">what<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to think; teach them <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">how<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to think. The idea goes back at least as far as Socrates. Today, what we call the Socratic method is a way of teaching that fosters critical thinking, in part by encouraging students to question their own unexamined beliefs, as well as the received wisdom of those around them. Such questioning sometimes leads to discomfort, and even to anger, on the way to understanding. (Haidt and Lukianoff, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Atlantic<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Enduring learning contains a story arc. It moves from a place of orientation, to disorientation, to reorientation around the new (or nuanced). There is no learning without discomfort, which can feel disorienting. It\u2019s the same with jazz music (all music, really), where we start from the root, move to interesting dissonance, and bring resolution. Good intentioned (see the subtitle) decisions have tried to minimize the dissonance and disorientation around learning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The telos of university is also under evaluation. Is it truth (\u201cdiscovery and transmission of truth\u201d, Lukianoff and Haidt, 254) or social change (255)? If the purpose of the university is anything other than the discovery and transmission of truth, there will be heavily bias of teaching towards that purpose and reward certain findings, according to Lukianoff and Haidt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I applaud Lukianoff and Haidt\u2019s practical approach. This is very refreshing in Academia. Consider OpenMind which is \u201ca free, interactive, psychology-based platform designed to foster intellectual humility, empathy, and mutual understanding across a variety of difference\u201d (OpenMind). Or Heterodox Academy which is \u201ca non-partisan collaborative of more than 3,500 professors, administrators, and graduate students committed to enhancing the quality and impact of research \u2014 and improving education \u2014 by promoting open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in institutions of higher learning\u201d (Heterodox Academy). These two academics embody our program\u2019s goals of being reflective practitioners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think one place they fall short is failing to add more nuance to their stances on trigger warnings and free speech. In view of trigger warnings, they suggest that there should be absolutely no trigger warnings and abandon political correctness. That seems like a backwards move that was used to marginalize and assert power. I\u2019d like to see a third-way of thinking, or something that adds nuance and isn\u2019t backwards responses to a current over-correction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>A Possible Turning Point<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I am pessimistic to think that polarity itself has the resources in which to bring about change on the university campus. But Haidt taps into a powerful, unifying truism &#8211; nothing unifies like a common enemy or problem. I think the mental health crisis on college campuses will force a hard look at the ethos and even telos of campuses. I\u2019m hopeful a collective analysis and reflective practitioners can come together providing unity, a solution that helps hurting students, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> revives a purity around curiosity, the cornerstone of learning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">______<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amanda Ripley, \u201cComplicating the Narratives,\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Wholy Story, <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/thewholestory.solutionsjournalism.org\/complicating-the-narratives-b91ea06ddf63\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/thewholestory.solutionsjournalism.org\/complicating-the-narratives-b91ea06ddf63<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (accessed March 3, 2020).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(New York: Penguin, 2018).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, \u201cThe Coddling of the American Mind,\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Atlantic, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">September 2015, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2015\/09\/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind\/399356\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2015\/09\/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind\/399356\/<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(accessed March 3, 2020). Photo credit belongs here, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Heterodox Academy, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/heterodoxacademy.org\/about-us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/heterodoxacademy.org\/about-us\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (accessed March 3, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">OpenMind, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/openmindplatform.org\/about\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/openmindplatform.org\/about\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (accessed March 3, 2020).<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Curiosity is the fountainhead of all learning, deep relational connection, and innovation. An increasing polarization and the resulting combative culture threaten curiosity on university campuses in the US. Brain researchers have noted the difference in how our brains work during conflict. Curiosity is impossible when one is feeling threatened. Instead, \u201cwe feel an involuntary need [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1808,1214,1579,1535],"class_list":["post-26208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-curiosity","tag-haidt","tag-innovation","tag-lukianoff","cohort-lgp10"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26208"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26211,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26208\/revisions\/26211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}