“SCIENCE HAS BOMBS, and humanities have Britney Spears” (Kershner as cited in Purvis, 2004). This amusing comment, made during a professorial debate concerning which discipline was superior, epitomises the divide that exists between the humanities and sciences. Although the debate has its roots in the Industrial Revolution, in more recent times it was signalled by Snow’s (1959; 1964) discussion outlining the dysfunctional gulf that exists between the cultures. Essentially Snow was critical of the breakdown of communication and understanding between the worlds of the humanities and sciences and blamed this for many of society’s unresolved problems. He was particularly critical of the literary intellectuals: “This loss is leading us to interpret the past wrongly, to misjudge the present, and to deny our hopes of the future. It is making it difficult or impossible for us to take good action.” (Snow, 1964, p.60) In the years that followed there has been considerable discussion and debate about the issue and consequent discussions about the value of the sciences and humanities for society’s wellbeing. For example, Leavis (Leavis & Yudkin, 1963) criticised the notion of a chasm and, in a vitriolic manner, suggested that Snow was simply a public relations ‘stooge’ for the sciences. The argument was deepened by a pseudoscientific hoax paper published in a post-modern cultural studies journal by Sokal (1996a, 1996b), a mathematical physicist, who demonstrated that there was an acceptance of a lack of rigour in published humanities work. There was a furore over this hoax and counter arguments and rebuttals engaged many academics in a bitter dispute, but unsurprisingly an examination of this literature reveals that the protagonists talked ...
... middle of paper ...
...Light and Cox (2001) outline that for academics who are preparing students for a place in the community, there are significant learning implications, such as the teaching of vocational skills. There is a defined common aim in the domains of the sciences and humanities and some shared discipline strengths – the domain specific goals feed the process to achieve the overall attributes common to all disciplines. Accordingly, the opportunities for inter-faculty liaison and sharing of modules of work and indeed qualifications in some circumstances can be realised by educators working cooperatively. Further to this, there are also opportunities for the humanities and sciences to interact with one another in terms of how such attributes are taught and sustained – but this demands knowledge and skills relating to instructional psychology, particularly transfer of learning.
The word “bias” has always had a negative connotation. Although it is used synonymously with bigotry and prejudice, its meaning is actually more akin to “point of view,” “personal tendency,” or “preference.” Just as every individual has her own worldview, so she has a set of biases. These biases are often observable in a person’s habits, speech, and, perhaps most explicitly, writings. Daniel Boorstin, renowned University of Chicago professor, historian, author, and librarian of Congress, is undeniably biased towards certain cultures in The Discoverers. A book chronicling mankind’s scientific history, its first words are “My hero is Man the Discoverer.” In his telling of “man’s search to know his world and himself,” Boorstin declares that
Arthur L. Caplan, in his news article, “Distinguishing Science from Nonsense,” warns the audience about the uncertain economic future of the United States of America due to the abandonment of science within society. Further, Caplan’s purpose is to inform the audience how the dwindling importance of science in children is not only due to schools, but also due to American culture. Therefore, Caplan uses a combination of rhetorical devices to not only warn and inform the public about the importance of science, but to also engage them to an extent that persuades the audience to take action.
Shiffman believes that the drop in interest in the humanities results in the inability of students to have clear bearings amid life’s uncertainties. He believes that only by studying the humanities will students be able to introspect and recognize that endless achievement may not add up to a meaningful life (Shiffman 5). However, Shiffman fails to realize that this form of reflection need not be done solely by those majoring in the humanities. It can be done by all who try, their fields of study are no limitation. In fact, it may be this same reflection that leads to an individual’s decision to prioritize practicality. Not all those who choose the practical path are doing it for themselves. Many may do it for their families, as a safe and stable means of supporting their loved ones. Others may take this opportunity to give back to their community through the ways they are most skilled. Instead of pursuing a single interest in a certain field, they choose to follow their various callings. Doing solely what an individual loves is a self-centered view of the world. While it is important to chase happiness, it is also important to reflect on what one is doing to spread happiness to the rest of the world. One must find something that they are good at, and put that into the world. They should contribute to others and help the world be better, in addition to following their passions. An individual’s acts of service may just become one of their many passions.
The intentions of this paper are first to establish a personal statement for the Carney Sandoe institute: a Global Faculty Recruitment, Leadership Search and Strategic Consulting Service for Independent and Like-Kind Schools. With over 35 years of experience, Carney Sandoe is a leader in Independent School recruiting. My personal statement both markets me to Independent schools as well as reveals my stance on educational psychology. The rest of this paper will extrapolate my educational psychology stance by first identifying the context in which I will be an educator and then defining my developed understanding of the role of teacher and learner.
In Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008), Ben Stein travels the world to expose the incarceration in the realm of science. Stein’s goal is to rile up the audience to stir up desire and motivation of the voice of the people to bring down the unjust wall in scientific academia. Ben Stein fails to persuade his active viewing audience that universities have used unfair practices to exclude research and believers in intelligent design from the scientific community, but succeeds in persuading the unpretentious and idle audience. Ben Stein losses his credibility and ultimately his persuasive power through the use of misrepresentation of messages and facts, fallacies of ethos, pathos, and logos, and the digression from the main point of the documentary. The unpretentious audience overlooks these fallacies and is persuaded through the visual tools in the documentary.
Hey, Computer Sciences Stop Hating on The Humanities is a magazine article written by Emma Pierson (2017) for employers seeking programmers and universities with computer science programs in which, Pierson addresses the consequences of ignoring the teachings of the humanities in universities. However, with the emphasis Pierson (2017) places on her ‘‘worrisome” thoughts and “difficult dilemma” she has on “algorithms” in paragraphs three and four and in conjunction with McLuhan’s (2009) philosophy of facing the anxiety that comes with critically analyzing flawed “algorithms” that “Narcosis narcotic” hides (para.16), the issue that Pierson targets is really the dependence that systems place on blind and arrogant programmers of flawed “algorithms” that cause “social disparities” (para. 4). These “social disparities” (para. 4) arise because of the programmer’s lack of education and respect or the humanities in moral decision making that universities can teach.
The presupposition of Preparing for a Career by Derek Bok indicates that vocational majors and liberal arts major should merge to help students prepare for their career. Bok states that vocational college only prepare students for the future, but does not teach students the basic knowledge such as U.S history, English, reading and how to think critically and understand what one’s learning. The three archetypes that exemplify what college should do to help students develop intellectual breadth and lifelong learning skills are to combine the vocational and the liberal arts majors together, give students opportunities to build connections in their major, and instructors should give student feedback about their work and what other employers
The goals and operational values of the cross-curricular approach are to help the student develop self-regulating (learning-how-to-learn and metacognition) and lifelong learning skills as well as effective democratic citizenship skills (Alahiotis & Stavlioti, 2006; Stavlioti, p. 61; Koustourakis, 2007 p.133; Vars, 2007, p.7). In order to cope with the modern realities, there is a need to move from the traditional organization of curriculum into discrete subjects/discipline areas offering fragmented knowledge, to a more linked and unified approach to knowledge in a holistic way (Alahiotis & Stavlioti, 2006; Marshall, 2005, p. 229). Conferring with psychology, the child should be treated as a whole entity so this should be reflected in the way children learn (stavlioti, p. 54; Stavlioti megalo, p. 4). Studies have shown that links between the different disciplines and connections with real-life situations enhance brain synapses, so in this way learning is promoted through multiple stimuli that these connections send to neurons (stavlioti megalo, p. 5-6). “According to Piaget (1963), learning occurs when new information is attached to prior knowledge and placed in existing conceptual compartments or schemata” (as cited in Marshall, 2005, p. 229).
Kuther, T. L., & Morgan, R. D. (2013). Careers in psychology: opportunities in a changing world. (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning/Wadsworth. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning/Wadsworth.
Dr. Michael Shermer is a Professor, Founder of skeptic magazine, and a distinguished and brilliant American science writer to say the least. In His book The Moral Arc: How Science Makes Us Better People he sets out to embark on the daunting task of convincing and informing the reader on sciences’ ability to drives the expansion of humanity and the growth of the moral sphere. Although such a broad and general topic could be hard to explain, Shermer does so in a way that is concise, easy to understand, and refreshing for the reader. This novel is riddled with scientific facts, data, and pictures to back up shermers claims about the history of science, humanity and how the two interact with one another.
Edgar Allen Poe, a creative mind who wrote about things that were truly mind-boggling seems to be confused about science, this new genre of education, which seems to be proving all that he knew about life to be false. His reality is now being doubted and challenged as this new science turns his whole world in a different direction. “To Science,” is a poem he wrote asking and trying to figure out what is happening as he personifies “Science” and questions it as if science was a human. Poets are generally the only one’s who can get away with personification. Poe’s poetic traits are both proven and challenged, as he beings to argue with a non-humanistic figure, while trying to fight for his imaginative state of mind, all while wanting his ideas to be proven true rather than being classified as false.
Iggers, G. G. (1997). Historiography in the twentieth century: from scientific objectivity to the postmodern challenge. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press.
Have you wondered what would be the best degree to have in your life? The STEM vs. Humanities argument is a decades-long debate, but in this new era, the answer is quickly becoming clear. The STEM field is rapidly growing, with new and innovative advances. STEM degrees are becoming increasingly useful for young adults, far ahead of humanities and liberal arts degrees. STEM majors make more money, are better employed, and are better educated and prepared for work. STEM graduates are making nearly $16,000 more than their liberal arts counterparts and are more likely to hold a full-time job. The job market for STEM fields is also favorable for young adults, with the unemployment rate of STEM majors being a full 1.6% lower than the unemployment
After the reading of Boyer’s (1990) initial foray into a review of the collegiate teaching profession, the thoughts of his colleagues within the text in question almost seem just to restate much of what has been said. Granted, it is still very relevant information; the scholarships of discovery, integration, application, and teaching are reintroduced in chapter one and given the once-over to proclaim another look at the college educator’s roles in teaching, researching, and servicing to a school and its community. Additionally, it goes back to addressing the issue of the power balance of teaching and researching within higher academia and how some parties and schools favor one other the other as the main focus for an institution’s mission.
Social sciences are the analysis methodically of the social area of the world. They are mixed area of study of human behavior and society which include disciplines of anthropology, economics, political science, psychology and sociology. Social sciences study methodically the manner in which people behave and how they influence the world around us. It aims to comprehend any given social phenomena by using a methodology borrowed from the physical sciences. Natural sciences are the study of natural world. They use scientific method to study about nature and relate to everything else in nature such as the animals, earth, plants and etc. It covers topics such as physics, chemistry, and mathematics.