A collaborative search for wisdom, at Middle Tennessee State University and beyond... "The pluralistic form takes for me a stronger hold on reality than any other philosophy I know of, being essentially a social philosophy, a philosophy of 'co'"-William James
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Philosophers Guild(H)
Last class we scored our tests and enjoyed a riveting discussion about the upcoming lyceum. Our group discussed Skinners box experiment and tried to theorize how placing a young child in a box for the first 2.5 years of life could possibly help them. If anyone would like to add anything please comment below.
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I don't see how it could be helpful at all to put a child in a box for any amount of time. Kids need to socialize in order to develop mentally and function in society. (H3)
ReplyDeleteAnd yet time-out is still a popular form of punishment in Western Culture. In a way, all forms of punishment are operant conditioning. Even touching a hot stove and getting a burn is a way of conditioning. I think a lot of people misunderstand Skinner's experiment, and while I'm not sure experimenting on your child is something I can morally get behind, I would also caution against dismissing him so quickly. Food for thought!
DeleteI think that it harms instead of helps the child. That could be considered emotional abuse that can hurt the child in the long run.
ReplyDeleteFactual Question: What philosopher wrote On Liberty? (John Stuart Mill)
ReplyDeleteDiscussion Question: Do you believe that if we simply choose to follow customs that we are making no choice at all and being swayed by the majority?
Comment: I enjoyed learning new things about Skinner and his experiments. I'm excited about class today.
Link: here is a link to an article on Mill's philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mill/
Factual: Darwin was a philosopher... (False! He was geologist and a biologist.)
ReplyDeleteDiscussion: Can evolution and the idea of it mindless process undermine the ideas of ALL religions--not just the Christian one.
Comment: Darwin is awesome and I cannot wait to discuss him.
Link: http://www.sciencecartoonsplus.com/gallery/darwin/
Comments. I commented on philosoraptor
Dr. Oliver did mention that his daughter has commented publicly that she does not blame her father and that he was very loving.
ReplyDeleteFactual Question: At What age was John Stuart Mill studying ancient Greek? Age 3
ReplyDeleteDiscussion Question:Would you rather be a contented pig in the mud or a sad human being?
Comment: Sounds exciting! Sad I missed it
Link:http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/
Again, I see no post for my group. :(
ReplyDeleteFactual Question: Who wrote "On the Origin of Species" that was published in 1859? A: Darwin
Discussion Question: Mill believed that the best way to explore the natural universe is to explore the natural sciences. How do you feel about this? What other ways might be used to understand the universe?
Comment: I enjoyed our discussion! Especially talking about putting children in boxes and different types of parenting, schooling, and motivation!
Link: http://www.iep.utm.edu/milljs/
A random comment on science: do you believe magic is science that we don't understand? ...
Delete-Seneca (H3)
I'm with Olivia (The Highlanders) - we need to talk about this, guys.
ReplyDeleteFactual Question: Was Darwin a philosopher? (Answer: No. He was a biologist and geologist.)
Discussion Question: What are your thoughts on Evolution vs. Intelligent Design?
I really liked our discussion. We always seem to find a way to bring these issues around to modern topics, which I think is actually a good thing. What use is philosophy if it's not applicable to the real world, after all? And we all seem to have some really good opinions on the things that we discuss, so it's always fun to hear the different perspectives on the issues we discuss.
Link: Some quotes from Darwin - I think he has some really interesting opinions, too.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/charles_darwin.html
Michael Anderson H3
ReplyDeleteWhile I personally don't agree with Skinner's methods, I don't think what he did
harmed his daughter in any way. All parents condition their children in some form or another, this is just the extreme end of the spectrum. The daughter seemed to be okay with the experiment and I don't think Skinner was harsh to her or used the box as a severe punishment.