Re: School Discussion

Richard A. Goodman (rag@hooked.net)
Fri, 22 Nov 1996 23:45:58 GMT

Marko Toivanen <marko@joyl.joensuu.fi> wrote:

>Gerold Firl wrote:
>> In article <3277D9CF.4273@frontiernet.net>, Susan Whitney <whitneys@frontiernet.net> writes:
>> |> Help! I am piloting a program in a Middle school where highly able
>> |> Science students read and discuss a wide variety of Science related
>> |> essays. Gould and Lewis Thomas immediately came to mind. Any
>> |> suggestions for appealing and discussible articles?
>>
>> Human sociobiology always gets the kids excited; works on this
>> newsgroup. I'm not sure about articles, but you could try excerpts
>> from e. o. wilson _sociobiology_ or _on human nature_; dawkins _the
>> selfish gene_, _blind watchmaker_, or _the extended phenotype_; jared
>> diamond _the third chimpanzee_; or barash _the whisperings within_.
>> Any of those should get some discussion going. You could contrast with
>> the anti-sociobiology polemics of gould and lewontin, and if you
>> really want to get to the fringe of philosophy-of-science type issues,
>> scientific american had a short interview/profile of feyerabend a
>> couple of years ago.

>Except that the supposed "interview" is rubbish as an
>"interview/profile of Feyerabend". It gets even the most
>rudimentary basics wrong (e.g., Feyerabend never claimed
>that "anything goes"). Rather, try "Conversations with
>Illiterates" in _Science in a Free Society_ (1978) which is
>fun to read & amusing in addition to providing ample material
>for learning the basics of debate and argumentation. Or, the
>debate in _New Ideas in Psychology_ 3, ca. 1983 ("On the
>Limits of Research", "The Lessing Effect in Philosophy of
>Science").

>Cheers,

>Marko
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Some years back there was a wonderful article by G. Berreman about the
front room and the back room, I think. I cannot remember the title,
but it related to the view two different guides or informants gave him
of a particular culture. One showed him things the way they were
supposed to be and the other showed him things the way they actually
were.

Rich G.