Re: [xmca] Epistemic hospitability

From: ruqaiya hasan <Ruqaiya.Hasan who-is-at ling.mq.edu.au>
Date: Fri Oct 05 2007 - 18:11:05 PDT

good question Juan.

I do not condone for one second any one's denigatory comments based on the
prejudiced stereotyping of any people on any ground, but lets look around
us. It is more difficult to find those who are not doing it everywhere. We
can pursue one person and among other things it raises our profile as
socially responsible but how about doing something more lasting, like
perhaps reflecting and acting on the case of Martin Lee Anderson.

The other Nobel winner Lessing when she was asked in an interview what
action should people take in a world riven with conflict replied: "think" (I
assume she meant think before you act either semiotically or materially!)

Ruqaiya
----- Original Message -----
From: "Juan Felipe Espinosa Cristià" <jfespino@uc.cl>
To: <kai.hakkarainen@joensuu.fi>; "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity"
<xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 11:23 PM
Subject: Re: [xmca] Epistemic hospitability

> Dear Professor,
>
> Thanks for show me an interesting point for the development of this
discussion.
>
> Is it possible that some attacks to Watson's remarks been also violations
of
> epistemic or cognitive hospitability?
>
> Juan
>
> Kai Hakkarainen escribió:
> > Dear friends,
> >
> > I have just joined this list and do not know the earlier discussion.
> > Nevertheless I wanted to share with you some quotations that I found
from
> > Peirre Levy's (1997) Collective Intelligence book, quotations that may
get
> > discussion toward a more positive trajectory than mere focusing on
Watson's
> > remarks appear to do. From Pierre Levy's perspective Watson's remark and
all
> > other corresponding remarks are violations of epistemic or cognitive
> > hospitability. Just like any other kind of human activity, epistemic
affairs
> > require us to provide hospitability to our fellow human beings. When we
fail
> > to acknowledge someone's intelligence because he does not have our own
> > cognitive socialization or our kind of "proper" education, it is
violation
> > of epistemic hospitability. Racism implies, of course, an extreme lack
of
> > such epistemic desirability.
> >
> > "My initial premise is based on the notion of a universally distributed
> > intelligence. No one knows everything, everyone knows something, all
> > knowledge resides in humanity. . The light of mind shines even where we
> > attempt to persuade other that no intelligence exists: "educational
> > failure", "rote execution", "underdevelopment". The overarching judgment
of
> > ignorance turns against the judges. If you are tempted to judge someone
as
> > ignorant, look for the context in which his knowledge can be turned into
> > gold." (Levy, 1997, p. 14)
> >
> > "Regardless of my temporary social position, regardless of the judgment
of
> > an educational institution about my abilities, I can also become an
> > opportunity for learning to someone else. Through my experience of life,
my
> > professional career, my social and cultural habits, I can - since
knowledge
> > is coextensive with life - provide knowledge resources for community.
Even
> > if I am unemployed, or without money or a diploma, condemned to life in
> > ghetto, illiterate, I am not useless. I am not interchangeable. I have
an
> > image, a position, dignity, a personal and positive value within the
> > knowledge space. All of us have the right to be acknowledged as a
knowledge
> > identity." (Levy, 1997, P. 13)
> >
> > As Levy argued, "in the age of knowledge, failure to recognize the other
as
> > an intelligent being is to deny his true social identity" (Levy, 1997,
p.
> > 15).
> >
> > I have used the epistemic-hospitability metaphor in many public talks in
> > Finland; it appears to make people to question at least some of their
> > presuppositions concerning intelligence. As psychologist, I consider
talking
> > about these issues to be very important. Together with my colleagues I
have
> > investigated conceptions of intelligence of students and teachers of my
> > country that revealed a strong gender and age effect: Males (both
students
> > and teachers) appear to think that inherited and fixed abilities
determine
> > what you may intellectually achieve whereas females tend to think that
your
> > own epistemic efforts are crucial. Perhaps this is one of reason for the
> > female students becoming a large majority in high schools and
universities.
> > Further, older generations of teachers represent the fixed-abilities
view
> > much more strongly than younger generations (the latter ones are likely
to
> > be used to surpass themselves). Watson is clearly a representative of
his
> > own gender & generation in terms of having a non-dynamic view of
> > intelligence as a fixed and given entity.
> >
> > I am bringing these issues up because I feel that not only racism is at
> > stake here but also assumptions concerning the very nature of human
> > intelligence that make it hard to overcome racist tendencies. Together
with
> > my colleagues, I have developed a framework of networked intelligence so
as
> > to contribute to problematizing the received conceptions of intelligence
> > (see
> > http://www.lime.ki.se/uploads/images/517/Hakkarainen_Lonka_Paavola.pdf).
It
> > is just a preliminary sketch based on premises probably well known in
this
> > circle about relevant issues; I am interested in parallel and, perhaps,
more
> > mature cultural-psychological reconceptualizations concerning what
> > intelligence is all about.
> >
> > Sincerely yours,
> >
> > Kai
> > Kai Hakkarainen, Ph.D.
> > Professor (Learning and Learning Environments)
> > Savonlinna Department of Teacher Education
> > University of Joensuu
> > Kuninkaankartanonkatu 5, P.O. Box 55
> > FIN-57101 Savonlinna, Finland
> > GSM +358 50 4129572
> > Tel +358-15-5117686
> > Fax +358 15 53 1060
> > Email: kai.hakkarainen@joensuu.fi
> >
> > Director, Centre for Research on Networked Learning and Knowledge
Building,
> > Department of Psychology
> > Address: P.O. Box 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 20D),
> > FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
> > GSM: +358-50-4129572
> > Fax: +358-9-19129443
> > e-mail: kai.hakkarainen@helsinki.fi
> > www.helsinki.fi/science/networkedlearning
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu]
On
> > Behalf Of E. Knutsson
> > Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 12:31 PM
> > To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> > Subject: Re: [xmca] Nobel prize talks stupid things about human
intelligence
> >
> >
> > This is highly irrelevant and biased, Andy, a special case of irrelevant
> > conclusion, a so-called fallacy of relevance: Argumentum ad populum and
> > argumentum ad hominem (speaking "against the man" rather than to the
issue).
> >
> > Attacking the premises of an argument by casting aspersions on the
character
> > of
> > the proponent of the argument, would usually be characterized as
committing
> > an
> > ad hominem fallacy. The (supposed) character of the proponent of an
argument
> >
> > has no relevance to the validity of the argument.
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------
> > On 2007-10-21, at 10:42, Andy Blunden wrote:
> >> Eric, I was not following this debate closely. This post clearly
explains
> >> where you are coming from, so my "What's the problem?" response was
> >> uncalled for. I guess I was not reacting to Watson as a "grand old man"
> > and
> >> "non-conformist" who "made a mistake" but rather as one of many people
who
> >
> >> follow unthinkingly in the trend of which Watson was a contributor, to
the
> >
> >> effect that it is "all in the genes." So of course in his "correction"
he
> >> only repeats what caused offence: "Africans aren't inferior, just
> > different
> >> ... because of their genes."
> >> I should apologise for using derogatory words about anyone on this
list, I
> >
> >> suppose, but any specialist who thinks that their own particular
> > specialism
> >> explains everything is not in my humble opinion worthy of very much
> > praise.
> >> Andy
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
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> >
>
>
> --
> Juan Felipe Espinosa Cristià
> e-mail: jfespino@uc.cl
> http://jfespino.wordpress.com/
> 095325675 / 3624774
>
> _______________________________________________
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>

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Received on Mon Oct 22 18:20 PDT 2007

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