GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR DISCUSSIONS:   Your contributions should be thoughtful and developed.  Answer all parts of the question and use concepts from the course materials.  Use a professional style of communication, with attention to grammar, spelling, and typos; cite your sources.

Unless your instructor specifies otherwise, choose ONE of the following questions, and give a substantive response to at least two other students.

1.  WHAT GOOD ARE THE ARTS?

Epistemology is the study of what it means to know things, and how we know them. Philosophers generally define “knowledge” as “justified true belief.” To know something, it must be true, and you must believe it for good (well-justified) reasons.

For this discussion, consider the controversy presented at http://www.iep.utm.edu/art-ep/ about whether the arts, including literature, can give us knowledge. Or do they mislead us into thinking that we “know” something when in fact we only learn what the artist or writer presents–not the truth itself?

After you read the material, think about your own experience of the arts—visual arts (painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, architecture); literature (poetry and prose); and the performing arts (music, dance, theater, and film).

In your experience, do any of these arts arouse certain “emotions or activities that are able to facilitate or produce knowledge” by tapping into something that cannot be expressed in words?  Do the arts give you knowledge? Or do you think they are not useful in producing knowledge?  Explain your thinking, using ideas from at least one of the thinkers mentioned in the article.

Include an example from one of the arts to help support your position.  Have you gotten “true knowledge”—or not—from a work of literature, the ideas of a philosopher, a piece of art or architecture, or a film?  Describe a specific example and if possible, give a link.

2.  THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE

For this discussion, we will reflect on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. (Search YouTube to hear it narrated by the great actor Orson Welles.)

An allegory is a story where the elements are symbolic.  What do you see as the symbolism of the cave, the shadows on the wall, the prisoners, the man who escapes, the daylight outside?   Do you know of other stories that make similar points?

The story assumes there are major difference between “appearances” and “reality,” and that “reality” is superior.  What does this mean for the arts? Arts and letters may present “appearances” quite unlike what they are depicting.  In short, the style of the arts is often not “realistic.”   Does this mean that what the arts convey is always more like illusion than reality? Use an example and explain your thinking.

Have you ever accepted an illusion as reality?  How did you recognize that you were mistaken?  Did that recognition change you in any important way, or was it more like a minor correction to your perception? Do you think that people today live in a world of “shadows”?  Are we imprisoned in some way, with our minds shackled?  Explain your thinking.

Consider these examples from a typical, large suburban high school.

1. Kelly is a sophomore who attends a meeting of the all-male robotics club. She says she has an interest in joining the club and working on building a robot for an upcoming competition. The male members of the club snicker at her and one boy puts his foot out and “accidently” trips Kelly in the aisle. The male teacher in the room tells the boys to settle down, but he also tells Kelly that he isn’t sure she would have the necessary skills for the club, since the other members have all had several years experience building robots. “After all,” he said, “you were probably playing with dolls for all the years these boys were building things and experimenting with electronics.”
2. John is an artistic, intelligent boy who is not interested in sports or other “typical” male pursuits. He enjoys writing fiction and poetry for the school newspaper. When he gets on the school bus no one will share a seat with him. He ends up standing and a group of students in the back of the bus harass and heckle him, calling him homophobic slurs.
3. In the teachers’ lounge, a group of Caucasian teachers huddle around the water cooler gossiping about why one of their fellow teachers, an Asian-American woman, was promoted to assistant principle over other teachers with more years of experience. “I know she has a master’s degree, but I still think this is clearly an affirmative action thing—they just want to get more minorities in administration. They don’t care about who is really qualified, and that’s all there is to it.”

Select one of the examples above that you feel illustrates prejudiced attitudes. Answer the following:

1. What elements of this scenario make it an example of prejudice?
2. Is there also discrimination present?
3. Is there stereotyping in this example?
4. Explain why the predjudice is occurring using the following terms: Social categorization, in-group, out-group, and ingroup-bias.
5. Based on your readings, what type of intervention could help to reduce prejudice in a situation like this?

Please be sure you address each question, using terms and concepts from your text. A good initial discussion response should be at least 150–250 words in length.