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Teaching
Roland, a loyal MR reader, sends me this quotation from Max Weber:
The primary task of a useful teacher is to teach his students to recognize ‘inconvenient’ facts - I mean facts that are inconvenient for their party opinions. And for every party opinion there are facts that are extremely inconvenient, for my own opinion no less than for others. I believe the teacher accomplishes more than a mere intellectual task if he compels his audience to accustom itself to the existence of such facts. I would be so immodest as even to apply the expression ‘moral achievement’, though perhaps that may sound too grandiose for something that should go without saying.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on June 15, 2008 at 05:54 AM in Education | Permalink
Comments
That is an excellent quote. I like to teach my students the economic approach to law because economics doesn't tell you what your normative values should be, but does force you reevaluate your own values in light of scarcity and the inevitable need to make trade-offs. However, in my field (law), the problem with a good many of my colleagues is that their view of law is highly normative, so they're the first ones to ignore "inconvenient facts"
Posted by: Enrique at Jun 15, 2008 8:13:20 AM
And yet... if you bend over backwards with an open mind, there is always the risk that your brain will fall out.
Posted by: at Jun 15, 2008 9:55:28 AM
I alwys thought that Max Weber advice did not go far enough. It should read:
"Ther primary duty of a teacher is to teach that facts should not be taken for granted. Facts need to be checked and tested; especially facts that support one's judgements or prejudices. The second duty of a teacher is to accustom students to valuing facts and ideas that are not in line with their judgements and predjudices; and to understanding that some of these facts and ideas will prove to be the route to sounder judgements and deeper insights. These are ethical duties. It is scarcely grandiose to say performing them is a moral achievement; for failing in them is to deprive students of some of their potential as humans."
Posted by: Diversity at Jun 15, 2008 11:43:44 AM
In a world with scarce time, isn't it the prejudicially held fact that is the furthest from the margin, where the checking and testing takes place?
If I'm checking my prejudicial facts, but the guy on the other side isn't checking his, what does it gain me? In science it's one thing, where reality eventually wins, in politics it's another thing entirely, where winning creates reality.
Posted by: Andrew at Jun 16, 2008 8:02:44 AM
Ah yes, inconvenient facts -- like all of the positive Entertainment Weekly reviews of books you loved. See comments on that post.
I wonder why you have not taken those inconvenient facts into account and altered your ridiculous overstatement?
Practice what you preach, professor!
Posted by: Max Weber at Jun 16, 2008 11:38:52 AM
For me the good the teacher the more makes or produce good students. Means if the teacher know what they teach the student will easily gets the topic.
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