Tuesday, January 2, 2018

689: How good do we know our Self ?

In the previous lecture I brought to your attention the “First-Person-Perspective” - theory of Richard Moran.
   
The Self as a permanent witness, searching for reasons and arguments why you mean what you mean.
   
This is however a rather rationalist approach of our Self. The theory sounds attractive but there are some shortcomings.
   
This First person perspective deals with what we think. But what do we know about ourselves in relation to what we feel?
   
If you say, that you are a liberal, you look outside into the world and you point out the reasons why it is your conviction.
    
But what when you are in love, or feel ashamed or relieved. Sometimes you even can not find any reasonable argument why you feel that way.
   
And there is another problem. We may easily say of ourselves that we are no racists. We regard all people as equal.
     
But is that really true? Are we so broad minded? You may be surprised to discover how many prejudices are active in your mind. These are called implicit biases or prejudices.
    
Let's start with a somewhat lugubrious riddle: a father and his son are involved in a car accident. 
   
The father dies on the spot, the son is seriously injured. He is taken to the hospital, where the surgeon present is shocked and stutters: "This boy is my son!" 
  
How is this possible? Any idea???
     
If the right answer to this riddle did not immediately come to mind, this is probably because you are unconsciously regarding surgery as a male profession. 
   
Because of this association it does not occur to you that the surgeon in question is not the father, but the mother of the boy. 
   
We are all familiar with the existence of implicit prejudices, such as hidden in stereotypes. When you think of the caring parent, 
   
you think of a mother who is busy with diapers and baby bottles. 
    
When you think of a doctor, you think of a man in a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck. 
    
Because these prejudices are explicit, we can basically correct them: a man can also take care of the children, just as a woman can be a doctor. 
    
But there are also implicit or unconscious stereotypes that play a role in our thinking and acting, and that can have vicious consequences. 
   
An implicit bias is a judgment about something or someone that is based on a stereotype and that you are not aware of. 
   
It is a judgment that is not accessible to you, and that you literally have nothing to say about. This makes it difficult to correct, while it does affect your behavior.
   
They did experiments with this phenomenon. They hid the names of applicants, because it had become clear,
   
that when HRM- people saw the name ‘Mohammed’ or ‘Mustafa’ the letter  almost automatically end up on the ‘REJECTED” pile. 
   
So they anonymised the letters of application to escape this unconscious bias.
   
If you’re interested in your own biases, do the tests Harvard is offering and have fun and get to know yourself more.
    
Thank you for your attention again….and for the tests….go to https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html

The Discussion

[13:22] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): sorry I missed half of the lecture, I crashed
[13:22] CB Axel: That will be fun.
[13:22] herman Bergson: I took one myself....
[13:22] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): and so did I
[13:22] herman Bergson: The one on religion
[13:23] herman Bergson: But that was not revealing an implicit bias at all ...I knew what I was thinking about the subject :-))
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that first one got me for sure, indeed it seems even I who think high of equality feel for that one, maybe indeed because no matter what, the first image that comes into my mind when I hear the word Surgeon is a male character even I think indeed women can be equally good surgeons
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): probably cause thats what you see in hospital series ect
[13:24] herman Bergson: Yes indeed Bejiita...
[13:24] oola Neruda: my niece is a doctor and her husband is a stay at home father / musician
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): only after a few seconds it occurred to me
[13:25] Guestboook van tipjar stand: Gemma Cleanslate donated L$50. Thank you very much, it is much appreciated!
[13:25] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that was a mind working test for sure
[13:25] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): i will check them out later
[13:26] herman Bergson: My test result on religion bias :-))
[13:26] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): :)
[13:26] herman Bergson smiles
[13:26] herman Bergson: I was pleased with it :-))
[13:27] herman Bergson: But the interesting fact is indeed....
[13:27] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): you get the result immediately?
[13:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): I guess it works like one of these computer operated FB tests but more refined
[13:28] herman Bergson: that what we say is not always shown in what we do, due to implicit biases we have and are not aware of
[13:28] herman Bergson: yes Beertje
[13:28] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): shall look at the mm later when I can think
[13:28] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): ok:)
[13:29] herman Bergson: Was a bit sneaky of me to choose religion....
[13:29] herman Bergson: I am not biased about that subject at all...I have my opinions there ^_^
[13:30] CB Axel: So you weren't surprised by your preference for Judaism?
[13:30] herman Bergson: No...the choice was Judaism or Islam....so easy choice for me :-)
[13:30] CB Axel: If you had shown a preference for Islam, would that had surprised you?
[13:31] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): no other choices?
[13:31] herman Bergson: Teh fun of these tests is that they monitor the speed of your reaction to some questions...
[13:31] herman Bergson: How quick do youpress a key on your keyboard...
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): as fast as I can
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): without introducing typos or bugs
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but seems i do anyway
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:32] herman Bergson: no  no...
[13:32] herman Bergson: you only need to press the 'E" or 'I" to make your choice
[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): or you mean how long i wonder over one of these questions?
[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): Im gonna try later and see
[13:33] herman Bergson: you have to connect 'good' or 'bad' to concepts...
[13:33] herman Bergson whispers: Is fun...:-)
[13:34] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): we can't think it over?
[13:34] herman Bergson: no...
[13:34] herman Bergson: immediate answer is demanded
[13:34] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): hmm
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): indeed i can say i have more negative connections to islam because of all terror wars and shit is connected to it, however I also know that this is probably not the true or real version of Islam
[13:35] oola Neruda: you are right...it is a distortion of Islam
[13:35] herman Bergson: I know Bejiita...same here...but yet...:-)
[13:35] CB Axel: And Arabs in Israel probably have a bias against Judaism.
[13:35] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): correct
[13:35] CB Axel: To Arabs, the Jews are the terrorists.
[13:35] herman Bergson: I bet they have CB :-)
[13:36] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): some of them were in past days
[13:36] oola Neruda: nods
[13:36] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): blowing up a hotel lobby is terrorism
[13:36] herman Bergson: But the main point of today was, that we can have implicit biases we are not aware of, so how well do we know our Self
[13:36] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): i am sure
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and it seems i have one indeed according to that first test
[13:37] herman Bergson: OK..any questions or remarks left?
[13:37] herman Bergson: unsaid?
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): its what first comes to mind
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i guess
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that is the bias
[13:38] herman Bergson: often it is Bejiita, I think
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): like that surgeon = male thing
[13:38] herman Bergson: Like your hair...:-)))
[13:38] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): lol
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:38] herman Bergson: Guy must be nuts....
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): lol
[13:39] herman Bergson: Oh...Bejiita is a normal nice guy...oops
[13:39] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): sayan
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): a happy and a bit crazy saiyan guy
[13:39] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): he is special:)
[13:39] herman Bergson: normal
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): thats me
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:39] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): not really human
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): at rast im a bit unique even rl
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but we all are in some way i guess
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): as it should be
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): last
[13:40] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): visit the lea Faces
[13:40] herman Bergson: So true Bejiita...
[13:40] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): it is very interesting
[13:40] herman Bergson: What is that Gemma?
[13:40] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): based on a survey of members 2015
[13:40] oola Neruda: what is the..... lea faces?
[13:41] CB Axel: I need to visit LEA sometime soon.
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): an installation in the Lindens arts
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): oh yes you shoudl
[13:41] CB Axel: I haven't been there in a long time.
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ah
[13:41] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): wil lpass the lm
[13:41] herman Bergson: Where is it?
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): Ive been there some times but a while now since
[13:41] Second Life: Gemma Cleanslate gave you LEA23 Faces (that we see) by ilyra chardin.
[13:42] herman Bergson: thnx....
[13:42] CB Axel: Go when you have a lot of time. It covers something like 20 regions. °͜°
[13:42] herman Bergson: oh my
[13:42] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): its kind of big indeed I think
[13:42] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:42] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:42] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): nto this exhibit
[13:42] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): instead of ging to Schier you go to LEA :)
[13:43] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): only one
[13:43] CB Axel: That one exhibit won't be that big. °͜°
[13:43] CB Axel: But they are usually all worth checking out.
[13:43] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): oki
[13:43] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): that is the entrance
[13:43] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Gemma
[13:43] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): to this exhibit
[13:43] herman Bergson: oh dear....homework.....:-))
[13:44] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): llol
[13:44] oola Neruda: lol
[13:44] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): well it sort of fits with the idea of knowing self
[13:44] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): or others
[13:44] herman Bergson: OK...everybody off to Lea....Class dismissed :-)))
[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ill check it
[13:44] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): :)
[13:44] herman Bergson: Thank you all again...
[13:44] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate) GIGGLES!!
[13:44] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): ...LOL...
[13:44] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman
[13:44] Gemma (gemma.cleanslate): enjoy
[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but first i m gonna attend a steampunk theme party
[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): nice again
[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):
[13:45] herman Bergson: Have fun Bejiita :-)
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): cu next time

[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):

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