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Dilemmas and Decisions Patrick F. Miller

Dilemmas and Decisions By Patrick F. Miller

Dilemmas and Decisions by Patrick F. Miller


Summary

Dilemmas and Decisions distinguishes problems, which have rational solutions, from dilemmas which do not, aiming to prepare students for decisions required at work, rather than in TV quizzes. It argues that constantly seeking the right answer merely leads to extremism and totalitarian thinking.

Dilemmas and Decisions Summary

Dilemmas and Decisions: A Critical Addition to the Curriculum by Patrick F. Miller

In Dilemmas and Decisions the author argues that dilemmas, medical, political and personal are clearly universal, requiring decisions with a painful choice. Nevertheless, we are witnessing an increasing tendency amongst opinion leaders, from management consultants to religious fundamentalists, to inform us that dilemmas either do not really exist or are merely problems awaiting the right solution (which they happen to possess). Such moral certainty is dangerously mistaken, breeding extremism and undermining democratic values. Education can become a kind of preparation for Multiple Choice Question-type exams or TV quizzes, with facts recalled under pressure of time and problems needing fast solutions. Problems, however, are different from dilemmas; they have solutions and disappear as soon as these are found. Dilemmas leave you with an aftertaste and a sense of regret about the rejected alternative.

About Patrick F. Miller

Patrick F. Miller, Ph.D. (1995), University of Surrey, formerly Principal of Esher College, taught at Manchester Grammar School and Queen Mary's College Basingstoke and was Canon Residentiary at Southwark Cathedral. Publications on Religious Studies include Creeds and Controversies (E.U.P. Ltd., 1969).

Table of Contents

Prologue ix Acknowledgments xiii Introduction xv Chapter 1: What Is a Dilemma? Defining the Concept for Schools and Colleges 1 A Working Definition 1 Dilemmas versus Problems 2 Remainders, Regret and Guilt 4 Moral and Non-Moral Dilemmas 5 Favourable and Unfavourable Dilemmas 6 Summary of Characteristics 7 Chapter 2: Do Dilemmas Really Exist? Facing the Sceptic's Challenge 9 Do Genuine Dilemmas Really Exist? - Traditional Opposition 9 The Case for the Existence of Genuine Dilemmas 17 Chapter 3: Evidence from Secondary School Teachers and Counsellors: Examples of Dilemmas across the Curriculum 31 Teachers and Dilemmatic Spaces 31 Constraints and Pressures 33 Dilemma Research Group 35 A Study Visit to the USA 38 A Survey of Heads of Department 41 The Role of the Counsellor 43 Chapter 4: How Awareness of Dilemma Can Enrich Education: Seeking a Philosophical Rationale 47 On Being Open Minded 47 The Experience of Conflict 48 Philosophy Should Not Prescribe 49 A Liberal Education 50 Objections to a Liberal Education 52 Conclusion 53 Chapter 5: Preparation at School for Public Responsibility: The Dirty Hands Dispute 55 Public and Private Morality 55 Taking up Arms: The Pacifist and the Expedient Arguments 57 Machiavelli: Compromise and Expediency 58 Sartre: Dirty Hands 59 The Dilemma of Nuclear Deterrence 59 Wider Applications 60 Is There a Distinctive Public Morality? 60 Chapter 6: Conflict, Common Sense and the Thinking Society: The Perspective from Social Psychology 65 Conflict and Contradiction in Sociological Theory 66 Dilemma and Rhetoric 71 Conclusions 74 Chapter 7: Young Adults, Dilemmas and Decision Making: The Perspective from Psychology 77 Formal Operational Thought 78 Stages in Moral Development 78 Adult Reasoning, Relativism and Empathy 81 Adult Cognition and Ageing 83 Decision Making 84 Problem Solving 89 Specific Cognitive Abilities and Types of Thinking 89 Conclusion 93 Chapter 8: Learning to Live with Marginal Decisions: The Positive Outcomes of Dilemmas 95 Recognizing and Accepting Dilemmas 95 The Response to Dirty Hands 96 Not Possible to Do Good and to Save One's Soul 97 Innocent Criminals Prepared to Pay the Just Price 98 Appendix: Dilemmas from Classical Literature: Some Classroom Exercises 101 References 107 Index 113

Additional information

GOR009932461
9789004368095
9004368094
Dilemmas and Decisions: A Critical Addition to the Curriculum by Patrick F. Miller
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Brill
20180315
150
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
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