Sugar and Snails: The development of gender and society

• Postmodernism
  • Pre-1500's philosophical and scientific authority in the West rested with the Catholic Church
  • The Renaissance was a period of rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman culture which spawned a flowering of the arts and sciences
  • Rebirth of the sciences and faith in the scientific method started a period called The Enlightenment
  • The Enlightenment was marked by faith in rationality and the ability of humanity to progress through the application of reason
  • Modernism carries on the basic philosophies of The Enlightenment and takes much of the authority from the Church and places it on rationality; in particular with scientific truth though moral truth was also affected
    • Modern Art: Previous art was largely representational and beauty was derived from the object being represented of the religious or social symbolism. Modern art was art for art's sake and focused more on the conceptualization of art
    • Modern Architecture: Beauty from function expressed with simplicity. Combinations of simple geometric forms and no ornamentation
    • Modern Science: Newton's Laws of Motion are a prime example. Universal laws describing discrete systems from an objective standpoint
    • Modern Literature: Language is a tool for revealing truth about the world
  • World War II and the threat of atomic war changed many cultural attitudes about science and the necessary progression of humanity
  • Modernism dealt with a variety of objective contexts; the development of expressions of Platonic forms
  • Postmodernism is both a disillusionment with the modernist belief in progression and a reaction to the rigidity of many modernist structures
    • Postmodern Art: Meaning of art is derived recognizing the relationship of the work with other contexts. Photography is a strong influence; providing an exact representation of a scene
    • Postmodern Architecture: Architecture as art. Buildings are individualized and incorporate textures and colors from the surroundings as well as a variety of thematic ornamentations
    • Postmodern Science: Characterized by chaos theory, fractals and uncertainty principle. Mathematics and science dealing with ambiguity and lacking an absolute context
    • Postmodern Literature: Language describing the contexts between different elements, but not attempting an expression of truth
  • The degrading of static and objective contexts has effects on societal structures as well. This is seen in an increased flexibility both within roles and in individuals transitioning across them
• Kohlberg's Model of Moral Development
  • Developmental model of stages of moral reasoning over a person's lifetime created by Lawrence Kohlberg. There are six primary stages in three groups
    • Pre-Conventional Level: Morality is defined by power over external events, and the rules of conduct are clearly and physically defined
      • Stage 1: Punishment and Obedience Orientation: Heteronomous Morality: Do good to avoid unpleasant physical consequences
      • Stage 2: Individualism, Instrumental Purpose, and Exchange: Do good to receive a reward
    • Conventional Level: Morality is defined in terms of social consequences and group validation. A sense of empathy is developing and a knowledge of the responsibilities of being in a group
      • Stage 3: Mutual Interpersonal Expectations, Relationships, and Interpersonal Conformity: Do good to fit into a social group
      • Stage 4: Social System and Conscience: Do good to maintain social order and uphold the rules
    • Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled Level: Morality is defined in terms of intrinsic worth and an internalized values structure
      • Stage 5: Social Contract or Utility and Individual Rights: Do good to better society
      • Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles: Do good to better humanity
  • The majority (> 95%) of people do not develop past the conventional level; morality is defined largely in terms of social consequence and group validation, and has an external source
  • Postmodernism has been weakening the rigidity of the social standards that are the basis of most people's moral reasoning leaving a vacuum
  • In the absence of a rigid definition for moral structure deviant behaviors will be expressed more often. In particular it will be easier for delayed maturation in populations transitioning from the pre-conventional level
• Bloom's Taxonomy
  • In 1947 a group of educational psychologists headed by Benjamin Bloom came up with a hierarchy of types of learning which is generally referred to as Bloom's Taxonomy. The hierarchy has six levels
    1. Knowledge of terminology; specific facts; ways and means of dealing with specifics (conventions, trends and sequences, classifications and categories, criteria, methodology); universals and abstractions in a field (principles and generalizations, theories and structures)
    2. Comprehension: Grasping (understanding) the meaning of informational materials.
    3. Application: The use of previously learned information in new and concrete situations to solve problems that have single or best answers.
    4. Analysis: The breaking down of informational materials into their component parts, examining (and trying to understand the organizational structure of) such information to develop divergent conclusions by identifying motives or causes, making inferences, and/or finding evidence to support generalizations.
    5. Synthesis: Creatively or divergently applying prior knowledge and skills to produce a new or original whole.
    6. Evaluation: Judging the value of material based on personal values/opinions, resulting in an end product, with a given purpose, without real right or wrong answers.
  • Most classes are designed for the lower half of the taxonomy. Especially with evaluations based on standardized testing (and reinforced with funding based on test scores) pragmatism is often a controlling factor in development of educational programs
  • Both with Kohlberg and with Bloom there is an internalization of authority as development progresses. Students are able to learn the trends in Bloom and application of higher levels of learning becomes easier with experience
  • Moral development is based primarily on a person's ability to critically evaluate moral situations and the confidence in their abilities to make a productive judgment. Teaching that involves using skills higher in Bloom's Taxonomy develop those critical evaluation skills
  • There is a positive correlation to empathy with progression in Kohlberg as a person identifies with larger groups. This increased empathy allows for a greater tolerance for diversity
  • For society to function economically in a world where technology increasingly replaces rote labor a greater portion of the population will need to be able to think critically
  • Likewise for society to function in an environment lacking strict societal definitions a greater number of people will need to function out of an internalized morality
  • In the lack of a strict set of social rules people should be able to enjoy a before impossible freedom to express themselves as individuals and not be restricted by expectations