Religion 2631, Religion and the Earth
22/01/08 22:43
Religion 2631, Religion and the Earth
The greatest challenge as well as the greatest opportunity in this course is to gain an adequate sense of the current environmental crisis and its full impact (as well as its long-term effects) on the Earth and on the full range of species, environmental regions and niches, and specific ecosystems.
The greatest challenge as well as the greatest opportunity in this course is to gain an adequate sense of the current environmental crisis and its full impact (as well as its long-term effects) on the Earth and on the full range of species, environmental regions and niches, and specific ecosystems.
Religion 2631, Religion and the Earth
The greatest challenge as well as the greatest opportunity in this course is to gain an adequate sense of the current environmental crisis and its full impact (as well as its long-term effects) on the Earth and on the full range of species, environmental regions and niches, and specific ecosystems. Grasping any workable sense of the enormity of the current environmental crisis requires effective critical thinking techniques, while the very nature of the challenge may mitigate against effective deployment of such techniques. One focus of the ongoing assessment process for this course is the evaluation of what critical thinking techniques are most valuable for this sort of study, and which ones are most difficult to acquire. Since literature concerning this issue and spirited arguments concerning the nature of the crisis are plentiful, it is easy to find abundant resources for testing students’ facility in distinguishing cogent from flawed arguments, in recognizing and uncovering hidden assumptions in various arguments, and drawing out the further implications of arguments and major positions. We have now established a baseline for comparison which can be used in the further refinement and testing of techniques for improving students’ critical thinking facility for dealing with these questions.
The greatest challenge as well as the greatest opportunity in this course is to gain an adequate sense of the current environmental crisis and its full impact (as well as its long-term effects) on the Earth and on the full range of species, environmental regions and niches, and specific ecosystems. Grasping any workable sense of the enormity of the current environmental crisis requires effective critical thinking techniques, while the very nature of the challenge may mitigate against effective deployment of such techniques. One focus of the ongoing assessment process for this course is the evaluation of what critical thinking techniques are most valuable for this sort of study, and which ones are most difficult to acquire. Since literature concerning this issue and spirited arguments concerning the nature of the crisis are plentiful, it is easy to find abundant resources for testing students’ facility in distinguishing cogent from flawed arguments, in recognizing and uncovering hidden assumptions in various arguments, and drawing out the further implications of arguments and major positions. We have now established a baseline for comparison which can be used in the further refinement and testing of techniques for improving students’ critical thinking facility for dealing with these questions.
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