Week 13 Advanced English

 Creativity Across Domains: Faces of the Muse

READ: Intro, pg. 225, 321

GOALS

*Finish reading The Handbook of Research on Creativity and Innovation,

Chaos and Nonlinear Psychology: Keys to Creativity in Mind and in Life,

Creativity and Mental Illness,

Creativity, Spirituality, and Mental Health: Exploring Connections

• Writer Roger Martin contends that, “Other than writing itself, reading is the single greatest teacher of writing.”
• What does reading teach us about writing? 
• What have you learned by reading other writers’ work?
• 
  

1. • It is only fitting that in a writing class, the writers get the last word. Eliot A. Butler, a former chemistry professor at BYU, suggests that if you are truly educated, “You will be a changed person, your life will be different, and you will have increased ability and opportunity to serve” (24).
   • How have you changed as a result of your reading, writing, and research in this course?
   • In what ways have your abilities and opportunities to serve increased?

The Last Word

To share what you have learned with your instructor and classmates, prepare your last word: the final word of advice or insight you think will be most valuable to your classmates and instructor—a gift they can take with them.

1. Review the 25 reflections you have created over the course of the semester.
2. Highlight your favorite insights—the passages that best reflect what you have learned over the course of the semester.

• How does listening to those who oppose us improve our own opinions?

It helps me realize what exactly it is that I do or do not agree with and forces me to learn how to defend my positions. 

• How does this type of discussion, what Lippmann characterizes as “all the speaking and listening, the give-and-take of opinions,” help us find the truth?

You would literally go in circles with people who do not want to listen or admit that they are wrong if you do not apply the out-of-the-box solutions offered in The Anatomy of Peace.

• What have you learned in this unit that will prevent your writing from being “skimmed or binned”?

I think that section headings help to make an essay easier to read and less likely to be "skimmed or binned".

How does ethical relativism lead to a loss of moral agency?

I now understand that ethical relativism normally leads to a loss of moral agency because if all decisions are equally valid, none are invalid, and we can no longer discuss real questions of right and wrong.

why is the struggle to engage and wrestle with ethical questions valuable?

I feel like it helps you to learn the difference between right and wrong. I have noticed that I have been doing things that are considered ethically questionable and I didn't even know. Ignorance does not help you to learn and grow.

• Are you more prone to weigh the results of your actions, refer to a set of rules or standards for ethical conduct, or do you rely on a sense of who you are or aspire to be as an ethical person to help you make decisions?

        I use a combination of all three methods to help me make decisions. I do feel that I would not have a good sense of ethical direction if I didn't have God's example.

How can you best recognize and manage your own biases?

ANS: Ask, "Lord is it I?" I need to be more brave and stop avoiding answers that I don't want to hear. REMEMBER: "...and oft escaped the tempter's snare by thy return sweet hour of prayer." I can manage my biases a whole lot better with God then without Him.

• Reflect on a time when you may have jumped to a conclusion—made an inference without considering all the necessary facts.

ANS: John has lied in the past therefore I can never trust him or what he says or will say. Or fat people are lazy and/or eat too much.

• How might your judgment have changed given more information?

ANS: Over time I have learned that there is more to consider when it comes to liars and fat people. Why? is a good question to ask. 

• How can you avoid this type of error in the future?

ANS: The more I learn the more compassion I feel and the less likely I am to jump to conclusions next time.

1. Examine the passages you have highlighted. Look for common themes or trends.
   • Why do these passages stand out?
   • What do they reveal about what you have learned?
2. Identify the one point or idea you feel will be most valuable to your instructor and other members of your class and write it in a single sentence