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 Question #7 
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Question #7 on the exam asks how might Rorty explain what Jonathan Kozol attempted to do by writing Savage Inequalities. I don't know about this one, but in looking back over the Rorty article, page 22 says that ...liberal social thought has centered around social reform as made possible by objective knowledge of what human beings are like--not knowledge of what Greeks, etc, are like but of the humanity of such... he also goes on to say that We are the heirs of this objectivist tradition, which centers around the assumption that we must step outside of our community long enough to examine it in light of something that transcends it, namely that which it has in common with every other actual and possible human community.
Maybe this section of the text is saying that in order to embrace solidarity, or the idea that there are different truths in different people's opinions, that we must look at the way in which others live and how thier communities are constructed. Kozol was trying to show us how the communities in East St. Louis, NY, etc. opperate and how their idea of truth (or acceptable school procedures) is so different than ours. They run their schools under such different guidelines than other, more priveledged communities, and therefore, their schools have different outcomes.
Maybe Kozol was trying to show us the "underlying structures", "culturally invariant factors", or "biologically determined patterns" of how these school systems live and work, and what should be done to make them more up to the socially acceptable par. (These are Rorty's ideas in quotes--found on pg. 22) Am I way off?

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Betsy Rosenbalm


Last edited by Betsy Rosenbalm on Sat Dec 11, 2004 3:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.



Sun Dec 05, 2004 4:11 pm
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Betsy,
I reread the section that you posted on and I, too, think that this is something that Kozol wanted us to see. Rorty possibly would explain Kozol's attempt to show us a different and ineffective possibility that truly exists in other areas in our own country. Rorty really wanted us to see T and t as it exists in our own worlds and East St. Louis truly has it's own t. Maybe??

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Deanna Dunn


Sun Dec 05, 2004 4:30 pm
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Going along with the quote Betsy shared, Kozol may have written this to increase society's awareness of these inequalities. How else would most of us been able to "step outside of our community" to make these comparisons. Many people have a preconceived idea that the victims of these poor communities don't deserve help. Maybe his book can help change the truth/Truth that some hold.

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Ginger Stinson


Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:10 pm
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Good point, Ginger! Unless we can see things from a "God's-eye View" we really don't know what is going on in a given situation. When you are in a certain situation (even as bad as the East St. Louis one), you can't see your way out of it. But, when you are outside of it, you can't figure out how it happened that way. Looking at a story from different perspectives helps us to see that the (t)ruths of various school systems and communities are very different, and not very equal, to others. I have in my notes that Rorty suggests that we listen to suggestions, talk, make decisions, honor all opinions, and then come up with solutions for our society. We cannot create solutions without information and dialogue, and Kozol brings the necessary information to the table that is needed to make some changes in these school systems and their societies.

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Betsy Rosenbalm


Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:37 pm
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Great points girls. I am SO sorry I wasn't on last night when I said I would be. I totally forgot we had our Sunday school class Christmas party! Here are some of my thoughts and I will post others soon.
I agree that Rorty would think we have a different definition of truth than the E. St. Louis folks (and others) in Kozol's book because we can look at the situation from the outside. We can see it as a boat that can change, but if we were in the situation we would probably feel as stuck as if it were a building.

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Amy Smith ("Tanner and Deuce's mom")


Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:56 pm
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Great ideas girls, I agree with what Ginger said about changing the "truths" that others may have about people living in these situations. He wanted to give us that inside look at how these communities really live. If we ARE open to different ideas, suggestions, etc. then we can truly look at these "truths" instead of having our own preconceived idea about how WE think these people should live.

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Chandra Davis


Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:42 pm
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