Readings in Chapter Three
From
A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawkings
and
Double Identity by
Michael Dobbs
Names, Terms and Concepts
n
Stephen Hawkings
n
Madeleine Albright
n
Michael Dobbs
n
Web of Belief
A Brief History of Time
n
There is a very
short excerpt from Stephen Hawking’s book A
Brief History of Time. The
excerpt describes a well known scientist giving a public lecture on
Astronomy. A woman after listening to
the story challenges the scientist and claims his explanations are
rubbish. The woman claims that the world
is a flat plate supported by a giant tortoise.
The Scientist’s reply
n
The Scientist
asks:” what is the tortoise standing on?”
n
The woman claims
that it is “Turtles all the way down.”
n
This amusing
story raises a couple of questions we have encountered already. One is the question of foundations and the
other is the problem of the infinite regress if we maintain to a foundational
approach.
The Web of Belief
n
One of the
concepts that is central to our text is the emphasis
that our text puts on the connection between beliefs and how they relate to
each other. In their view, our beliefs are best described as being like a
web. The inner core of the web is our
foundational beliefs and the ones outside of those are more firmly believed and
the ones that are held less firmly form the outer regions of our web. Our next reading illustrates how we must
sometimes even adjust our most inner beliefs in the web if evidence comes to
light that challenges it.
Double Identity by Michael Dobbs
n
Michael Dobbs, in
another reading from chapter three, details his investigation into Madeleine
Albright’s distant past.
n
Madeline Albright
was the sworn in as the 64th secretary of State in 1997 under then
President Bill Clinton.
n
Only a week after
she had been sworn in as Secretary of state Michael Dobbs presented his
research to the new Secretary of State.
Michael Dobbs’ research
n
Dobbs writes” I presented the results of my
research to Albright in her seventh-floor suite of offices in the State
Department on January 30, 1997.”
n
Madeleine Albright had said in previous
statements that she was brought up as a Roman Catholic but converted to Episcopalianism when she married.
The Surprising Revelation
n
Dobbs showed
Albright documents showing that her relatives had died in concentration camps
such as Auschwitz and Terezin.
n
Her family had
obviously not mentioned these events and Dobbs felt as if he was challenging a
family myth. In fact her parents had
never mentioned the events at all.
Photographs and challenging the Web
n
Dobbs says that
Albright was at first hesitant to believe the evidence that she indeed had
Jewish roots and that he parents had lied to her. He showed her some photographs and asked if
she recognized them.
n
She said that she
did recognize them but she was incorrect on identifying the real identities.
The Untangling of the Web
n
Madeleine Albright had a most startling
experience when this evidence came into her life. As Dobbs explains, she not only had to deal
with the pressures of a new job but also she would have to revise her own web
of beliefs to incorporate these new facts about her origins and her own
identity.
Conclusion
n
These readings
offer insights into how our beliefs are held ( foundational
or otherwise ) and also with the second reading it suggests that we are a work
in progress with our beliefs being revised constantly. The totality of our understanding from this
perspective is the cohesion and coherency of our beliefs. The inner most beliefs are held strongly but
even those as Madeleine Albright discovered must be sometimes revised in the
light of new factual evidence.
Classroom Discussion
n
The discussion will focus on events that
happened in the past that made it possible for you to change your web in a
significant way. Students that are
comfortable with sharing their experiences can explain what happened and how
they had to change their web of belief in light of the new evidence.
Websites of Interest