Communication Activity #3

Talking About It

One objective of this course is to help make clear some of the roles that your philosophical belief system has in the various aspects of your life. A main postulate in InterQuest is that philosophy is not merely a specialized study that belongs to universities and libraries. Rather, many of the topics that philosophers explore have correlates in real life and can be identified in the basic beliefs of people everyday.

One test of this postulate is the occurence of these beliefs in your discussion with other people. Consider the beliefs that you hold that we have identified as philosophical beliefs. Have any of these beliefs ever come up in discussions with others? Thinks of discussions you may have had about political matters or social issues. Thinks of situations in which you may have discussed your choices and values. It may not be easy to identify these situations. Our basic beliefs are so much a part of who we are that they can be almost invisible to us, as if to say; well, that's just how the world is! Check this with yourself. Do parts of what we are identifying as a philosphical belief system strike you as just obvious and realistic? If so this is a postive indication of just how crucial your belief system is in determining your world view. But it does not seem so obvious to everyone! That is clear by the range of distinct philosophical belief-systems that people actually have. The variation of beliefs among individuals is where productive discussion becomes so important.

Instructions: For this activity think of situations in which you have had discussions with other people in which aspects of your belief system played an important role in the discussion. Consider those situations with the following questions in mind:

You are free to comment on anything within this discussion area.