Intellectual Empathy: Critical Thinking for Social Justice by Maureen Linker is focused on the groundwork for reasoning about social issues in order to make one move past the politically correct and politically incorrect dichotomy (Linker, 19). In order to do this, there will be direction towards self-knowledge and positive solutions to unbearable conversations and social injustices. However, in the process, this book is not intended to change your beliefs, settle the score on some of the major controversial issues having to do with social identity in our society, and not be a manual in political correctness (Linker, 17-18). In the process of explaining the purpose of this book, Linker introduces tools that are directed towards knowing thyself in order to make ground of one’s understandings. The four most important tools introduced, when referring to intellectual empathy, are knowing identity is intersectional, working at reasoning cooperatively, understanding and recognizing cognitive biases, and understanding and recognizing logical fallacies.
As you begin to read Intellectual Empathy, the first tool introduced is knowing identity is intersectional. Intersectionality is identified by Kimberle Crenshaw as “systems of privilege, oppression, and domination work together to forge our complex social identities” (Linker, 197). The conception of the intersectional model of social identity is introduced in, where it is, a more complex way of presenting the relationship between social identity and social systems (Linker, 58). The importance of knowing identity is intersectional is to understand the difficulties one faces despite the social identity and systems.
The term color-blindness indicates we society should look past social identities such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and disability with the goal of knowing people as individuals instead of members of a social group (Linker, 194). However, this leads to the problem of ignorance towards history of conventional social biases; such as racism and sexism. Due to the reason of social inequalities affecting the way we think of situations, there is the guilt and blame filter, in where it counteracts when thinking intersectionally about one’s identity. The character Eric is introduced in Chapter 2, where it elaborates on the encounterment of diversity fatigue: negative response that either socially privileged or socially disadvantaged individuals may have to diversity efforts (Linker, 195).
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This character illustrate the importance of knowing identity is intersectionality because Eric, a white male, feels as if he is socially disadvantaged, but in reality he is socially privilege because it is easier for him to obtain a job. Relatively, the assumption of my usage of this tool is important when dealing with working with my future students. There will be prevention of categorizing race, gener, class, sexual orientation ,religion and disability into one name to represent them. For example, students with special disabilities will not be categorized with stable children because, students with special needs struggle more when it comes to learning.
Furthermore, working at reasoning cooperatively is another tool introduced by Maureen Linker. Cooperative reasoning is the alternative to the adversal method, where the arguers search outpoints within commonality and agreement in order to work together to obtain a justified conclusion (Linker, 195). When one reasons cooperatively it does not necessarily mean the arguer always agrees with their partner, but instead one understands the value of dialogue and respect the their partner’s efforts. Furthermore, there are four elements for cooperative reasoning: recognize not all arguments have to be battles aimed at persuading and winning, should be sensitive to our experiences of cognitive dissonance, encourage reflection or metacognition, and contributes to revealing the false dichotomies that contain so much of our thinking about social identity and difference (Linker, 96-97).
The importance of this tool is that one must be able to differentiate between the meaning of argument in order to come to a justified conclusion. Linker suggest there are two meanings of arguments that often get tangled up: involving an angry or heated disagreement and set of statements include a reason (premise) in support of conclusion (arguer’s point of view) (Linker, 80). However, when reasoning cooperatively, it is important to gear towards the second definition of an argument because the goal is to come to an agreement by working together to reach a justified conclusion. In Coming to Understand: Orgasm and the Epistemology of Ignorance, there is the misconception of men believing a woman’s genitals whole purpose was for reproduction. While ignoring a woman’s sexual pleasures because the clitoris of a woman is often ignored by males (Tuana).
Demonstrating the absence of cooperative reasoning when reaching the conclusion of a woman’s genitals purpose is only for reproduction. Moreover, referring to in life application, the assumption of this tools usage comes to play when planning an agenda for the academic year with other teachers. As a whole, we will reason cooperatively in order to produce the best academic plan for our incoming students. This will be accomplished by instead of arguing and belittling eachother’s options, we will come to a whole and seek the best route for a good academic year.
Understanding and recognizing cognitive biases is also introduced by Maureen Linker. Cognitive bias is the habit of thinking and reasoning that make it easier to take in and organize information, but may get in the way of adequately assessing evidence and considering alternative points of view (Linker, 194). This term often assists in maintaining our existing web of belief instead of being flexible and open to new information. The web of belief is devised by W.V.Q. Quine, where it refers to the “interconnect system of beliefs within an individual’s phycology” (Linker, 199).
In where one’s strongest beliefs are located in the center (core) of the web and other beliefs that are not as important and can be subject to change are in the our portion of the web, called periphery. Cognitive biases plays a role in one’s thinking, so by understanding and recognizing cognitive biases it will help one be more open minded. Leading to the importance of this tool, understanding and considering alternative points. Within socal differences, there are seven cognitive biases that are formed in arguments: actor-observer bias, in-group bias, group polarization, out-group homogeneity effect, status quo bias, false consensus bias, and hostile media effect (Linker, 108). In “Night to his Day”: The Social Construction of Gender, Lorber addresses the misconception of gender as she states, “Gender is so pervasive that in our society we assume it is bred into our gender” (Lorber). Everyone “does gender” without thinking about it and it is constantly being created and re-created out of human interaction and social life (Lorber).
The example provided that is increasingly common in New York City is men playing the role of a mother by taking care of their small children in public. The relation between this example and cognitive bias is that many people have the belief that women are the ones who are meant to care for their children creating the bias in the argument of who should play the role of caring for children. However, once you are exposed and recognize the form of cognitive bias you are making in an argument, it will be easier for you to consider alternative points, in where men can help the mother care for their children and play the role. Knowing the seven cognitive biases will help in the process of utilizing this tool because it will avoid the non acceptance of alternative viewpoints. For example, in my future career as a teacher, there will be avoidance of group polarization. If there happens to be one student that is difficult to deal with, I will not categorize all my students as being “difficult to work with.”
The fourth tool introduced by Maureen Linker is understanding and recognizing logical fallacies. Logical fallacies are repeatedly occurring argument patterns that are psychologically persuasive, but upon further analysis are actually logically unjustified or irrelevant (Linker, 196). In Intellectual Empathy, there are ten logical fallacies inaugurated: appeal to tradition, hasty generalization, fallacy of anecdotal evidence, straw person, slippery slope, false dilemma, appeal to ignorance, complex question, ad hominem fallacy, and perfectionist fallacy (Linker 134-148). These logical fallacies create the issues within an argument, so it is important to be aware of logical fallacies in order to avoid making an unjustifiable and irrelevant argument.
Focusing on one logical fallacy, people are prone to the slippery slope fallacy when it comes to social change because it reflects the anxiety and fear that is associated with the change (Linker, 150). Moreover, the usage of understanding and recognizing logical fallacies in my life will be acknowledged in order to avoid making an unjustifiable or irrelevant argument. For instance, if I have a disagreement with another teacher in the school district, there will be avoidance of all ten logical fallacies, especially the ad-hominem because there is not going to be a lack of judge in their character. Instead, I will reason cooperatively with them and come to a justifiable agreement.
In conclusion, Maureen Linker introduces seven tools within Intellectual Empathy: Critical Thinking for Social Justice, but four of the most important tools are knowing identity is intersectional, working at reasoning cooperatively, understanding and recognizing cognitive biases, and understanding and recognizing logical fallacies. All four of these tools overall are an essential part of forming a valid argument based on facts, instead of one’s misconceptions. In where is always going to be a need of these tools in future usages when encountering different situations in life. Indicating that the action of being aware of these tools will help better improve thyself.
