This week’s classes begin the conversation around the philosophy(s) of social research. In particular, we focused on Ontology and why the question “what is it to exist in the world” is an important consideration when framing social research (at all stages of the process.
We started our conversation of with the following quote from Italo Calvino’s 1938 Novel, ‘Mr Palomar’:
“We can know nothing about what is outside us, if we overlook ourselves… the universe is the mirror in which we can contemplate only what we have learned to know in ourselves.”
We ended our class with an attempt to explore our own personal worldviews. Worldviews not only tend to shape how individuals perceive particular issues and their potential solutions, they also tend to influence their willingness to partake in, or politically support, such solutions. In the context of developing researchers, are important as they underlie our value framework. It is increasingly recognised that it is not possible to for researchers to achieve a completely objective value-free state. Values intrude at all stages of the research process. In light of this, you need to:
1- Go to the following website: https://www.culturalevolution.org/worldview-questionnaire/
complete the worldview questionnaire. This was created by researcher Annick de Witt (https://annickdewitt.com/about/)
*take note of the results. It will tell you which worldview you align with the most, and which you align with the least. It is possible you will disagree with the results, but remember that there are subtle differences/overlap between the four worldviews put forward in this questionnaire, (potential flaws in this model?)
2- Read the article by the questionnaire creator: (this can be one of your 5 academic readings)
*De Witt A and Hedlund N 2017 Toward an Integral Ecology of Worldviews: Reflexive Communicative Action for Climate Solutions In book: The variety of Integral ecologies: Nature, Culture, and Knowledge in the Planetary Era, Publisher: SUNY Press, Editors: S. Mickey, S. M. Kelly & A. Robbert, pp.pp. 305-344
*See also De Witt’s website for more writing/reading.
3- Consider and respond to the following question:
*** THIS IS THE ESSAY QUESTION ****
How does your worldview align with contemporary research within your discipline/professional interests?
Discipline/professional: anything related to politics or social Sciences
A minimum of 5 academic readings should be referenced within the response
Font: 11pt Arial or Times New Roman Header/Footer: You are required to place a footer at the bottom of the pages of your submission with your name, student number, assignment title and accurate word count