Page - 48 - in Reflective Cosmopolitanism - Educating towards inclusive communities through Philosophical Enquiry

48 REfLECTIvE COsMOPOLITANIsM 2. Dina says: “I thought it was ok to be subjected to the dress code for some weeks because I was allowed to travel to such a beautiful and interesting country.” 3. Isabell says: “I would not mind wearing a scarf if I were to go to Iran because I would not like if people hurt.” 4. Manar says: “They must wear the scarf because if they did not, they would hurt their parents’ feelings.” 5. Marco says: “When they live in our country they should not wear a scarf because they have to adjust.” Exercise: Giving reasons and giving explanations We also should be able to distinguish between giving a reason and giving an explanation. Reasoning is the process of thinking about something in a logical way in order to form a conclusion or judgment – it is the ability of the mind to think and understand things in a logical way. Giving an explanation describes the way in which something happens, therefore dealing with issues of cause and effect. Explanations are not the same as arguments, but sometimes it is hard to distinguish reasons from explana- tions. Here are some examples: Claim • Marco is a good quarterback. • Dinosaurs are popular. Reason for the claim being true • Marco threw for thirty-nine touchdowns this season. • Dinosaur toys are a perennial favorite with children. Explanation for the claim being true • Marco practices every day. • Dinosaurs are exotic creatures. Discussion Plan: Inductive reasoning Inductive reasoning essentially involves generalization. After observing some num- ber of examples, conclusions are drawn which seem most likely. For example, after drawing 20 red sweets from a bag, the conclusion is drawn that all sweets in that bag are red. Note that the inductive conclusion may very well be wrong. Use some examples to make a general rule. What do you think? 1. Dina´s family is from Iran. Therefore, Dina wears a scarf in Austria. 2. All observed basketball players are tall. So, all basketball players must be tall. 3. John is a teacher. All teachers are nice. Therefore, we assume that John is nice. What do the following examples have in common? 4. There are three Chinese kids in my class. None of them speak English properly. I bet there is no Chinese kid in the school that speaks English properly. 5. We have a fat kid in school. He really is lazy. I never see him jogging. Isn´t that typical? Discussion Plan: Hypothetical reasoning – thinking with if – then statements Encourage your students to see things from a different point of view – so they can try to understand what could happen in the following situation: