Beyond Feelings

CHAPTER 9 Errors of Perspective
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7. Do you tend more toward absolutism or relativism? In what specific
areas are you most likely to commit this error of perspective? Politics? Religion?
Social issues? Moral decisions? Be specific in answering. The more fully you
understand your characteristic tendencies toward error, the more successful you
can be in overcoming them.
8. Do you tend to be more biased for change or against it? Do you tend to
be for it in some areas of life but against it in others? Be as specific as you can in
describing your tendency.
9. Each of the following statements recommends a change. Note whether your
reaction is favorable, unfavorable, or somewhere between. Then evaluate each idea,
taking care to put aside whatever bias you may have and judge the idea fairly.
a. The national sovereignty of all countries, including the United States,
should be surrendered to the United Nations so that there will no longer
be artificial boundaries separating people.
b. Cockfighting, dogfighting, and bullfighting should be televised for the
enjoyment of the minority who enjoy these “sports.”
c. A federal law should be passed requiring women to retain their maiden
names when they marry (that is, forbidding them from adopting their
husbands’ names).
d. Cemeteries should open their gates to leisure-time activities for the living.
Appropriate activities would include cycling, jogging, fishing, nature
hiking, and (space permitting) team sports.
e. Federal and state penitentiaries should allow inmates to leave prisons
during daytime hours to hold jobs or attend college classes. (The only
ones who should be denied this privilege are psychopaths.)
f. Colleges should not admit any student who has been out of high school
fewer than three years.
g. To encourage a better turnout at the polls for elections, lotteries should be
held. (Voters would send in a ballot stub as proof that they voted. Prizes
would be donated by companies.) 11
h. Retired people should be used as teachers’ aides even if they lack college
degrees. 12
i. Everyone should be issued and required to carry a national identity card,
identifying himself or herself as a U.S. citizen. 13
j. Churches and synagogues should remove all restrictions on women’s
participation in liturgical and counseling services, thus permitting
women to serve as priests, ministers, and rabbis.
k. Colleges should charge juniors and seniors higher tuition than that
charged to freshmen and sophomores.
10. Bill Beausay, a sports psychologist, suggests that sports be rated much as
films once were: X, R, or G, depending on the amount of danger and/or violence
in them. He urges that children not be allowed to take part in any X-rated sport
at an early age. Such sports include motorcycle and auto racing, hockey, football,
boxing, and horse racing. 14 Decide whether his suggestion has merit. Be sure to
avoid resistance to change.
11. Decide whether you accept or reject the following arguments. Be careful
to avoid both “mine-is-better” thinking and the errors discussed in this chapter
and to judge the issues impartially. You might want to research the issues further
before judging.