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how do people study humanities?

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LoBagola

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I'm a science major and thought I'd pickup a humanities subject to try and improve my written skills. BIG mistake. I'm struggling. My written skills are not improving because all my time is spent memorizing.

 

Professor: "you see, if a man wants to take an apple from a tree, he can jump and take an apple. This is direct. If a man then gets a ladder to take the apple down this is "roundaboutness"".

...

"rationality is maximizing what you already have". (I actually went to see him to try understand what one is maximizing and according to what we are measuring that maximization and the discussion got no where). 

"science is prejudice... " ... "science is subjective; it is not the pursuit of objective facts. Therefore, economics is a science". 

 

(This is from a class on philosophy and history of economics).

 

My problem with this is that there are so many random "concepts" which seem to be taught in these vacuums and they all contradict each other. Definitions are really weird and just don't seem to explain the concept to me at all. The class borrows concepts which are vaguely defined from a whole host of fields (gestalt psychology, evolutionary theory etc). 

 

So basically I'm left wondering how people tend to get by in these subjects. The only thing I can do here is ROTE memorize what appears to be concepts floating in the air that mean nothing and then integrate in a bunch of ideas that fit in with that concept. When something is left undefined how is it they are making arguments and writing essays about it? I don't get this!

Edited by LoBagola
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If what you're after is improving your writing skills then grammar and non-fiction writing classes are probably the most relevant to your goal. As for many of the other humanities classes, there often is a lot of rote memorization and bullshitting involved pretty much. That's generally not ALL that's involved unless you've got an awful professor, but it is a pretty significant portion. The professor really does make a huge difference here though in the quality of these classes.

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So basically I'm left wondering how people tend to get by in these subjects. The only thing I can do here is ROTE memorize what appears to be concepts floating in the air that mean nothing and then integrate in a bunch of ideas that fit in with that concept. When something is left undefined how is it they are making arguments and writing essays about it? I don't get this!

One way to help remember floating concepts is to consider what sort of errors they lead to. That way, you retain understanding the professor is teaching. Being able to entertain false or bad ideas is a writing and thinking skill too. I actually don't find that science classes are less rote necessarily, it really comes down to the quality of the professor. The other day I was auditing a graduate class in political science, and there was so much rote learning and rationalism that I simply decided it was more a problem than a benefit to attend future classes.

 

If you can't drop the class and pick a better one, you could certainly practice writing for counterarguments. That's workable.

 

By the way, about the definition of rationality. That's the classical view of homo economicus, so it was a very common concept for the field of economics since Adam Smith. Nowadays, plenty of economists no longer accept that definition because it doesn't describe how any real person makes decisions, let alone economic decisions. "Bounded rationality" is a term you should look into. Now I still think rationality is a misused term, but at least what it refers to with bounded rationality makes sense.

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When you don't understand something the prof is saying, the best thing to do is raise your hand and ask about it. You're paying for the class, so you might as well get your money's worth from it! If you think two concepts contradict each other, ask about it. If you're too nervous to ask during class, ask afterwards or in office hours. Prof's like it when you ask questions (it lets them know you're actually paying attention and thinking deeply about what they have to say), and they like it even more when you challenge them.

 

"rationality is maximizing what you already have". (I actually went to see him to try understand what one is maximizing and according to what we are measuring that maximization and the discussion got no where).

 

What do you mean when you say the discussion got no where? Don't leave until you get an answer that clicks! Ask questions like, "Can you explain it a different way?" or "I still don't understand- how does this relate to XYZ?" If you really do want to understand what's being taught, this is the only way it's gonna happen.

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I'll build on the good advice given by mdegges.  If you have questions, meet with the professor in a one-on-one situation and ask for more information.  A professor/student relationship is no different than any other, in that when you meet anyone new, it often takes time to develop a shared vocabulary.  This is especially true if you are approaching a new relationship from an Objectivist view point -- because so few others share your knowledge base.  Just make sure that you are TRULY interested in understanding how the professor reached his conclusions, and that you are not just out to prove how wrong he is and how smart you are.  I've been there and done that....

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