Epistemological Beliefs - Admission/Application Essay Example

Journal Article Analysis: Epistemological Beliefs Introduction Epistemological beliefs are what drive an individuals’ day to day life. They manage to regulate the manner in which an individual operates in a given environment. The human race is evolving and matters following suit. Introducing a single individual to a given concept would depend on his or her belief on the authenticity of the concept. The knowledge defers per individual and several philosophies each individual hold will determine the outcome of a given learning and application. There exist limits in one’s life and their desire to attain these qualities pushes each individual to follow different paths. According to Sharma and Talwar (2004) quality is measured once a person exceeds expectations. The essay will analyze Schommer-Aikins and Hutter (2002) article ‘Epistemological beliefs and thinking about everyday controversial issues.’ One rates personal beliefs and Epistemological beliefs highly and each person identifies the most liable and uses them to draw their philosophies on with the surrounding determining this decision making. Identify the philosophical assumptions underlying the research and methodology. The human brain has the ability to adapt to complex issues and adjust to them according to their relevance to the life of each individual. Gender plays part in the ability of which each individual adapts to the immediate environment with article focuses on the different ways in which both males and females adapt to changes (Schommer-Aikins and Hutter, 2002, p.7). The differed mode of adapting to the complex matters within the genders states the nature in which gender is used to evaluate different concept in life. There exists scientific explanation of the differences with most being drawn from the ancient beliefs and social compositions. The females where tacked with ensuring the family stays as a unit and in other indigenous communities a female upon marriage would have to adapt to the beliefs and practices carried on by the husbands beliefs. The flexible nature makes them the most appropriate gender in practicing Epistemological beliefs while the male are cocooned in personal beliefs as nature places it a the most dominant gender ins society. The thinking ability of an individual is driven based on the changes that the world presents. The world’s issues are driven academically, by religion and other external factors that influence changes in life. In a business and management application setup there exist theories which determine a given outcome. Managers are bound to change their behaviors based on the requirement of the organization or personal philosophies that could advance their image and job requirement. (Miller & Tsang, 2010, p.140). They present a perfect chance to analyze the nature in which the two beliefs operate. The beliefs may be learned or applied based on a common background. Diversity is used a tool in which cultures are learned and interchanged. Complexity at the event is controlled by the very essence of different ideology ensuring in people mind. The mind adapts to these concepts and the decision may be encouraged or ignore. An organization structure gives the business world the much needed diversity. This is essential to apply the Epistemological beliefs as they are effective in a more complex environment which involves people originated from different areas (Ismail et al, 2013). Most of the employees would need to choose the based criteria to be used while integrating personal beliefs with Epistemological beliefs with an effort of creating a social and organizational understanding. Relate the assumptions and research methodology to the readings, including arguments made by Kuhn or other post-positivist thinkers. The beliefs have an effect on decision making and their impact is consequential on the choices made. Each individual perceive their own philosophy to reign supreme over others. There exist limits that drive an individual in making choices. The forgone choice may be as a result of lack of believes or the philosophical aspect. In the level of thinking various philosophies play part. The five dimensions in epistemology include the omniscient level of authority which acts as a source of the given knowledge and it drives the way individuals make choices. The second dimension is the certainty level which has the ability to change based on the overall environmental factors. According to Friedman (2002 p. 171), khan underlines the level as one that defines an individual’s cognitive ability. It states the manner in which persons adapt practices that are foreign to then but considers them essential. As much as the new complex matters are essential the author advocates for means that will clearly set the boundaries between the personal believes and the foreign factors. The aspect of change and adaptability depends on various aspects which includes the scientific reasoning in which Schommer-Aikins and Hutter (2002) indentify them to be the major contributors of the decisions made by individuals and groups. They apply also on an academic setup where the valuation of individuals is based on the existing scientific reasoning with the students combining this knowledge to submit the desired The other article also gives two other dimensions which are the simple knowledge and the fixed knowledge. They determine the nature in which individuals grasp foreign aspects with the focused being laid on evidential prove to give their reasoning. Simple knowledge requires no or less prove as its outcome is defined and predictable (Sharma &Talwar, 2004). The knowledge requires less elaboration to the user and it guides the individuals to develop their reasoning and thinking ability. The effects of the level is what determines the persons understanding of the certainty knowledge as both are driven by the ability of an individual to guide his thoughts through a number of sources and use them as the reference. The duration provide for the dimension is unlimited as it depends on the complex nature of the current event. The other level involves the fixed knowledge which alternates between existing philosophies and the unwilling nature of individuals to adapt to external influence. The thinking ability of the level is driven by an individual’s prior knowledge of similar events or situation. The individual utilize the prior knowledge to evaluate the complex issue. This was exhibited by the responds of some participants in the research and questioner. They responded to the abortion issue based on prior teachings and the idea most lack proper reasoning to back up their claims. The final dimensions of the research were the quick learning aspect. The dimension gives evaluators chances to test on the speed in which individuals adapt to changes in the environment. The changes as a result of the complex matters are driven depending on the driving aspect. it combines the existing knowledge with scientific and other philosophies that defines similar event. The events give time for individuals the chance to advance their learning abilities. In an academic set up the teachers use the student’s prior knowledge to guide the students towards internalizing complex concepts. The speed of the student to adapt to the new events would determine their progress through the academic setup. In the business world the managers easily adapts to the market requirement although that complex to drive their management agendas. The initial beliefs of the market dominance quickly changes with the introduction of new concepts in the market with the threats ranging from the rival companies or changes in the market trends (Miller & Tsang, 2010). The general application of the same concepts may apply to a real life set up with the current events being adapted easily by section of the general public as a means of keeping in touch with either technology or fashion. The speed in which the society adapts to these challenges defines the evolving knowledge by Schommer-Aikins and Hutter (2002, p.14). He relates the concepts with the social and ideological concepts Explain the practical significance of the assumptions and their effect on the research’s applicability Performance of each individual would be evaluated based their ability to utile the six dimension. The ability would range from their effort to learn. The search for answers and the determination of the responsible party towards the complex issue would be the driving point in each decision making. The individual is always given options to choose either a single aspect of the matter and using it to unravel the remainder of the matter. The other individuals may use the existing authority and guiding principles to determine there thinking models. The complex matters in these cases follow a certain path predetermined by the social and religious beliefs. The learning model of the scenario would involve the individual avoiding the contradicting occurrences and focused on the positives as a means of making an informed decision. The final aspect of the thinking process would involve a comparison scenario with the party involved having to find the similarities within the current event and the complex nature of the matter. The independent nature of the individuals using various methodologies in making decisions is same time predetermined. The environment would offer the current situation an opportunity to criticize the decision or support it. Friedman (2002, p176) gives room for any given decision to be criticize with the outcome of the criticism used to either improve the solution or eliminate it completely. The scientific reason behind any decision may be interchanged by the social and personal believe. What the environment teaches plays part in the nature of adaptation of each user of the six dimensions. Oral or written submission of the solutions would identify the driving point of these individuals towards their approach to complex matters ( Dörnyei, 2014). The flexibility of individuals towards these matters would result to a positive outcome while their innate nature would require intensive research and a complex thinking process that would either determine whether the individual accepts or rejects the new complex concepts. Conclusion The learning and thinking process operate in different frameworks. The society plays host to various methodologies and ideologies that psychologically that defines the nature in which each people make decisive decisions. The knowledge defers per individual and several philosophies each individual hold will determine the outcome of a given learning and application. The complexity of a given event calls for various concepts to be integrated to procedure the much needed solution. The solution would base on beliefs created by an individual which are influenced by the environment and historically and cultural aspect. The final outcome of the decision making would determine an individual’s right. The article defines different dimensions in which individual’s generate their thinking capability. They may be operational in a number of situations with the outcome varying depending on the complexity of the solved scenario. The speed of an individual to adapt to the foreign aspect gives the learning and research process the much needed environmental factors. Each individual defines the authenticity of some evidence based on their beliefs of similar matters. The negative response would explain the nature in which the individual’s beliefs are contract to the complex nature of the matter. The ability to adapt and internalize the current events would explain the ability and speed in which each the individual posses in a learning process. References Dörnyei, Z. (2014). The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. New York: Routledge Friedman, M. (2002). Kant, Kuhn, and the rationality of science. Philosophy Of Science, 69(2), 171. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=7047202&site=ehost-live Ismail, H., Hassan, A., Muhamad., M., Ali., W and Konting, M. (2013). Epistemological Belief and Learning Approaches of Students in Higher institutions of Learning in Malaysia. International Journal of Instruction, 6(1), 139- 146. Retrieved from Kitchener, F. (2011). Personal epistemology and philosophical epistemology: the view of a philosopher. J. Elen. (eds).In Links Between Beliefs and Cognitive Flexibility: Lessons Learned. (pp. 70- 100).New York :Springer Miller, K. D., & Tsang, E. K. (2011).Testing management theories.critical realist philosophy and research methods. Strategic Management Journal, 32(2), 139-158. doi:10.1002/smj.868 Schommer-Aikins, M., &Hutter, R. (2002).Epistemological beliefs and thinking about everyday controversial issues. Journal Of Psychology, 136(1), 5. Retrieved from Sharma, A. K., &Talwar, B. (2004). Business excellence enshrined in vedic (hindu) philosophy. Singapore Management Review, 26(1), 1-19. Retrieved from Read More