Difference between revisions of "OCT 31"

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(Created page with "===Dennett, Daniel. Chapter 4: "A Hearing for Libertarianism" Freedom Evolves.=== :*Characterizes the traditional argument motivating libertarianism: ::*If Det true, no FW....")
 
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===Dennett, Daniel. Chapter 4: "A Hearing for Libertarianism" Freedom Evolves.===
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==19: OCT 31==
  
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:*Characterizes the traditional argument motivating libertarianism:
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===Assigned===
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::*If Det true, no FW.  If no FW, no MR.
 
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::*If we think of states of affairs as causing other states of affairs (something he argued against in C2), then we need a break in the causal matrix, '''a GAP''', to own our action, saving FW and MR.
 
  
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:*Mentions, but leaves aside "unrepentant dualists" (feel free to explore these), who try to give accounts of "agent causation" .  By contrast Kane is a naturalist like Dennett. 
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:*Tribe, Lawrence. "Deconstructing Dobbs" (2nd half, 9-17)
 +
:*Alfino, "Interpretation, Political Orientation, and the Basic Liberties in the Dobbs Decision" (12-end)
  
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:*Kane's goal.  To show that we can be the "ultimate creator and sustainer of our ends and purposes"
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===In-class===
  
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:*'''Where should we put the gap?
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:*Assign SW3: What are Basic Liberties? Small group discussion on Personal information and family liberties.
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'''
 
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::*i. desire
 
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::*ii. rational will
 
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::*iii. striving will
 
  
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::*gap goes somewhere bt i and ii.  Case of Business woman, two neural clouds around "stay" or "go".
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===Tribe, "Deconstructing Dobbs" 2nd half (p. 8-12)===
  
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::*105: a little background on chaos.  Old debate about AI.  Are "hardware neural networks" (in which the indeterminacy is modelled physically v. virtually) non-algorithmic? Yes, but this feature of hardware neural nets doesn't explain their powers since they can also be modelled in a computer, which is algorithmic (computational) at the physical level.   
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:*Tribe thinks only a religious view of the embryo supports this view.  Note citation of Rawls Theory of Justice and article 4 of Constitution.  "Republican form of government" seems antithetical to a theocracy.  Other evidence that the court is reflecting a preference for Christian thought in reading the 1st amendement:  
 +
::*Tribe sees elements of a "tyranny of the minority" in Dobbs, but also in Kennedy v Bremmerton (religious fball coach).  He also thinks that the fact that 3 of the justices were appointed by a president who lost the majority vote is relevant.
 +
::*Tribe also feels the court Majority is being inconsistent in its interpretive theory in the case of Bruen, which treats the right to concealed carry of guns as grounded in the 2nd amendment, even though the types of guns did not exist in our "history and traditions".   
 +
:*In the remaining 2-3 pages Tribe extends his argument against the conservative court by objecting to other putatively radical decisions it has made.
  
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::*Point: D is criticizing Kane for confusing chaos with indeterminism.  The point about neural nets raises the question: Will the indeterminacy (non-computational moment) in Kane's theory really do any work?
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===More "language of basic liberties"===
  
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:*'''Kane's Model of Indeterministic Decision-making
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:*In addition to your liberty to control your body, bodily autonomy, and intimacy, we recognize (by statute and judicial opinion) basic liberties to control some personal information and to direct the upbringing of your children (parental rights) and other protections for family life. At a practical level, parental rights often involve schooling, which is local in our society.  Still, cases reach the Supreme Court.  
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'''
 
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::*Basic model: If we can introduce a gap of quantum indeterminacy into your decision making than we can say about some of your acts that at some moment "t" ''you could have done otherwise''.  Moreover, in the context of practical reasoning, it is plausible to think that these acts are "self-forming acts" and yours.
 
  
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::*108: Input-Output model: "striving will" is a kind of "resistance". Look at cases.  Clarify notion of "clutch". weakness of the will.
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:*Personal Information Examples
 +
::*A law requiring you to share your browsing history with the government. 
 +
::*A law requiring you to share your medical records with the government.
 +
::*A law requiring you to send a full frontal nude picture of yourself to the government every 5 years.
 +
::*A law allowing anyone to discover your bank account balances.
 +
::*A law requiring you to explain your reasons for divorce to a judge (before “no fault”divorce).
 +
::*A law conferring a “right to be forgotten” (to have internet information about you deleted).  This is a right guaranteed in the European Union.
  
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::*Do we put the clutch inside or outside?  Memory inside or outside? Randomizer inside or outside?  If these outside us, then the are part of the input (or after the output in the case of deciding right and not doing it) and 'determining' us. If inside, then they don't determine us?  But we just moved the boundary.
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:*Family and Parental Rights Examples
 +
::*A law prohibiting parents from exempting their kids from some sex education programs.
 +
:::*But maybe not: A law allowing parents to exempt their kids from hearing basic public health information, including information about sexually transmitted diseases.
 +
::*A law requiring family members to testify against each other.
 +
:::*But maybe not: A law preventing the government from checking on child welfare and acting on serious problems, including removing children from their parents’ care.
 +
::*A zoning ordinance prohibiting grandparents from living with their families (actual controversy).
 +
::*A zoning ordinance prohibiting polyamorous households in a neighborhood. (!)
 +
::*A law prohibiting home schooling.
 +
::*A law prohibiting parents and their children from receiving gender affirming care.
 +
:::*But maybe not: A law allowing parents to chose any elective surgery they wish for their kids.
  
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::*You could "send out" for randomness, but that's like flipping a coin. Would that make it not "determining"you?
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===Small group: Organizing your thoughts on Basic Liberties and Abortion Rights===
  
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::*115: Kane's model is focused on deliberative choice, but D raises questions about how to draw that line.  A habit can be acquired deliberately. Case of strangling the dentist. 
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:*Consider the following questions as you prepare to write about Basic Liberties and Abortion rights
  
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::*Kane allows for some determinism in his model, which helps account for the case of Martin Luther.  
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::*Is there a constitutional basic liberty (or liberties) at stake in the abortion rights issue?  Use your "language of basic liberties" to express this or to say why there isn't one.  
  
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::*SFAs can enter into subsequent deterministic processes (such as one leading to Luther's statement) and still be "ours".  (Note how far we are from Strawson at this point! Ultimate Responsibility is weaker here.)
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::*If there is a right to elective abortion, how should we think about it?
  
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::*Kane's principle of alternative possibilities. (AP) and discussion of "t"  118-121
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:::*1. As a balance between the liberty interests of the fetus/baby and the host/mother?
  
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::*Kane's ultimacy requirement. (U). You can only be MR for something, if you are MR for everything that was a sufficient condition for that.  SFAs satisfy U.  read at 122.  (I still don't have a clear way to say this.)
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::::*possible balancing points:  Conception (some pro life), "Clear opportunity" (gestational limits/ Roberts), Viability (Roe/Casey)
  
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:*'''If you make yourself really small, you can externalize virtually everything.
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:::*2. As a majoritarian issue -- any law expressing a "rational basis" may be constitutional
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'''
 
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::*How do you get the indeterminacy to be "inside" us?  Echoes of idea of "Cartesan theater" ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartesian_theater#:~:text=%22Cartesian%20theater%22%20is%20a%20derisive,materialist%20theories%20of%20the%20mind. wiki note]from Consciousness Explained).  Doesn't exist, but philosophers invoke it in discussion of consciousness.
 
  
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::*Kane's solution: "plural rationality"  Imagine two sets of reasons around a decision, both of which you "own" or endorse.  (not sure about D's skepticism at 125).  K's intuition: in such cases we are working with potential choices that are "ours".  The indeterminancy doesn't imply that the outcome is a fluke.
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:::*3. A new constitutional amendment --
  
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::*126: Big Criticism (made in next section): Kane's "incremental self-making" is a version of FW worth having, but you don't need indeterminacy to get it.   
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::*Argument strategies:
 +
:::*Determine that abortion rights is "more like" other matters that are or aren't basic liberties.   
 +
:::*For prolife: Begin with some form or personhood for the fetus and then consider competing liberty claims.
  
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:*'''Beware of Prime Mammals'''
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===SW3: What are Basic Liberties (900 words)===
  
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::*Point of fallacy: result of a desire for a regress stopper, but that is only needed because you assume essentialism.  Kane thinks SFAs are regress stoppers because the gap breaks the chain of causation to the past. You could have done otherwise and it still would be you.
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:*'''Stage 1''': Please write an 900 word maximum answer to the following question by '''Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 11:59pm.'''
 +
::*Topic: Drawing on resources from this unit and your own research and reflection, devote the first part of your essay to these questions: What is your theory of basic liberties?  What makes something a basic liberty and why are they important?  (Use about 200-250 words for this.) Then, in rest of your essay, apply your view about basic liberties to the abortion question, taking into account our work in this unit. ''You should focus your analysis initially on the Dobbs decision'', showing how you would have decided it based on your view of whether abortion is a constitutionally protected basic liberty.
  
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::*D: SFAs are prime mammals.  The key to stopping the regress, but not discernable or discoverable, possibly because there is no such thing.  127: no way to tell a real SFA from pseudo.  Oppenheimer: like speication events, only discernable retrospectively. Luther1 and Luther2.  
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:*'''Advice about collaboration''': Collaboration is part of the academic process and the intellectual world that college courses are based on, so it is important to me that you have the possibility to collaborate.  I encourage you to collaborate with other students, but only up to the point of sharing ideas, references to class notes, and your own notes, '''verbally'''.  Collaboration  is also a great way to make sure that a high average level of learning and development occurs in the class.  The best way to avoid plagiarism is to NOT share text of draft answers or outlines of your answer.  Keep it verbal. Generate your own examples.
  
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::*Kane's defense might be that it is a problem in the world that it is hard to discern. But then: Why should metaphysically unknowable features count more than discernable ones (upbringing, abuse, etc.)? 
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:*Prepare your answer and submit it in the following way. '''You will lose points''' if you do not follow these instructions:
  
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::*As in the prime mammal fallacy, events in the distant past are not up to me, but events in the recent past might be and this gives me room to extend a self.  (This would apply to Strawson as well, I think.)
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::# To assure anonymity, you must remove your name from the the "author name" that you may have provided when you set up your word processing application. For instructions on removing your name from an Word or Google document, [[https://wiki.gonzaga.edu/alfino/index.php/Removing_your_name_from_a_Word_file click here]].
 +
::# Format your answer in double spaced text, in a typical 12 point font, and using normal margins. Do not add spaces between paragraphs and indent the first line of each paragraph. 
 +
::# '''Do not put your name in the file or filename'''.  You may put your student ID number in the file.  Always put a word count in the file. Save your file for this assignment with the name: '''BasicLiberties'''.
 +
::# To turn in your assignment, log into courses.alfino.org, click on the '''"1 SW3 - Points"''' dropbox.
 +
::# If you cannot meet a deadline, you must email me about your circumstances (unless you are having an emergency) '''before''' the deadline or you will lose points. 
 +
 
 +
:*'''Stage 2''': Please evaluate '''four''' student answers and provide brief comments and a score. Review the [[Assignment Rubric]] for this exercise.  We will be using the Flow and Content areas of the rubric for this assignment. Complete your evaluations and scoring by '''Friday, November 10, 2023, 11:59pm.'''
 +
 
 +
::*To determine the papers you need to peer review, open the file called "#Key.xls" in the shared folder. You will see a worksheet with saint names in alphabetically order, along with animal names.  Find your saint name and review the next four (4) animals' work below your animal name. If you get to the bottom of the list before reaching 4 animals, go to the top of the list and continue. 
 +
 
 +
::*Use [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSca2C-a7XJpi09qCt3wAd1jmi5gPJ2vR-6I3L8ZQDNQ4ZOQwA/viewform?usp=sf_link this Google Form] to evaluate '''four''' peer papers. Submit the form once for each review.
 +
 
 +
::*Some papers may arrive late.  If you are in line to review a missing paper, allow a day or two for it to show up.  If it does not show up, go back to the key and review the next animal's paper, continuing until you get four reviews. Do not review more than four papers.
 +
 
 +
:*'''Stage 3''': I will grade and briefly comment on your writing using the peer scores as an initial ranking.  Assuming the process works normally, most of my scores probably be within 1-2 points of the peer scores, plus or minus. 
 +
 
 +
:*'''Stage 4''': Back-evaluation: After you receive your peer comments and my evaluation, take a few minutes to fill out this quick "back evaluation" rating form: [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgKCYITDTSOOHcvC3TAVNK-EZDsP4jiiyPj-7jdpRoNUsLPA/viewform?usp=sf_link].  '''Fill out the form for each reviewer, but not Alfino.'''  '''You must do the back evaluation to receive credit for the whole assignment.''' Failing to give back-evaluations unfairly affects other classmates.
 +
 
 +
::*Back evaluations are due '''TBD, 11:59pm'''.

Latest revision as of 17:50, 31 October 2023

19: OCT 31

Assigned

  • Tribe, Lawrence. "Deconstructing Dobbs" (2nd half, 9-17)
  • Alfino, "Interpretation, Political Orientation, and the Basic Liberties in the Dobbs Decision" (12-end)

In-class

  • Assign SW3: What are Basic Liberties? Small group discussion on Personal information and family liberties.

Tribe, "Deconstructing Dobbs" 2nd half (p. 8-12)

  • Tribe thinks only a religious view of the embryo supports this view. Note citation of Rawls Theory of Justice and article 4 of Constitution. "Republican form of government" seems antithetical to a theocracy. Other evidence that the court is reflecting a preference for Christian thought in reading the 1st amendement:
  • Tribe sees elements of a "tyranny of the minority" in Dobbs, but also in Kennedy v Bremmerton (religious fball coach). He also thinks that the fact that 3 of the justices were appointed by a president who lost the majority vote is relevant.
  • Tribe also feels the court Majority is being inconsistent in its interpretive theory in the case of Bruen, which treats the right to concealed carry of guns as grounded in the 2nd amendment, even though the types of guns did not exist in our "history and traditions".
  • In the remaining 2-3 pages Tribe extends his argument against the conservative court by objecting to other putatively radical decisions it has made.

More "language of basic liberties"

  • In addition to your liberty to control your body, bodily autonomy, and intimacy, we recognize (by statute and judicial opinion) basic liberties to control some personal information and to direct the upbringing of your children (parental rights) and other protections for family life. At a practical level, parental rights often involve schooling, which is local in our society. Still, cases reach the Supreme Court.
  • Personal Information Examples
  • A law requiring you to share your browsing history with the government.
  • A law requiring you to share your medical records with the government.
  • A law requiring you to send a full frontal nude picture of yourself to the government every 5 years.
  • A law allowing anyone to discover your bank account balances.
  • A law requiring you to explain your reasons for divorce to a judge (before “no fault”divorce).
  • A law conferring a “right to be forgotten” (to have internet information about you deleted). This is a right guaranteed in the European Union.
  • Family and Parental Rights Examples
  • A law prohibiting parents from exempting their kids from some sex education programs.
  • But maybe not: A law allowing parents to exempt their kids from hearing basic public health information, including information about sexually transmitted diseases.
  • A law requiring family members to testify against each other.
  • But maybe not: A law preventing the government from checking on child welfare and acting on serious problems, including removing children from their parents’ care.
  • A zoning ordinance prohibiting grandparents from living with their families (actual controversy).
  • A zoning ordinance prohibiting polyamorous households in a neighborhood. (!)
  • A law prohibiting home schooling.
  • A law prohibiting parents and their children from receiving gender affirming care.
  • But maybe not: A law allowing parents to chose any elective surgery they wish for their kids.

Small group: Organizing your thoughts on Basic Liberties and Abortion Rights

  • Consider the following questions as you prepare to write about Basic Liberties and Abortion rights
  • Is there a constitutional basic liberty (or liberties) at stake in the abortion rights issue? Use your "language of basic liberties" to express this or to say why there isn't one.
  • If there is a right to elective abortion, how should we think about it?
  • 1. As a balance between the liberty interests of the fetus/baby and the host/mother?
  • possible balancing points: Conception (some pro life), "Clear opportunity" (gestational limits/ Roberts), Viability (Roe/Casey)
  • 2. As a majoritarian issue -- any law expressing a "rational basis" may be constitutional
  • 3. A new constitutional amendment --
  • Argument strategies:
  • Determine that abortion rights is "more like" other matters that are or aren't basic liberties.
  • For prolife: Begin with some form or personhood for the fetus and then consider competing liberty claims.

SW3: What are Basic Liberties (900 words)

  • Stage 1: Please write an 900 word maximum answer to the following question by Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 11:59pm.
  • Topic: Drawing on resources from this unit and your own research and reflection, devote the first part of your essay to these questions: What is your theory of basic liberties? What makes something a basic liberty and why are they important? (Use about 200-250 words for this.) Then, in rest of your essay, apply your view about basic liberties to the abortion question, taking into account our work in this unit. You should focus your analysis initially on the Dobbs decision, showing how you would have decided it based on your view of whether abortion is a constitutionally protected basic liberty.
  • Advice about collaboration: Collaboration is part of the academic process and the intellectual world that college courses are based on, so it is important to me that you have the possibility to collaborate. I encourage you to collaborate with other students, but only up to the point of sharing ideas, references to class notes, and your own notes, verbally. Collaboration is also a great way to make sure that a high average level of learning and development occurs in the class. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to NOT share text of draft answers or outlines of your answer. Keep it verbal. Generate your own examples.
  • Prepare your answer and submit it in the following way. You will lose points if you do not follow these instructions:
  1. To assure anonymity, you must remove your name from the the "author name" that you may have provided when you set up your word processing application. For instructions on removing your name from an Word or Google document, [click here].
  2. Format your answer in double spaced text, in a typical 12 point font, and using normal margins. Do not add spaces between paragraphs and indent the first line of each paragraph.
  3. Do not put your name in the file or filename. You may put your student ID number in the file. Always put a word count in the file. Save your file for this assignment with the name: BasicLiberties.
  4. To turn in your assignment, log into courses.alfino.org, click on the "1 SW3 - Points" dropbox.
  5. If you cannot meet a deadline, you must email me about your circumstances (unless you are having an emergency) before the deadline or you will lose points.
  • Stage 2: Please evaluate four student answers and provide brief comments and a score. Review the Assignment Rubric for this exercise. We will be using the Flow and Content areas of the rubric for this assignment. Complete your evaluations and scoring by Friday, November 10, 2023, 11:59pm.
  • To determine the papers you need to peer review, open the file called "#Key.xls" in the shared folder. You will see a worksheet with saint names in alphabetically order, along with animal names. Find your saint name and review the next four (4) animals' work below your animal name. If you get to the bottom of the list before reaching 4 animals, go to the top of the list and continue.
  • Use this Google Form to evaluate four peer papers. Submit the form once for each review.
  • Some papers may arrive late. If you are in line to review a missing paper, allow a day or two for it to show up. If it does not show up, go back to the key and review the next animal's paper, continuing until you get four reviews. Do not review more than four papers.
  • Stage 3: I will grade and briefly comment on your writing using the peer scores as an initial ranking. Assuming the process works normally, most of my scores probably be within 1-2 points of the peer scores, plus or minus.
  • Stage 4: Back-evaluation: After you receive your peer comments and my evaluation, take a few minutes to fill out this quick "back evaluation" rating form: [1]. Fill out the form for each reviewer, but not Alfino. You must do the back evaluation to receive credit for the whole assignment. Failing to give back-evaluations unfairly affects other classmates.
  • Back evaluations are due TBD, 11:59pm.
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