Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Meta-ethics of learning design

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

It's a hoary old fallacy: you say to your opponent, "Why are you still stealing grapes?" The only response is to deny stealing grapes, but if you are fast enough you can slide right past that, pressing for an explanation: "is it because you can't afford them? if it because you're addicted to wine?" Expressed this way, the sleight of hand is pretty obvious, but with practice it can be executed in an almost seamless and undetectable fashion. And that's what Clark Quinn is talking about here when he raises some of the issues of ethics in learning design. "They can take a statement as if it's fact, and then continue on with that as received wisdom. It's a classic cognitive approach, making a statement as if it's assumed." What would motivate people to behave more ethically when designing learning? If we stop thinking of learning as a form of persuasion and propaganda, then perhaps there's a way to start.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Apr 24, 2024 04:00 a.m.

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