Algumas reflexões a partir da leitura de Wittgenstein

Por Marco Antônio Bomfoco

 Será que ainda faz algum sentido manter as linhas ou fronteiras divisórias entre as ciências ou disciplinas? Ou seja, as hierarquias epistemológicas ainda são válidas? Não seria mais produtivo, a começar pelo ensino, que as narrativas estivessem livres de barreiras entre si? E, ademais, qual o sentido de ser especialista em algum ramo do conhecimento nos dias atuais? À medida que o conhecimento avança, mais se expandem e se entrecruzam os temas. A ponto de podermos afirmar que o conhecimento atual acaba por refletir muito mais nossa ignorância do que nossa resposta aos diversos problemas. Na verdade, as mais profundas questões permanecem abertas à discussão. Acreditamos que isto é uma bênção em pelo menos dois sentidos. Primeiro, a qualquer momento pode-se alcançar novas "verdades" - ainda que provisórias, o que pode ser traduzido pela expressão clássica do filósofo austríaco Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951): "apontar à mosca a saída da garrafa". 

Em segundo lugar, é preciso reconhecer que esta busca inconclusa nos permite ser racionalmente livres do domínio dos outros homens. Neste ponto, podemos dizer, então, que a filosofia não passa mesmo de um processo. Em outras palavras, a filosofia não nos dá conhecimento, mas compreensão, e isto pode ser frustrante, como notou Sir Anthony Kenny. Por sua vez, Wittgenstein toma esta compreensão filosófica mais como a experiência de uma viagem do que como a chegada a um destino. (E a viagem é tudo; é o que aprendemos no poema "Ítaca" de Konstantinos Kaváfis.) Em síntese, para Wittgenstein a filosofia é processo ou atividade. Finalmente, estas reflexões nos levam de volta à Grécia clássica. Parece que estamos sempre voltando "para casa" em filosofia. Por isso, perguntamos: a busca pela essência das coisas como meta instigada por Sócrates tem algum sentido? Depois de tantos séculos, a postura fundacionista parece estar perdendo a razão de ser. Seja como for, e aqui vem a sugestão de Wittgenstein, precisamos, talvez, entender a filosofia ou a busca do conhecimento como uma busca de clareza. Sendo assim, indo de encontro ao anseio por generalidade, devemos concluir, com Wittgenstein, que não é mais possível desprezar o dado particular, mas considerar que ao montar um modelo de descrição do fenômeno ou dado em estudo já fizemos tudo ou quase tudo que era possível para conhecê-lo. Afinal, Wittgenstein reconheceu que a estrutura lógica da linguagem poderia ser visível na sua superfície. O sábio austríaco não queria propor teorias. Mas descrever em detalhes o que se passa: nisto resume-se sua análise. Em síntese, cabe ao filósofo "colocar as coisas" com clareza. A abordagem wittgensteiniana é, portanto, descritiva. Sua contribuição para a história da filosofia centra-se no método.

Overcoming Writer's Block, is that possible?

By Marco Antônio Bomfoco

Are you staring at the empty page for hours? Well let me tell you something. You got writer's block. Writer's block is an inability to write. Possibly, all writers have faced it. It is need to be stressed that writer's block says there is a problem with your project. The whole point here is: ask yourself honestly what are the reasons that contribute to your difficulty in writing. Don't you need more information? Don't you pick something big and obvious? Aren't you dealing with uncomfortable material? Don't you have your own point of view about the subject? Note that writing is a process, a series of steps or stages that include a whole array of support tasks that you should be able to deal with -- and most of the steps in the process don't look anything like the polished work.

Besides that, you should not to confound writer's block with procrastination. Procrastination is the habit of putting tasks off to the last minute. Finally, it is worth observing that the Princeton Writing Program believes that "a degree of procrastination and writer's block are a common part of writing". Get the picture? There is nothing wrong with you. Now you get to be clever. And while there is no magic formula for getting started, there are many ways you can handle with writer's block and to get on with your creative idea. Keep the following five tips in mind.

1. Identify your topic. Before you write, you should state the essence of your message in one sentence. This is your thesis statement (otherwise known as a controlling idea) around which you are going to make your text. If you cannot narrow your point down to one single sentence, either you are not clear about what you are trying to say or you have more than one topic. Ultimately, the key to writing a clear text is to build it around a clear thesis statement.

2. Have a plan. Create an outline or a road map of your text. The outline is an organized list of your main points about the topic; it is a point-by-point summary of your ideas. First, set out a list of headings about your topic. These headings are the supporting points of your argument. Try to write full sentences for it will help to express your ideas coherently. And these sentences will be the mini-thesis (claim) for every paragraph. Then, simply expand your claims.

Plainly, an article is composed by these four must have elements: a good title, a short introduction (a clear thesis statement and the summary of the article), the main body (3-4 claims followed by sentences that provide concrete examples to support each claim) and the conclusion. Finally, remember that your outline doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, you can always deviate from your outline. The truth is that the more detailed the outline, the easier it is to write the text. Above all, authors say that to start with an outline will liberate your energy and attention for the actual writing.

3. Start your text anywhere. Don't you know where to start? Do not worry about beginnings and endings. In general, the orderly progression writing method doesn't work. Thus, you should redesign the process: create the body first, then your introduction and the conclusion. Remember that you do not have to begin at the beginning. Now that all the pieces are there you can verify if it is working as a whole. The trick here is to never fall into useless reflection.

4. Keep a draft mentality. Nothing you write needs to be definitive. The best-selling author Steven Barnes says that novice writers must work through "a million word of garbage before reaching their true voice." How true. So do not be afraid to write garbage. More specifically, there are two states connected to writing: flow (relaxed concentration, it's when you write) and edit. I suggest this: first, create rough draft (and here don't worry about grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and other petty concerns). Then, polish the work you did. You might even try alternating: writing one day, editing the next. Finally, after three or four drafts you can reorganize and shape your text.

5. Break your task down into building blocks. Never make the mistake of forgetting that abstract tasks require concrete building blocks. Maybe you will find helpful to break your task into smaller units. So you need to sit down and use the timeboxing method. I suggest this: select a small piece of the task (remember Tip 3 above and eliminate the linearity obsession) that you can work on for 15 or 30 minutes. Then, plan a big, juicy reward. If you follow this tip through, as a result you could possibly continue working longer than 30 minutes.

There are many other ideas, but I think these will get you started. Now you have a way to blast through that block and get back to your writing.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/224181

What is Multiple Intelligences theory, and why is it important?

By Marco Antônio Bomfoco

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory (MI)(2006) states that human beings have different combinations of intelligences. This pluralistic approach is an alternative vision to the traditional notion that intelligence can be objectively measured and reduced to a single number, the IQ. The first intelligence tests carried out at the beginning of the twentieth century, which focused on verbal abilities, were developed by the French psychologist Alfred Binet and his colleagues in Paris. The motivation of their research was to respond to a request from the authorities to create a measure to predict which students were likely to need special attention in schooling. These early empirical experiments introduced the concept of intelligence as a quantifiable measure. Above all, the notion of intelligence as a single number has finally corroborated the one-dimensional view of the mind.

There are educational implications of this theory. Gardner points out that the IQ idea generated a corresponding view of school which he calls as the "uniform view". This uniform view is responsible for a core curriculum - a set of things that everyone should know (critical reading and calculation, for example). So, the brightest students can go to the better colleges. Following these narrow standards, thousands of young people will never have a chance to flower. But can intelligence be a single construct? And besides, is this fair with the immense human potential? From Gardner's idea of multifaceted intelligences emerges the concept of an individual-centered school. This vision sounds like Rorty's understanding that persons should be educated as individuals. In the sphere of public education, every child should have an individualized education program. In a word, Gardner and Rorty show that the main problems in schools today lay on these issues of policy. We know now that all students need special attention in school. The authorities must understand that an individualized education is not just for students with special needs.

We have two attitudes toward mind. The traditional one which was considered as a scientific turn at the time. And the pluralistic view which in fact broadens the scope of human possibilities. The eight intelligences suggested by Gardner are: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. Recall that IQ test is based only on linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities. Both research and theory indicate that multiple student-level factors account for the variance in student achievement. Recent theories on the contextualization of intelligence say that the intellectual potential will depend on the culture in which the person happens to live. Life experiences are very important. It seems that the idea of mind as a single construct has been slowly fading.

The new comprehension of the intelligence is based on a radically different view of the mind. It gradually became clear that this theory yields a very different view of school. In all this we feel a remarkable respect for the differences among people, the varied ways that they learn.

Work cited

Howard Gardner. Multiple Intelligences. New Horizons (New York: Basic Books, 2006), 4-5.

W. R. Lambert. Enabling freedom: Richard Rorty and education.University of Southern California, 2008.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7222903

Jogos eletrônicos de lazer e princípios de aprendizagem

Por Marco Antônio Bomfoco e Victor Abreu de Azevedo

Pesquisadores como Jim Gee acreditam que existem princípios promotores da aprendizagem nos bons jogos eletrônicos. Esses princípios de aprendizagem (PA) podem ser úteis no que chama de domínio semiótico da vida cotidiana. No que segue, damos definições de alguns PA exemplificados com o jogo eletrônico L.A. Noire desenvolvido em 2011 pela produtora Team Bondi e publicado pela Rockstar Games*.


Identidade: os JEs motivam o jogador por meio da identidade do personagem com quem joga. Este personagem pode ser herdado pelo jogador, ou criado e desenvolvido por ele. Por ex.: em L.A. Noire o jogador assume a identidade de um detetive na Los Angeles dos anos 1940. 

Interação: os JEs necessitam da interação do jogador para o seu desenvolvimento e a partir dela recebe feedback e novos desafios. Por ex.: em L.A.N. o jogador pode optar por várias estratégias de investigação para solucionar os casos. 

Agência: os jogadores têm a sensação de controle sobre as ações e as decisões no JE. Por ex.: na busca de pistas para desvendar um caso em L.A.N.

Ferramentas inteligentes e conhecimento distribuído: muitos aspectos dos JEs, como seus personagens, são ferramentas inteligentes que emprestam seus conhecimentos ao jogador, de modo que o jogador precisa apenas saber quando e como utilizar os conhecimentos destas ferramentas para enfrentar desafios. O mesmo ocorre entre jogadores que auxiliam uns aos outros com seus conhecimentos e as habilidades de seus personagens em JEs colaborativos. Por ex.: em L.A.N. o parceiro do detetive-jogador auxilia na localização dos objetivos do jogo.

Pensamento sistemático: os JEs incentivam os jogadores a pensar sobre as relações entre os eventos, os fatos e as habilidades neles existentes. Por ex.: Em L.A.N. a solução dos casos policiais depende da interpretação dos fatos que ocorrem numa cadeia de eventos. O detetive-jogador dispõe de habilidades que podem auxiliar na resolução dos casos.

* Mais informações disponíveis em: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._Noire