Responsibility, Integrity and Civic Discourse - Introductory Lecture - Bond University

RESPONSIBILITY, INTEGRITY AND CIVIC DISCOURSE Week 1 Forum – Discourse, Cooperation, and Trust Acknowledgement of Country In the spirit of reconciliation, Bond University acknowledges the Kombumerri people, the traditional Owners and Custodians of t...

RESPONSIBILITY, INTEGRITY AND CIVIC DISCOURSE Week 1 Forum – Discourse, Cooperation, and Trust Acknowledgement of Country In the spirit of reconciliation, Bond University acknowledges the Kombumerri people, the traditional Owners and Custodians of the land on which the university now stands. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging. Today we will… 1. Introduce the subject 2. Present the aims of the subject and how they are to be assessed throughout the semester 3. Consider popular models of cooperation and conflict 4. Outline the limits of such models and emphasise the value of embracing uncertainty Introductions  Subject co-ordination: Alison (Ali) Taylor  Email: ataylor@bond.edu.au  Office: 1c_3_76 Tutors  Teaching Team: Nico Agliata, Sommer Brameld, Olivia Meredith, Lu Zhao  To find me or your tutor for consult Forum come to: Foyer of 1C, Level 3 https://link.mazemap.com/k2DLHIMe How this fits into your degree How this fits into your degree Bond University graduates embrace inclusiveness whilst valuing the rich diversity of others from different backgrounds within changing environments. They demonstrate appreciation and respect for the unique historic, social, cultural, and ethical values and traditions of populations such as the First Peoples of Australia and other groups throughout the world (cultural capability). Bond University graduates value biodiversity and recognise the importance of sustainable development, whilst demonstrating a commitment and responsibility to community. Bond University graduates take responsibility for their actions and understand the need for personal accountability. They employ integrity, professionalism and ethical decision-making to all aspects of their enterprise. Assessment  Tutorial Participation Assessment Weightin Due Date  20 marks for active participation g Participation 20% Ongoing  Quiz  20 marks: mix of multiple-choice & short-answer Quiz 20% Week 5 forum  In-class and closed book  Completed in week 5 forum Essay and Viva 30% Essay - Friday  Essay and Viva week 8  25 marks for essay, 5 marks for viva Viva – tutorials  In response to film stimulus week 9  Reflective Journals  Submitted in bulk in week 12 Reflective 30% Friday week 12  6 questions available – you choose Journals and respond to 3 (up to 10 marks available for each response)  Don’t forget the compulsory modules! Self paced Online modules / Complete prior to Week 6 of your commencing semester (to avoid a sanction being applied) / Complete in 30mins! Academic Integrity Safe & Respectful Community What will you learn? What will you learn? Importance of Academic Integrity; Managing (inter)relationships in a mutually Examples of Academic Misconduct and how to respectful manner; avoid it; Consent and sexual health; Introduction to proper use of other people's ideas Importance of building healthy, happy and safe and words, including Generative Artificial relationships. Intelligence (Gen-AI). Academic Integrity Module What is Academic Integrity? Safeguard yourself with the Academic Integrity at Bond means adhering to an academic moral code bound knowledge you need to study by the seven integrity principles of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, with integrity. responsibility, courage & professionalism. This module is accessible Why is Academic Integrity important? through Subjects in iLearn.  Your future is important. Scan the below QR code to  You deserve a fair system. complete the Academic  Academic misconduct has lasting consequences. Integrity Module TODAY. Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI)  Wondering how you can use Gen-AI such as ChatGPT?  Complete the Academic Integrity Module, then check with your educators on what is permitted. Visit Bond’s Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI) webpage for more information. * Please ensure you complete the module PRIOR TO WEEK 6 to avoid a Sanction being applied* Responsible Action & Integrity Involves:  Identifying our values and stances  Reflecting on our values and stances  Interrogating our values and stances  Being open to changing our values and stances (when appropriate)  Developing our moral agency and successfully taking life seriously  Responding to our spheres of responsibility  Respecting the values and stances of others  Communicating and cooperating well with others  Successfully balancing these skillsets in our personal and professional lives and within our communities Some attitudes are not productive The Recognition of Difference  Todd May, in his essay ‘On the Meaningfulness of Lives’ suggests that ethics, “cannot prescribe the particular character of meaning that each of us should embrace. It cannot tell each of us individually how we might trace the trajectory that is allotted to us.”  What it can do is offer the tools and space to reconsider the framework from which we make decisions. A moment’s pause for thought to challenge our certainty.  This course aims to create that space, develop reflective awareness, and demonstrate productive methods of articulating the results. The Limits of Theories  Moral theories are excellent ways of critically unpacking a complex dilemma.  They offer heuristics for making sense of intuitions.  A key aim of this course is to become proficient in applying moral reasoning, but to do so with a critical and patient thought process.  The following are examples of models of cooperation which have had a large influence on policy decisions. Hobbesian Traps (explanation) Tragedy of the Commons (explanation) Golden Balls  Split or Steal  A second example Elinor Ostrom Ostrom was a Nobel prize winning economist who demonstrated the fallibility of the tragedy of the commons and cooperative trap models Rethinking Our Models  The issue for Ostrom is that when a situation is identified as a problem of the commons or cooperation trap, the proposed solution is often to add some external authority to govern it.  What Ostrom identifies is a tendency of policy makers to view participants in these traps as being unable to change the constraints of their dilemma.  Ostrom identifies many instances where they do. More Golden Balls One of Ostrom’s Examples Ostrom’s Insights  “Instead of there being a single solution to a single problem I argue that many solutions exist to cope with many different problems” (Ostrom, 2015, 14)  “Instead of presuming that optimal institutional solutions can be designed easily and imposed at low cost by external authorities, I argue that “getting the institutional right” is a difficult, time consuming, conflict invoking process.” (Ostrom, 2015, 14)  Ostrom gives pause for thought and asks us to be sceptical of our intuitive solutions. Is Life Always Like Lord of the Flies? Nope! Video Summary Bregman’s commen tary Jacob Bronowski and the importance of uncertainty “One aim of the physical sciences has been to give an exact picture of the material world. One achievement of physics in the twentieth century has been to prove that that aim is unattainable…There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy. All information is imperfect. We have to treat it with humility. That is the human condition; and that is what quantum physics says. I mean that literally.” (Bronowski 1981, 353) Jacob Bronowski and the importance of uncertainty "The Principle of Uncertainty or, in my phrase, the Principle of Tolerance fixed once and for all the realisation that all knowledge is limited. It is an irony of history that at the very time when this was being worked out there should rise, under Hitler in Germany and other tyrants elsewhere, a counter- conception: a principle of monstrous certainty" (Bronowski, 1981, p.367) Simon Critchley's article 'The Dangers of Certainty' unpacks this idea and describes this moment in Bronowski's documentary. What Happened Today  Introduced the subject and the assessment schedule  Outlined the objectives of the class and suggested a productive and respectful attitude  Considered some models for understanding human cooperation and explored what they seek to explain, and the dangers of accepting their implications uncritically  Used the work of Elinor Ostrom to suggest a more careful and slow approach to finding solutions to complex dilemmas.  Looked at Rutger Bregman's work on undoing the cultural mythology about having a simple, neat, explanation that assumes the worst of people.  Finally, we looked at Bronowski's warning that absolute certainty is a dangerous way of seeing the world. Fin  Tutorials begin this week – check your timetable!  Your tutors and I can be contacted via email or during consultation  Enjoy week 1 and beyond References  Bregman, R. (2020) Humankind: A Hopeful History. London: Bloomsbury  Bronowski, J. (1973) The Ascent of Man. London: British Broadcasting Corporation.  Ostrom, E. (2015) Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.