Last Day

On the last day of classes, all the students turned in their final papers. For about 10-15 minutes, they gave feedback on the course. Then the class decided to play a friendly game of beach ball volleyball for the remaining time. In the picture was my team, consisting of Queena, Grace, and Ai. The other team (Simon, Kimmy, Haruka, Jumpei, and Sophia) boldly declared themselves the winners. There was no objective person present to judge. So it was up to myself, a highly subjective teacher, to decide the winning team. I will let the blog audience guess who really won.

This picture was taken at the reception following our class. I was dressed in the t-shirt distributed to all faculty and students of the ESL Institute's Summer 2008 semester. Behind me is Queena with the beach ball used in our (triumphant?) game. I'm making that face because I thought she was about to bounce the ball on my head. Behind Queena is Grace in pink. Next to Grace is Ai in gray. All of them were great teammates.

I wish all my students success in the following semester. And we all wish Jumpei success in his new home at Eastern Michigan University.

Moral Philosophy

At the end of the semester, students had to write a 5-paragraph essay on a thought experiment adapted from the book "The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten" by Julian Baggini. Each student was presented a different thought experiment. Here are two student samples.

To Live or To Donate

by Wang Shayue (Sophia)

One day, Dick got drunk after a party. After waking up the next morning, he was mistaken for a volunteer in a new life-saving procedure. He quickly called over a doctor to explain his situation. However, the doctor said that if Dick wouldn't cooperate, the world famous violinist who was depending on him would die. Dick said that they had no right to let him give up nine months of his life to save him. After I read this story, I wanted to know why Dick should donate his vital organ to the violinist. Some people say that if Dick is entitled to disconnect himself then why aren't pregnant women entitled to abort their fetuses? I disagree with this analogy because I think that if people need to donate vital organs to others, it is different from pregnant women aborting their fetuses.

Some people donate their vital organs to others to help other people who need the organs live longer. However, the donor may die. That is to say, they donate their life to others to help them survive. If the person is dying or has an incurable disease, I think it's right for him to donate the organ to others who need it. But Dick had made a mistake; he didn't want to give up his life. It's his right to live. Of course, the violinist has a life. Don't you think that Dick also has a life? As for the pregnant women, it is well known that not all of them want to abort their fetuses.
Maybe some of them want to do it, but not many of them. According to The Abortion Act in America, in addition to endangering the lives and health of women, they can abort their fetuses. So Dick's action is legal while not all abortions are right.

On reasonable terms, Dick has his own right to choose to live or to donate his organ to the violinist. However, the pregnant women who are healthy have no right to choose if the baby needs to die. The baby is also a person so he has his own right to make the decision if he wants to live; the mother does not have this decision. Nowadays we can find that if a mother kills her child, not only should she be brought to justice, but also she should be condemned by morality and public opinions.

No one can decide the fate of others. Although if Dick chooses to live, the violinist will die; it's the instinct of human beings. Many people want to know whose dilemma is more difficult, Dick's or a woman who would like an abortion. I have to admit that the first one is more difficult. The first reason is that Dick doesn't want to give up his life while the woman wants to have an abortion. Next, if he doesn't do it, another person who needs his organ will die. He can be condemned by the soul. That's why I believe Dick's side is more difficult.

To live or to donate his vital organ to others, that is the question. Personally, Dick can stand up for his right, whether he does it or not. So if Dick doesn't want to donate his vital organs to others, it's not illegal. However, not all pregnant woman can abort their fetuses.

Bank Error

by Grace

When Richard went to the ATM, he got a very pleasant surprise. He requested $200 with a receipt, but he got $20,000 with a receipt. He checked his account online. His account had been debited for only $200. Nobody was going to ask for the money, so he did feel a little guilty. In real life, I think that if people get the money, some of them would return the money to the bank. A lot of people would think they were lucky. If I got a big amount of money someday, maybe I wouldn't want to return the money to the bank as well. Although I didn't get the money by myself, I think this behavior is not stealing.

I have witnessed my friend who got a big amount of money from another friend through a transfer. That other friend made a mistake about the amount of money, giving him $1000 more. But he was an honest person, so he told his friend about the mistake. Although this was the mistake of a person rather than the bank, I think people would behave the same as my friend. I would like to ask, "How many people would do the same for another person?"

Today, the situation concerns the bank's security system. Actually, if I caused the problem myself, I think it would be a dilemma. Maybe I would wait for the bank to take the money back by calling me after a long time. If the bank doesn't discover the problem, they won't have good results, and I will tell them. I think this is evidence of a great mind. However, if I urgently need the money, maybe I will take the money first only to return the money one day in the future.

In our life, sometimes we take the wrong luggage at the airport. In this case, I would more likely feel guilty because it is not our fault. For example, my mother's friend was asked to pay the bank $300 a few years ago. But she later found out that she didn't have to pay the bank that money. The bank had made a mistake. She was a little angry and asked the bank why she had to pay that amount. They apologized, so we often can see similar cases around us.

Sometimes problems like these can be seen in our life, but we know that deceit is not good thinking. If this situation happens to us, we are in a dilemma. Is it worth to think about returning the money or not? I think that it is difficult to choose.

Homework for Friday

Turn in the final draft of your philosophy on the thought experiment given to you last week.

Homework for Tuesday

On one piece of paper, write your thesis statement.
On other sheets of paper, write the rough draft of your opinion essay about your thought experiment.

Homework for Monday

Read your thought experiment for your final essay.
Write a 1-paragraph summary about that thought experiment.
Bring your North Star textbook to class on Monday.

Personality Psychology

On Monday, July 28th, students turned in their final drafts of their essay on personality psychology. They wrote reactions to one or both of the personality tests they took earlier this month, the Myers-Briggs inventory and the enneagram. Here are three examples.

Personality Psychology
by Mohammad Yaqoub
(pictured right)

A good relationship between you and your family or friends can happen if you know more about their personalities. Your personality is very important to know because, if you know the positive and the negative side of it, you will try to do more from the positive side and less from the negative side. Scientists did a lot of studies and a lot of research to create these easy tests that can help everyone. They made personality tests such as the Enneagram and the MBTI. They are very accurate.

Scientists have been studying for the past forty years to make the personality tests easier to understand. People are different from each other, and it's really hard to study everyone's personality. So scientists conducted a lot of research to combine all the thoughts that they have to make it easier for you to understand your personality by answering a few questions. The personality has been proven throughout the world. Everybody can take the test because they made it in a way that everyone can take.

When I took the test, I was so surprised by the results. 94% was exactly like me for both kinds of personality tests. When I asked my girlfriend to take this test, she told me, "Stop playing with this test. You are wasting your time." But after she took the test, she thought they were just lucky results. So she took it again and got the same results. I think the type that she has fits her like a glove. I compared my results with my friends, and we learned a lot that I did not know about myself and my friends.

You can learn so many things when you are taking the test and after you take the test. When you are taking the test, you can learn a lot of new vocabulary. After you take the test, you can learn a lot about yourself. What I like in these tests is that they give everything: all the positive and negative points. When a normal person knows the positive or negative side of his personality, he will start to think about his bad side. Why is it bad? How can I change this side and make it better? Usually when people start to make themselves better, they ask, try, and do things they never have done before to be a better person in the world.

The personality test can be really helpful by knowing much about your personality. It can be the reason behind making good people in the world through better understanding and having fewer problems through misunderstanding.

Do You Believe the Enneagram Personality Test Accurately Describes People?
by Simon (Su Chun Kao)
(center of picture)

Sometimes my friends like to test their personalities on the Internet, but I don't like to do that. I have taken the enneagram test on the Internet; the result still couldn't satisfy me. I think the enneagram test is not accurate. There are three reasons to support my viewpoint.

First, even though type 2 is my highest score on the enneagram test, the result does not fit me. For example, type 2 "will become resentful if their generosity is not appreciated or reciprocated," but I am not like that. I always think how to help someone around me, and I don't expect that they will pay me back. Another example is that "I don't have problems with possessiveness and with acknowledging my own head." I really understand what I need and I am not afraid that someone discovered it, so I don't belong to type 2. The other example is that I don't "neglect my own need to orchestrate indirectly the behavior of the other people." I always understand what I want and I try to seek it out.

In addition, the other enneagrams have the same scores which are close to type 2. There are four types that use these and have the same scores. Some characteristics of these types fit me better than type 2. For example, "I am a success-oriented person" as type 3, the achiever, because I am eager to succeed. I constantly seek new and exciting experiences just like type 7. I am often ahead of my time like type 5, which is a pioneer to see the world in an entirely new way. I also suppose that I am type 8 because I usually use my strength to improve my life.

Finally, I don't need to depend on some analyses to help me understand myself. I usually understand what I want and what I should do. I also believe that I can overcome any difficulty. For example, one day, my friend took the personality test and the result upset him. I don't want that to happen to me. Therefore, even we can discover our inner heart by taking the personality test. I would like to avoid being influenced.

In short, for the three reasons I stated, I don't believe in the personality test. I would rather trust myself than that. Nevertheless, the personality test is still interesting; maybe sometimes I will discuss it with my friends as entertainment.

Personality Psychology
by Haruka Muto
(pictured right)

Personality is very mysterious. Everyone has a different personality. If everyone in the world has the same personality, what would the world be like? I think it would be really boring because everyone wants the same thing and hates the same thing. It must be a monotonous life. However, everyone also has a similar personality. People who have the same idea make a group, and can exchange their opinions. I have never cared about personalities, even about my own personality, but I took the personality tests and realized that they help people.

Taking a personality test is a good opportunity to think about yourself. For many of us, there is rarely time to think about ourselves in daily life, but when we take a test, we can choose the answers that are much to our characters. So, we have to consider ourselves and find our own shape. For example, you can find your tendencies, your way of thinking, or your way of life. I think we can understand our personality more concretely after we finish taking the test and see the results.

Knowing your type is finding the meaning of existence. You don't have to be afraid of your personality because it could fit in more than one type at different times. In addition, I think you can have confidence in yourself when you know your type because the result indicates your personality. I also think it helps to develop your strong points and your weak points. For example, according to the test, I like to keep the mood upbeat. I agree with this result. I'm happy to be this type and I could have confidence.

When you change your point of view, you can understand other personalities around you. To say the opposite, others can know you. I think that to know other's personality helps us to get along better now because we can know each other more deeply or we can easily understand others' behaviors. For example, we can cheer up someone more effectively when he or she feels sad or we can communicate smoother than before.

There are a lot of people in the world, and each one has a special personality. It's good for you to take a personality test. I think taking tests help people, so you can find your special personality.