Expertise and Rationality :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Expertise and Rationality ABSTRACT: I explore the connection between expertise and rationality. I first make explicit the philosophically dominant view on this connection, i.e., the ‘expert-consultation’ view. This view captures the rather obvious idea that a rational way of proceeding on a matter of importance when one lacks knowledge is to consult experts. Next, I enumerate the difficulties which beset this view, locating them to some extent in the current philosophical literature on expertise and rationality. I then propose that different lessons should be drawn for rationality from the fact of expertise. One is that some empirical and phenomenological studies of the nature of expertise can be fruitfully applied by analogy to theories of the rational agent. Chicken-sexers exist. It is a fact that there are experts in this and many other domains. It is also a fact that some philosophers, often epistemologists, take the fact of expertise to be bound up somehow or other with rationality. The standard articulation of this connection is that a rational way of proceeding on a matter of importance when one lacks knowledge is to consult experts. But does this view capture the full significance of the fact of expertise for rationality? In this paper I will argue that the fact of expertise has import beyond the standard view for the analysis of rationality. I will proceed by first considering in more detail the standard view, and then jump off from that discussion to draw a different lesson for our understanding of rationality from the fact of expertise. It would seem that the connection between expertise and rationality is so obvious as to be mundane: when one lacks expertise on a given matter of importance, and there are people who have that expertise and who can be consulted without undue cost, then (ceteris paribus) one should consult such people. This prescription links expertise and rationality by means of expert-consultation. When our cars are kaputt, when our tooth aches, when the soufflà © collapses, when our French falls short, and when our business lacks efficiency we consult the appropriate experts in order to believe and behave in ways that are sufficiently non-arbitrary so as to count as rational. Expert consultation is thus a resource for rationality: we have the remarkable cognitive ability to let the outcome of expert consultation affect what we believe. (1) The preceding paragraph captures in a simplified way the powerful idea that the connection between expertise and rationality is that of expert consultation.

Identification of Food Constituents Essay

Method (testing for reducing sugars) 1. Add 3cm? of whole milk, by using a pipette or syringe to the test tube. 2. Add 5cm? of Benedict’s reagent and place it in the boiling water bath for 8 minutes. Do the same for semi-skimmed milk and skimmed milk. 3. Once all 3 of the test tubes are left to cool in the air, observe the colours. It will be a good idea to set up a range of colour standards from glucose concentrations of 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% so that you can relate the colours observed to these concentrations. 4. A positive result would be from green to yellow to brick-red colour. Method (testing for non-reducing sugars) 5. Make up the same solution as step 1 but this time, adding 3cm? of dilute hydrochloric acid to break the glycosidic bonds between the monosaccharides. 6. Then add 3cm? of sodium hydroxide solution to neutralise it. 7. Add 5cm? of Benedict’s reagent and place it in the water bath for 8 minutes. 8. Once it’s left to cool, it should now turn brick-red colour. 9. The concentration of a non-reducing sugar can be estimated by first adding a drop of 10% invertase (sucrase) concentrate to 2cm? of the solution to be tested and leaving for 30 minutes at room temperature. The solution is tested for the presence of a reducing sugar. This method is preferable to acid hydrolysis. Method (testing for starch) 10. On each of the three types of milk, just add a few drops of iodine which is dissolved in potassium iodide solution. 11. The sample should change from browny-orange, to a dark, blue-black colour. Method (testing for proteins) 12. Place 2cm? of the three different types of milks on each tube. 13. Then add 2cm? of Biuret reagent and you should see a purple-violet colour developing. The intensity of it is proportional to the protein content. Method (testing for fats) 14. Add 3cm? of the three different types of milk on each test tube and 3cm? of water. 15. Place 1 drop of Sudan III to each test tube and shake gently to mix. 16. Using a microscope, a slide and a cover slip, identify any emulsion of red fat droplets. 17. Alternatively, you could add a drop of each of the milk on a filter paper and see if there is a translucent stain for a positive result. Results table Solution (Milk)TestObservationsConclusion SkimmedBenedict’sLime green (lightest)A slight amount of monosaccharides or reducing sugars present Semi-skimmedBenedict’sLime green (lighter)A slight amount of monosaccharides or reducing sugars present WholeBenedict’sLime greenA slight amount of monosaccharides or reducing sugars present SkimmedInvertaseYellowish-greenHardly any monosaccharides or reducing sugars present Semi-skimmedInvertaseYellowish-greenHardly any monosaccharides or reducing sugars present WholeInvertaseYellowish-greenHardly any monosaccharides or reducing sugars present SkimmedBiuretViolet purpleProtein present. Semi-skimmedBiuretPurpleLot’s of protein present WholeBiuretLight purpleProtein present Conclusion If there were to be a fair amount of monosaccharides to be present all 3 different types of milk, then we would surely see a brick-red precipitate formed when adding the Benedict’s reagent. But according to my range of colour standards from glucose (monosaccharide) concentrations, the lime-green colour given out from each of the 3 milks shows us that it does contain a minor amount of monosaccharides (reducing sugars). Adding a drop of invertase normally should break the glycosidic bonds that are holding the disaccharides together to form monosaccharides. But my results show that it’s a yellowish-green colour instead of a brick-red colour after adding Benedict’s reagent. This shows us that there is hardly any disaccharides present which I thought there would be as lactose, a disaccharide, is mostly present in milks. But this result may have a different view on that. The fact that all 3 milks turned purple after adding Biuret reagent assures us that there is protein present. If there is protein present, that means there is starch present too because starch and proteins are polysaccharides. Evaluation It is noticeable that I haven’t done the test for starch and fats. This is simply due to the fact that I run out of time. Using a 5cm? micro syringe would be more accurate than a pipette. When a precipitate is settled, I could have used a ruler to measure it out (in mm) instead of just using my eyes. Even better, using colorimeter would have provide accurate measurements on the amount of colour present and therefore, give us an indication of how much of the food constituents were present.

Opportunities for Leadership in College

College is a time to learn and grow -- both in and out of the classroom. And the longer you spend on campus, the more inclined you might become to try new things. Taking on a college leadership role can, plain and simply  be one of the best ways to challenge yourself and learn some valuable skills that you can use both during and after your college years. Fortunately, theres no shortage of leadership opportunities in college. Be a Resident Adviser in Your Residence Hall While there are lots of pros and cons with this gig, being a resident adviser (RA) can be a great way to build up your leadership skills. Youll learn how to work with a team, mediate conflicts, build community, help people in need, and generally be a resource for your friends and neighbors. All, of course, while having your own room and earning some extra cash. Run for Student Government ​ You dont have to run for student body president to make a difference on your campus -- or to learn some important leadership skills. Consider running for something smaller, like a representative for your Greek house, residence hall, or cultural organization. Even if youre the shy type, youll have the opportunity to watch leadership in action (including the good, the bad, and the ugly) during meetings. Run for a Leadership Role in a Club or Organization Youre Involved With Sometimes, smaller jobs can often help you learn the most. If youd like to get some college leadership experience but dont want to do something campus-wide, consider running for a leadership role in a club youre involved with. You can take your ideas for what the club should be like, turn them into reality, and get some great leadership experience in the process. Take a Position With Your Student Newspaper Writing for the student newspaper may not sound like a traditional leadership role, but it has all the tenets of good leadership skills: time management, communication skills, taking a position and standing by it, working as part of a team, and working under pressure. Run for a Leadership Role in Your Greek Organization Going Greek may have been one of the best decisions of your time in college. So why not give back a little and assume some kind of leadership role within your Greek house? Think about your strengths, what youd like to contribute, and what youd like to learn -- and then talk with your brothers and/or sisters about how best to do so. Chair, Start, or Help Organize a Community Service Project You may not have the time to assume a leadership role for the entirety of the academic year. That doesnt mean, of course, that you cant do anything. Consider organizing some kind of community service project that is a one-time gig, perhaps in honor of a holiday (like Martin Luther King Jr. Day). Youll get the experience of planning, organizing, and implementing a major event without having it take over your entire semester. Take a Leadership Role on a Sports Team or in the Athletic Department​ Sports may be a big part of your college life, which also means that you dont have time for much else. In that case, incorporate your athletic involvement with your desire for some leadership experience. Is there a leadership role you can take on your team? Or is there something in the athletic department you can do that can help you build up your skillset? Find a Good On-Campus Job That Helps With Student Leadership​ Are you interested in student leadership but want to learn more about it from the sidelines? Consider working on campus in an office that promotes student leadership, like the Residence Life office or the Department of Student Activities. Working with the full-time staff there can help you see what leadership looks like behind the scenes as well as how to develop leaders in a formal, structured way. Be an Orientation Leader​ Being an Orientation Leader is intense. Its a lot of work in a short period of time -- but its often an amazing experience. Youll make some great friends, really learn about leadership from the ground up, and make a difference in the lives of your campuss new students. Whats not to like? Work With a Professor​ Working with a professor may not be the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of college leadership, but doing work with a professor can be an amazing opportunity. Youll demonstrate that youre an intellectual leader who is interested in pursuing new things while learning important skills that you can use after graduation (like how to research and how to follow through on a major project). Leading the way toward the discovery and exploration of new ideas counts as leadership, too. Work in the Campus Admissions Office​ You may not have thought much of the campus admissions office since you were accepted, but they often offer a lot of leadership roles for current students. See if theyre hiring for student bloggers, tour guides, or hosts. Having a role with the campus admissions office shows that youre a responsible, respectable person on campus who can communicate well with others. Take a Leadership Course Chances are, your campus offers some kind of leadership class. It may not be for credit or it may be a 4-credit class through, say, the business school. You just might find that learning about leadership in the classroom inspires you to take on more leadership outside of it.