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Sample Response to Real GRE Issue Questions
Issue # 8: "Some
educational systems emphasize the development of student's capacity for
reasoning and logical thinking, but students would benefit more from an
education that also taught them to explore their own emotions."
The ability of a student to think clearly using reasoning and logical
thinking is of paramount importance in order to ensure his or her success
as an individual after graduation from a university. To be able to look at
a situation and use logic and reason to analyze the facts and develop an
opinion or solution is to have a solid foundation for success in all
aspects of life. Exploring one's emotions is important, but it is outside
of the realm of what can be learned in a university classroom. Emotional
self-exploration is best done outside of a classroom situation, although
there may be some opportunity for students in the classroom to learn a
methodology for doing so.
The ability to survive and thrive in a society is based on the assumption
that human beings act according to reason and logic. From a very early
age, most people are taught that certain actions will bring about certain
reactions, and that by using logic you can figure out what the response
will be in most situations. Reasoning is also developed early on, although
sometimes it is difficult to explain reasoning to a two-year old. Humans
are probably born with a desire for reason and logic, as demonstrated by
almost any child's incessant asking of the question "Why?". To understand
the underlying reasons why something happens is a fundamental part of
human nature, proven by the exploits of explorers, scientists and
mathematicians over the course of human history.
As a result, the basic framework of most forms of human society requires
that a person must act according to the demands of reason and logic. Rules
of law are based on the concept that individuals respond to rules based on
reasoning and logic. The ability to think according to logic and reason is
so imperative that it is essential that it be taught to university
students at even the highest levels. What if law schools and medical
schools decided that it was more important to allow students to explore
their own emotions at the expense of learning the latest laws or medical
techniques? Perhaps one course could be taught to help students to deal
with the emotional demands of being a lawyer or a doctor, but to train
students to explore their own emotions at the expense of learning about
logical and reasonable thinking would be to invite catastrophe in society.
One of the main problems with emphasizing to students the importance of
exploring one's own emotions is that it creates a "me first" attitude
towards their studies. Certainly a degree of self-introspection is
necessary to deal with society, but to put emphasis on this above all else
is to inculcate in the student the idea that he or she is more important
than others, and that what he or she thinks matters a great deal more than
it probably does in reality. Too much emotional self-exploration could
create individuals who see their emotions as more important than what they
contribute to society, which would damage that society as a whole.
A certain amount of self-introspection into one's emotions is probably
helpful to the development of a student as an overall person. Usually this
kind of activity is explored fully in basic psychology classes that most
students are required to take at university. Basic courses in sociology
and psychology as well as other humanities courses give students plenty of
opportunity to explore their own emotions. Rather than teaching students
how to explore their own emotions, it would seem to be a better idea to
teach students how to deal with these emotions. Only by instructing
students in reasoning and logic can they learn how to apply whatever inner
emotions they may have to becoming a successful member of a society.
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