Different Perspectives Game | Northwest Center for Philosophy ...
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we are able to wonder what, in fact, it really is—and what it is about it that makes it that thing. For example, students often say that it could be a paperweight. And I point out that it would be a better paperweight than a cheese grater. (It’s not a particularly effective grater; it tends to smoosh the cheese rather than grate it.) We wonder together whether, therefore we ought to consider it a cheese grater, and if so, why? This enables students to begin thinking about metaphysics. We wonder together how might know what it is—this provides an entry into discussion epistemology. We wonder, as mentioned above, what we should use it for—here is our entry into ethics. Questions about whether the grater is beautiful lead into discussion of aesthetics, and so on. I think students take away several benefits that are consistent with moral education from this exercise. First, they get practice in working together on a small, fast-paced project. They have to do a bit of negotiating and shared creativity in coming up with their answers. Second, they have the opportunity to consider something in a manner that they wouldn’t normally do. This encourages them to be more expansive in their thinking; I believe it primes them for a willingness to entertain views that are different than their own and also to take more objective perspectives on their own positions.
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