Moral dilemna

[Aquinas_Jr]

For the people who tried convincing not to do it because of fear are actually committing a logical fallacy called “appeal to force.” Also, saying “I can empathize with you” is an appeal to emotions.

 

[Aquinas_Jr]

Welp, I got the response from the professor, and I am certainly glad that I did not listen to the advice of anyone who said not to say anything. The professor is still stubborn, but he now admits that he is only guessing when it comes to incomplete substances. There was no negative outcome as everyone feared. Why are people so afraid of the tiniest things?

 

[nodito]

My take on the situation is that a) you probably embarrased him in class and b) the information you initially provided in e-mail was enough to convince him of Aquinas’ teaching if he was open to understanding it. I think you were receiving the advice you did because the other posters, like me, assumed that there was no advantage to further embarrassing your professor by showing him e-mail conversations you had with his colleagues. Especially after it seems he did acknowledge that he was incorrect when you sent him your supporting documentation. If he was originally saying “Aquinas says the soul is not a substance” and then later says “Aquinas says the sould is a substance in some sense” he realizes his error. The admonition to you to “read more carefully” is an attempt to save face, implying that you don’t understand all aspects of Aquinas as well as he does (and presumably you don’t, or you’d be teaching the class).

It sounds like it could have been your pride that was/is urging you to “prove him wrong.” What the other posters were pointing out is that continuing to e-mail the professor would likely do little for his own benefit but could potentially hurt you. It’s naive to think teachers are completely unbiased. They have tremendous grading discretion. It can be useful to cultivate positive relationships with them for reasons other than grades (asking them for recommendations, to act as a mentor, to get feedback on your thesis, etc.) And further, it’s just a good life skill to learn when to let something drop.

But it sounds like Aquinas is your jam. Continue to study him; it can only help you. I hope you enjoy the rest of the class and all your future philosophy and theology courses.

 

[Aquinas_Jr]

If I was tempted to pride, I would’ve never emailed him. Apparently, no one actually read what my concern was, but imposed their own thoughts on the matter. I didn’t embarrass him in class, he attempted to embarrass me. If anything, the whole thing was caused by his pride (but who knows). When I raised my objection in class, he attempted to embarrass me by having me read a long passage from Aquinas. The harm in this is that the entire class then believed that his opinion was not only correct, but that mine was ridiculous. That is why over the weekend, I took students in that class to the side and showed them the evidence. Everyone who has seen it, concurs with my opinion, but before I showed them the actual text and what the other professors said, they looked at me dubiously. So by allowing the error to go uncorrected, not only would I be yielding to someone out of fear, but I would be damaging the reputation I have. Standing up to someone has nothing to do with pride. it has to do with courage. It would be pride if my position was false and I was trying to fight for it anyway. But if my position is true, then it’s not pride. Also, by attributing pride to me you are violating a moral principle. “It is better to be wrong about someone’s intention, than to attribute evil to an innocent person.”

 

[Aquinas_Jr]

And just to clarify (since everyone seems intent on judging my intentions), the fact that it was my opinion that was being portrayed as ridiculous doesn’t matter insofar as it is mine but insofar as it was right. I would be happy to have my opinion portrayed as ridiculous if it were a wrong one.

 

[Joe_5859]

And just to clarify (since everyone seems intent on judging my intentions), the fact that it was my opinion that was being portrayed as ridiculous doesn’t matter insofar as it is mine but insofar as it was right. I would be happy to have my opinion portrayed as ridiculous if it were a wrong one.

Who was judging your intentions?

Don’t judge others too harshly for urging caution. I have known a number of people who have experienced blowback from correcting their professors. It happens.

Obviously, you already did what you felt was the best thing to do. My strategy in a case like this would be not to approach it from the vantage point of proving him wrong and me right but rather to approach it from the vantage point of seeking his explanation of this evidence that seems to contradict what he has said.

If we are right, but are right in an annoying way, then people are more apt to ignore us on general principle.

 

[Aquinas_Jr]

Whoever said I was doing it out of pride was judging my intentions

 

[vz71]

And just to clarify (since everyone seems intent on judging my intentions), the fact that it was my opinion that was being portrayed as ridiculous doesn’t matter insofar as it is mine but insofar as it was right. I would be happy to have my opinion portrayed as ridiculous if it were a wrong one.

Can you please indicate within the thread the judgement of your intent?

As to this apparent victory, I hope you are right.

I see so much of myself, my thoughts, and the circumstance in your posts I feel like past me is screaming at me through a time machine.

I hope this does not cause the problems for you that it did me.

 

[nodito]

Can you please indicate within the thread the judgement of your intent?

I think OP is taking exception to my post, where I suggested that his attitude comes off as being prideful. His concern appears to be primarily that his reputation for knowing Aquinas was damaged by this professor.

I did read the OP. The actual question was:

Now, do I email this original professor back with what the other professors told me in order to vindicate what I said, or do I just leave it alone and consider him a person not worth the effort since correcting him will be in private and won’t benefit the class which was subject to hearing his false opinion overcome mine?

OP, you neither need to vindicate yourself nor consider your professor a person “not worth the effort.” I would have said, e-mail him if it would benefit him and future classes or if you think he’d be willing to share his mistake with the current class. If neither of those outcomes were likely, I would have advised you to offer up the indignation you felt and let it drop. It’s the virtue of humility, and it’s something that I find incredibly difficult myself, but I think it’s the way to go.

 

[Annie39]

AquinasJR I hope that you will print out this thread to read in the future when you can be more objective. . You say that you are an “older student” I wonder how old. My guess is that you aren’t out of your twenties yet. Appealing to force may be a logical fallacy but it is wise to listen to that person. I don’t think that the person was telling you not to correct an error but to go about it in a less irritating way. You said that you brought the professor and the students up-to-speed. That is good enough. Also the person who was empathizing with you may have been giving you some “been there done that” sort of advice. It is wise to listen to those who went before you.

I agree with Nodito when he wrote “you neither need to vindicate yourself nor consider your professor a person “not worth the effort.” I would have said, e-mail him if it would benefit him and future classes or if you think he’d be willing to share his mistake with the current class. If neither of those outcomes were likely, I would have advised you to offer up the indignation you felt and let it drop. It’s the virtue of humility, and it’s something that I find incredibly difficult myself, but I think it’s the way to go.”
“Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall”. Humility is a virtue that most if not all of us struggle with.