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Fall 2008

ISSN 0890-913X

Volume 24, Number 1

Categories: Education | Fall 2008

Distilling the Concrete From the Abstract

Butler Shaffer, Southwestern University

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TheJournalofPrivateEnterprise24(1),2008,145-153DistillingtheConcreteFromtheAbstractButlerShafferSouthwesternUniversityAbstractThisarticleaddressesthequestionofhowtheimplicationsofabstractprinciplesandotherintellectualconceptscanberenderedmoreapparenttostudentsintheclassroom.Peoplecommonlyexpressnormativevalueswithoutappreciatingtheirindividualandsocialconsequences.Theauthorprovidesanumberofclassroomexperimentshehasemployedasaprofessoroflaw.Theyareofferednotasspecificmodelstobefollowedbyothers,buttoencourageabroaderuseofmethodsoftranscendingabstractthinking.JELCodes:A2Keywords:Socialcosts,Law,Microeconomics,Socialpolicy“Ideashaveconsequences.”–RichardWeaverAnyonegoingintoaclassroomtoteachshoulddosowithRichardWeaver’swords(Weaver,1948)firmlyinmind.Acommonshortcominginthelearningprocessarisesfromthefailuretodistinguishintellectualabstractionsfromtherealitytheyareintendedtorepresent.AlfredKorzybski’snowclassicobservationthat“themapisnottheterritory”(qtd.inWilber,1977,p.41)isareminderthattheworld,andourthoughtsabouttheworld,neverpreciselycoalesce.Theword“water”willneverquenchone’sthirst,norwilltherealwaysbeagreementastoitsmeaning(e.g.,does“wateredstock”inacorporatesettinghavethesamesignificancetoarancherwithhis“wateredstock”ofcattle?).Giventhenatureofourminds,itisprobablyinevitablethatafuzzinesswillalwaysexistaroundthewordsweusetodescribetheworld.Ourlearning–whetherfromdirectexperienceswiththeworldorfromsecondaryaccounts–isinherentlysubjectiveinnature.Itiscontinuallyfilteredthroughlensesofourowncreationthatarefashionedwiththeassistanceanddirectionofothers.Weorganize145

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Title	Distilling the Concrete From the Abstract
Authors/Creators:	Butler Shaffer, Southwestern University
Year:	2008
Volume:	24
Number:	1
Pages:	145 - 153
Publisher:	The Association of Private Enterprise Education
ISSN:	0890-913X
Document Type:	Educational Notes
Keywords:	Economic Education, Social costs, Law, Microeconomics, Social Policy

Citation:
Shaffer, Butler / 2008. "Distilling the Concrete From the Abstract." The Journal of Private Enterprise, 24(1): 145-153.