Aspects of Bias and Prejudice

Whether progressive or intolerant, individual and group attitudes are a consequence of the interpenetration of several influences: personal-psychological-internal, educational-external-formal, and cultural-external-informal. In their discussion of research and writing methods and strategies, Barzun and Graff deal with how to recognize bias in psychology, academia, and media and how researchers might avoid falling into the traps of bias. The difficulty of this project is suggested by Paul, who cites Scriven's view that "common usage does not discriminate accurately or effectively between having strong and reasonable convictions about something and being biased about it." That is, indiscriminate accusations of bias do not serve serious discourse any more than does bias itself.

Bias in psychology arises either unconsciously or

. . .
ight is bound to be partial and limited, which implies an imperative toward self-critique as well as critique of the other. For example, does Kristeva's statement reflect bias toward Freud and against women, or for or against dominant culture? Or is her perspective altogether flawed? Such questions imply Paul's corrective for bias, which is ""discourse and critical exchange with other minds . . . with realism and vigilance." Academic bias in the past can be identified with traditionalist advocates of the intellectual canon, which is centered on Western philosophy and literature, most of it written by men. Bloom's Closing of the American Mind criticizes intellectual relativism in university education because it results in impoverishment of educational priorities. The notion of democracy of ideas sounds inclusive, but Bloom argues that "democracy of the disciplines" has the effect of limiting learning. Bloom's argument responds to modern challenge to the dominant canon, which is said to be biased toward "revealing fixed eternal truths than . . . active critical argument." A more radical critique, rejecting "hegemony of dead, white, European males" and associated with "atoning for white-skin privilege" has been termed politic
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Approximate Word count = 1374
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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