268.28

Description: Discussed the concepts of relative and absolute truth in the context of perspectivism. Delved somewhat into how understanding perspective and bias can help us to better understand our universe and perform well in our position as Jedi.

Assignment: Read the following passage and answer the cooresponding questions. Post your responses in your Journal.

“(1) Nothing violates our quality of life more than the threat posed by environmental pollution, and of all the sources of pollution, there is none quite as insidious as the corporation. (2) The trouble with the majority of companies is that they understand the problems we face rather well, but they are deaf to solutions, for they see through obscured lens, most principally concerned with the state of their pocketbooks. (3) They are open to solutions until the factor of credits becomes involved: then, with a smile they promise to adapt their corporate model within their budget to work on problems, only to fail to change anything of worth. (4) They run their advertising schemes showing how much “greener” they have become, how eco-friendly they really are, but meanwhile, they dump their poisons into the very air we breathe. (5) This my friends, is a travesty. (6) The Galactic Alliance recently released a study demonstrating that as many as thirty-eight percent of corporations are in moderate or severe violation of Galactic pollution codes, and only half of those corporations had taken any steps during the last five years to reduce their pollution output. (7) Ika’am Ikbar, the undersecretary to the President of the Galactic Environmental Watch (GEW), put it best in her statement at the Coruscanti Pollution Convention on 263.12: “For every minute we allow this problem, it becomes a little more difficult to solve…a pollution tax is the only way to stop this plague.” (8) And indeed it is, because when we deal with companies in our modern capitalist system, we must first remember that the only language they understand is money. (9) By imposing a small, nominal fee for every time a company violates environmental standards on any Alliance world, we would discourage these corporations from continuing to pollute our air and our land. (10) They would be forced to change their business models overnight. (11) Surely the public must come to see that this is the only way we can move forward, lest the health of our children be put at risk.”

1) The author’s perspective can be best described as…

a) Neutral. The passage is unbiased and conveys accurate information.
X b) Persuasive. The passage is biased and in favor of the idea mentioned.
c) Persuasive. The passage is biased and against the idea mentioned.
d) Persuasive. The passage is biased, but it is not clear which idea the author is in favor of.

2) Is sentence 3 an example of bias? Why or why not?

a) Yes, because some companies do change things of worth.
X b) Yes, because the author makes generalized statements that cannot be directly supported by facts.
c) No, because the author does not include his own opinion.
d) No, because some companies may indeed do what the author described in the sentence.

3) Is sentence 6 an example of bias? Why or why not?

a) Yes, because there is no information telling us how many companies are guility of minor violations, only moderate and severe ones.
X b) Yes, because there is not a corresponding study showing information that supports the opposite side.
c) No, because the author does not include his own opinion.
d) No, because the government conducted the study.

4) The author used the quote in sentence 7 to:

a) Show the other side of the story.
X b) Justify his own opinion.
c) Add more relevant information to the passage.
d) Inform the reader about Ikbar’s position in the GEW.

5) The author used sentence 11 mostly to invoke…

a) Surprise
b) Sadness
c) Distrust
X d) Fear

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