Confirmation Bias In Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy

Climate change is one of today’s most hotly debated topic. Scientists for many decades have made supposed claims that current energy creation and reliance on fossil fuels will lead to inevitable changes to the planet. Today, climate change denial is still a popular to most of the world despite the mounds of evidence to support that it exists. The climate change issue suffers from being mismanaged by various parties through focusing on the wrong issues and the lack of true commitment from the general public, according to Sandra Steingraber.

The belief-bias effect is when people make judgments based on prior beliefs and general knowledge, rather than on the rules of logic. For example, when a student takes a history test and answers short-answer questions based on their prior beliefs and general knowledge about the time period, rather than thinking about the course material’s relation to the test. To maximize people’s abilities to effectively reason or make decisions, students should be taught about the belief-bias effect, so that they make fewer errors when trying to answer questions.

Climate change is the long term shift in global climate patterns attributed mainly to the use of fossil fuels. Many people are aware of this issue, however, there has been an increase in the amount of people who deny climate change. 23 percent of Americans (compared to last year’s 16 percent) believe that climate change is not a problem (Atkin). To conclude that people do not accept cli­mate change because they do not under­stand it or need to be educated about it, is reasonable. However, I believe that it isn’t skepticism driving this denial. Rather, it is the phenomenon of reaffirming one’s identity. Instead of analyzing the evidence, it is intentionally interpreted in such a way as to maintain a pre-existing belief.

In this paper we will analyze and discuss unconscious biases in our personal lives, workplace and home. How we become aware of these biases, what causes

The NL310 course has thus far presented me with a variety of topics, but the discussion about cognitive biases have resonated with me the most. I believe it has made a profound impact on me because I did not realize before how vulnerable I was to biases such as framing, confirmation trap, and the anchoring effect. Of these three biases, I think confirmation trap has the biggest influence on me. I sometimes find that when working with other mids, I look for information to confirm what I believe about them, usually regarding negative things . This has gotten me into situations in which I find it hard to sometimes find the good in people although I know it exists.

“Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education: they grow there, firm as weeds

Although recognizing the extent to which I hold bias was a painful and embarrassing process, I have learned that bias is a natural phenomenon that can be challenged through quality time with a target population paired with intentional reflection. By simply spending time with the very population we have prejudice against, we are able to build meaningful relationships with individuals. It is within these relationships that we have our hearts and minds opened to the truth that people are people and that despite what the media and culture may say, one part of a person’s identity does not define who they are. Although our biases never disappear completely, meaningful experiences that contradict the biases we hold can assist us in treating members of certain populations in a more merciful, unbiased

Self-justification is a human defense mechanism that plays a significant role in our daily lives and may damage our relationships. Most people prefer selecting details that support their beliefs and ignoring evidence that conflicts with their beliefs. This “mental contortion” as the authors call it, is “confirmation bias” (22). They explain how “when people are forced to look at disconfirming evidence, they will find a way to criticize, distort,

Assumptions can lead to implications affecting even intelligent people. Take the example of individuals listening to music on the iPod. The general assumption is an Afro African is likely to listen to rap music. Unintentional prejudice develops by watching a host of talented Afro-American musicians excel in rap. Similarly, we assume persons with tattoos are a rebellious lot often seen in dangerous situations and likely to be an ardent biker.

Confirmation bias influences individuals every day even though we might not actually realize it. Unfortunately, our brains unknowingly look at an individual and segregate them into a group. Finally, you associate all types of stereotypes to this individual, all of these steps are done without even knowing him/her. Confirmation bias is mainly negative but can be seen in a positive form. An example of a negative one is that all college kids are bad and that they are up to no good. This cognitive bias is in place, due to the things that are associated with college students, such as, drugs, alcohol, parties. However, by doing this you have a bad impression and are unlikely associate yourself with college students. But, realistically not all college

Confirmation bias is a tendency of people to prefer information that reinforces a thought or believe that they have. People demonstrate this bias when they retain information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way. The effect is stronger for emotional issues and for deeply rooted beliefs. (Science Daily)

“Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.”

Climate change conspirators/deniers is a problem to today’s population. Climate change is defined as any irregularities in earth’s weather (NASA, 2017). Individuals who deny the scientific facts that are climate change is an interesting subset of the population. Climate change conspiracy theories typically challenge the scientific proof and ultimately claim that climate change is a hoax. The reasons these individuals give vary. For one, a major claim is that climate change is natural and not a result of human behaviour/consumption patterns. Another main argument is that the science is not reliable. Despite both, and hundreds of other arguments against climate change being proven wrong, these deniers continue to believe that climate change does not exist. The primary conspiracy theory that will be focused on is the belief that climate change is a sham. Two research questions that would help understand why individuals choose to believe this conspiracy theory are: are there any common demographics among climate change deniers; and, how is this belief perpetuated in the media?

Devine (1989) argues that stereotypes are inevitable on the basis that stereotypes and prejudice coexist and that stereotyping occurs automatically. Devine attempts to prove this hypothesis in three experiments. Devine reasons that “as long as stereotypes exist, prejudice will follow.” This hypothesis is rooted in a correlation. Prejudice and stereotypes are related, however there is no clear evidence of causality; Knowledge of a stereotype does not mean an individual agrees with it.

    Some people think that the medieval churches view on sin, redemption, heaven and hell was very complex, but actually the churches views were straight and to the point. I will discuss with you what sin, redemption, heaven and hell were to the medieval churches and I will also share some examples in the story that will help you better understand The Inferno and the medieval churches views.