The editor of
Rationalist Bias in Communication Theory, Prof. Leonard Shedletsky gave a presentation about "Intuition, Ideology, and Rationalist Bias in Communication Theory" and provided his expertise and insight about this book.
Intuition, Ideology, and Rationalist Bias in Communication Theory
This paper argues that while social intuitionist theory has received a wide range of support from a variety of disciplines, communication theory has totally neglected intuition in its understanding of how we communicate while continuing to present a rationalist bias. It describes social intuitionist theory, some of the supporting evidence for it, and ties together intuition, ideology, and communication. It makes it clear that textbooks in communication theory have presented a rationalist view of communication. It is hoped that social intuitionist theory will spark a fresh body of research in communication.
While communication theory has not recognized the implications of the social intuitionist model, psychologists have gathered an impressive body of evidence to support the theory. In social cognition research, there was the idea that human inferential processes are conscious, rational, logical, and accurate, and this belief continues somewhat in the behavioral sciences although there is evidence that it is incorrect. A fresh examination is needed on just how these inferences by the receiver and the implications by the sender, carried out at high speed, impact our understanding of the communication process. Simply put, until now the default case in communication theory is the belief that we consciously reason and then we act. However, that may not be entirely true.
Rationalist Bias in Communication Theory applies social intuition theory to human communication. This book explores how research has missed accounting for a critical fact about human communication in the theories of communication, namely that we as humans can respond to one another and to all kinds of stimuli faster than we can deliberate. By applying intuitive cognition to communication, a new light can be shed on the communication process, which is what the chapters prove and discuss. This book is valuable for social scientists, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in new theories in communication theory.
About the Editors
Leonard Shedletsky, PhD., Professor of Communication, has been teaching in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Southern Maine since 1979. He teaches a range of courses in communication with cognition, discourse, and meaning as underlying themes. He regularly teaches Introduction to Communication, Research Methods, Intrapersonal Communication, Meaning and Communication, and Theories of Communication. He has taught numerous other courses, Discussion, Internet for Seniors (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute), and offered an undergraduate course in tandem on Intergenerational Communication and the Internet, and many more. He recently taught a course titled, On Bullshit, and another titled, Dissecting Bullshit. He co-authored and edited a number of books, Meaning and Mind, Human Communication on the Internet, Cases on Online Discussion and Interaction: Experiences and Outcomes, and Cases on Teaching Critical Thinking through Visual Representation Strategies. He has published numerous journal articles. He wrote the entry, "Cognition," for the International Encyclopedia of Communication, 2008. He was awarded recognition by his colleagues and the administration at USM for Stellar scholarship and teaching, 2003, 2007 & 2011 and was awarded the Russell Chair in philosophy and education for 2009-2011. He was recognized for teaching excellence in 2018. He has been working with social intuition theory to explore intuition in human communication. Based on this work, he published “Seeing bullshit rhetorically: Human encounters and cultural values” in Res Rhetorica (2018). For the past eight years he has worked with colleagues on two major projects: (1) to support underprivileged kids at Camp Susan Curtis; and (2) to build and teach a course to help college students transition into life after college, Launching into Life After College.
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