Critical Disposition free essay sample

In my opinion critical disposition is to look at something from more than one angle. Be open to new idea’s and not accept the first theory or concept that you are told. Create your own way of thinking and not be the type to follow a crowd. Critical disposition – a tendency to be critical â€Å"A critical disposition is a tendency to self-reflect and change one’s views when required, a willingness to question orthodoxy and challenge ignorance and injustice, and an awareness of which approach is the most appropriate in a given situation. Background: My incident took place in the very first lecture of LAWS1112, when our lecturer quoted Johnston. Although the lecture was based around what makes a critical lawyer, and the necessary skills needed, the one point that stuck out was â€Å"who benefits from the law†. This will be about developing critical disposition on the possibility of changing law to make it more beneficial to everyone as appose to specific gro ups of society. Was Law taught in a way that made you believe you can make a difference? I found that hard to take in because of my cynical view that when it came to benefiting everyone, there was this idea that made you think law was the all â€Å"great and equal opportunity for fall† which I personally did not believe and that actually studying law would most probably reflect the idea of a â€Å"perfect law†. The incident related to the overall course objectives because it was the main non orthodox description of how our law really works, and the different methods of explaining exactly what law is about. What is law? Who controls it? Why do we follow it†¦all questions that every individual asks at some point. As for a personal note, the incident related to me because I have grown up in a Arab country where law is created around money, bribery and what we call â€Å"wasta† (the hierarchy of power within the family name or how close you are to royalty). There is no such thing as committing a crime, as long as you have enough money to pay off any officials. Murder only means a larger sum of money. Nationality and race means EVERYTHING. There is no such thing as anti racism, but instead the colour of your skin or nationality means the difference between having a free pass, or working on the street for barely a wage such as 4 Australian dollars a day. Developing critical disposition on the idea that law can not be changed as this was my main trail of thought when discussing equality. Reflection: The question who benefits from the law got me thinking. Was Australian Law like this in some ways? Corrupt and only benefiting the higher class, or was their slave labour but in a different context. What was the definition of critical disposition and how was I to develop it? Did what we say go under scrutiny, or were there things that we weren’t allowed to think about? All questions that went through my head the entire lecture. I had never grown up in a western country and the idea of having laws that actually made a difference seemed almost strange and unfamiliar. It was quite difficult for me to look at the law without being negative or sceptical. Developing critical disposition was meant to be about thinking in a different way, yet growing up somewhere where change just doesn’t happen and the ruling class are never challenged. I found it hard to believe that a person or group could actually change the way people think today. I mean, if this was possible then wouldn’t feminism be long gone and equal rights be the basis of our society? â€Å"If you want to make enemies try and change something† – Woodrow Wilson, this quote in my opinion was my initial way of how I believed most of society believed. As for evaluation of â€Å"can law be changed† I was initially surprised at the fact that this course went into detail as to what aspects of law were unequal and how. I was not expecting a proper analysis from a law class to provide the idea that there were problems with the law and that we should challenge them. Because of where I was brought up and the way law related to me, I had the view that if you wanted to be part of a law system, questioning it wasn’t a way to get ahead. Creating law students with the idea that there are problems that we need to fix to create a more equally controlled and beneficial society was the complete opposite mind frame and was a way for me to develop my critical disposition. Outcomes: When it comes to improvement for the future I think the only possibly positive movement would be for me to be more willing and open to western law systems by considering the fact that Australian law varies from the laws and rules that took place. Australian laws are created in such a different manner that the way I use to think towards the law really doesn’t apply and to be a good critical thinker all angles need to be taken into consideration. For example, within Australian law people are constantly challenging rules and laws with their voices actually being heard (political parties). I think even though I knew Western countries such as Australia were run differently that we really wouldn’t be able to challenge what is considered the â€Å"orthodox† manner because we are the ones representing and therefore a good name is a major factor. I was genuinely surprised by the fact that our course did bring up material that you would not expect a typical law course to produce. i. e. â€Å"Critical Disposition†. I think being able to â€Å"think outside the box† will help me understand and have a better appreciation for the law and be especially helpful within my main interest – politics. I would like to be able to think that the fact that we are being taught to question law, that in result as the next generation of possible politicians and leaders that our learning’s will reflect and improve the law system we have today. With this in mind battles such as feminism, racism, culture boundaries and financial hardship will no longer be factors and the question of â€Å"who benefits from law† will be anyone and everyone.