2016

Learning Society

Ronald Johnson
Michigan State University – EAD 860
2/8/2016
Ron Johnson

Donald Schon theorized that “the loss of the stable state means that our society and all of
its institutions are in continuous processes of transformation”. (Smith, 2000) Inherent in this idea
is that the world must continue to learn from different points of view based on an evolving
society. For instance, with the rise of the electronic age (i.e. the internet) there is a greater risk
for adopting misinformation as fact; therefore the ability to critically think, distinguish and
scrutinize information has become integral to understanding the world. The film Erin Brockovich
highlights a need to educate society in ways beyond the classroom, and to incorporate real world
learning experiences to understand how to connect the dots, formulate hypotheses and take
action that leads to positive change.
The protagonist, Erin, is portrayed as a working class single mother who possesses an
inability to maintain consistent employment, likely stemming from nurtured cynicism that make
it difficult to exercise restraint and show professionalism in the workplace. It is unclear if she is
educated. However, she demonstrates a greater aptitude to read and decipher client files and
corporate intention than the paralegals who look down upon her. Navigating proper sources of
information has potential to shape political and social views, sometimes in a dangerous manner.
A stronger emphasis on liberal arts and right brain cultivation is essential to the ability to reason
critically and filter through bad information, strategies integral to learning and ensuring a healthy
understanding of world culture and a more peaceful existence.
Learning is defined in this unit as “the activity of acquiring information, ideas, skills, and
attitudes leading to changes in behavior or in ways of thinking and perceiving the world”. Erin
utilized an alternative learning approach by illustrating how to navigate proper sources of
information to determine links in the conspiracy to cover-up the toxic water pollutants caused to
the residents of Hinckley. She quickly displays an innate ability to reason critically from a right
brain perspective and filter out nonsensical information, such as questionable doctor findings,
from a more worldly view of learning than her college educated colleagues. She was able to see
through the medical clearance of potential health risks by wisely noting the doctor’s conflict of
interest – that is, being compensated by PG&E directly and potentially falsifying documents to
cover-up liability for medical expense damages. Her intuition led to hands-on investigative
research that ultimately tied PG&E to the medical issues and inspired affected citizens of
Hinckley to file a class action suit holding the corporate giant accountable.
Howard Gardner argues that as a society we need to figure out how to balance
intelligence and morality “to create a world in which a great variety of people will want to live”.
(Smith M. K., 2002, 2008) In contrast to the legal team’s greedy intentions behind the lawsuit,
Erin was motivated by morality and civic mindedness. Learning to understand morality and
one’s place as a contributor to society enhancement aids in a healthier civic minded approach
towards a better well-being for all. Whereas her more seasoned colleague failed miserably at
attempts to connect with the families, Erin’s empathetic, communicative approach proved
integral in obtaining enough authorizations needed to bring suit against PG&E. Her humanity
efforts were key to this case, not only in helping bring social awareness to corporate
responsibility for properly containing toxic chemicals, but also in the prosecution team learning a
moral lesson by highlighting their responsibility to make a difference in creating a better society
with a more humanistic approach to law. Uses of learning include a broader based approach to
incorporating the meaning of life into decision making. Erin’s humanitarian approach tackled the
meaning of life conundrum by questioning motive, at one point challenging the defense team
during settlement negotiations as to how much their lives were worth. Her contrarian viewpoint
was instrumental in increasing liability damages and holding a multi-billion dollar corporation
responsible for knowingly compromising societal health. She correctly realized a more
substantial settlement would benefit society by affecting how corporations tighten up their
systems approach to potentially mitigate fiscal crisis.
A return to prioritizing liberal arts studies, similar to the way the nation’s original
university used to approach education, can offer a less pragmatic point of view that considers
true knowledge a function of more than simply what is logical. As the movie artfully showed,
left brain thinking is pragmatic but at times does not allow for alternative forms of thinking that
ultimately proved vital in expanding this case from a simple real estate transaction to a more
complex issue of morality and corporate accountability.