Ways+of+Knowing

Knowledge.  I believe knowledge to be justified true belief. I also believe, as stated in my research below, that for a belief to be knowledge it must satisfy each of these clauses individually. If one is said to be wrong then the proposed knowledge is not knowledge but just belief. The problems with this philosophy arise as, like my classmates pointed out, the definition of belief is found to be inconclusive of knowledge. Another problem for consideration is the that it is impossible to encompass all knowledge, to understand all there is to know in the natural world would be inconceivable.

Research-
· Knowledge has no all-encompas sing definition. It consists of many theories and definitions. · It can be defined as expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject, what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information or awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation. · “Justified true belief” as defined by Plato. Separate the statement into three individual clauses; “justified”, “true” and “belief”. If one of these cannot be met then “it” is not knowledge. · Epistemology is the study of the theory of knowledge. · It is necessary to distinguish between being in a state of mind and actually partaking in the task. · Knowledge is transferred through symbolic representations. However, there is no complete form of knowledge transfer. · Written word, could potentially, be the cause of untrue knowledge found in society. Plato believes that it is easier to spread false knowledge through writing. · Situated knowledge is the knowledge of a specific situation. · Unable to compute and have complete understanding of an entire knowledge database, therefore, knowledge is always only partial knowledge. · Never possible to know all the variable of a situation. · Belief that is true just because of luck does not qualify as knowledge. · William thought experiment: Suppose William takes a medication that has the following side effect: it causes him to be overcome with irrational fears. One of his fears is that he has cancer. This fear is so powerful that he starts believing it. Suppose further that, by sheer coincidence, he does have cancer. So his belief is true. Clearly, though, his belief does not amount to knowledge · Theory of justification attempts to understand the justification of propositions and beliefs. · Empiricism (the evidence of the senses), authoritative testimony (the appeal to criteria and authority), and logical [|deduction] are often involved in justification. · Many different methods to acquire different form of knowledge. · Certainty and truth constitute knowledge. · Defining knowledge brings about many issues concerning objectivity and opinion, classifying what exactly the justification of knowledge. · Knowledge is derived from impersonal and personal sources. · Notable difference between true knowledge and knowledge that has been distorted through power and ideology. · Erich Fromm describes Scientific knowledge as not absolute but instead optimal.

Sources:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/knowledge-analysis/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_justification http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descriptive_knowledge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge

Examples of The Ways of Knowing-
Belief- An example of belief could be that I believe that I will play well in my next soccer match. Since I have played well in the past it is valid for me to believe that this time I will play just as well. This is, however a potentially unreliable belief due to the fact that at any stage before the game I could injure myself.

Faith- Considering faith a way of knowing could potentially be very sporadic. Faith is based off of emotions and internal belief that is entirely individual to a specific person. An example of this could be me saying that I have faith that all the student s will pass the quiz because they all studied hard.

Acquaintance- Acquaintance can be considered renewed contact with something or someone specific. An example of this could be my good acquaintance with math since I have been studying it for many years. In this way I deem acquaintance to be a good form of knowing.

Practice- This way of knowing is reliable due to the fact that it is simply repetition or continued contact with a certain area of life. My practice of a certain sport could be a good example due to the fact that I have acquired experience through repetition. This way of knowing would also be dependent upon the extent of practice.

Introspection- An example to this way of knowing would be that I state I have introspectively gained deep understanding or knowledge of myself. This form of knowing could only be valid for aspects of knowledge, which are directly related to the person doing the knowing.

Empathy- Empathy is dependent upon the person from who it is coming. Each and every person has a different level of empathy, a different level to which they allow others to share feelings. As a way of knowing empathy could be described as the spreading of knowledge through the sharing of feelings and/or emotions. I could relay to my girlfriend through empathy that I care deeply for her by sharing my feelings with her. Empathy could be unreliable, as feelings tend to change.

Instinct- An example of the most basic instinct ingrained in our DNA is the ability to learn to walk. Instincts can be construed as knowledge that is involuntary or even primal. The only problem I could foresee with this way of knowing would arise if there were some fault with certain biological systems.

Ethics or Conscience- Like empathy, conscience/ethics are completely dependent upon the person being mentioned. I could have different ethical beliefs than Adam. Adam could believe that abortion is morally wrong while I, on the other hand, could believe that choice is more important.

Empirical- Empirical implies or references knowledge that is based upon experience and observation rather than theory or logic. For instance I could legitimately state that I have empirical knowledge concerning my sister's routine in the morning. I know that she takes extensively long in her morning rituals because I observe her each morning.

Logical- Knowledge based on the premise of logic or sound and clear reasoning accompanied by rational thinking. Logical knowledge can easily be visualized by the property of Barbara syllogism;

All animals are mortal. All men are animals. All men are mortal.

Authority- A common example of an authority would be a teacher. If I believe Mr. Klatt, then I am stating that he holds a certain superior understanding of a subject and that he is most likely a good source of information. The problem with this hypothesis is that on certain occasions the information the authority supplies is flawed or false.

Memory- Memory for some people can be a sporadic entity. As a way of knowing memory is return of past information, knowledge, to the present. The problem associated with memory as a way of knowing is that memory is fallible. The mind can often add or omit certain details from a memory and in some cases even fabricate recollection altogether.

=The Four Main Ways Of Knowing:= = Perception- Becoming aware of something, using the five sense to make a judgement and/or knowledge acquired from sensory methods. =

- Sensory perception could be very instinctive. - Easy to adopt some perceptions to others by using different. - Lots of people have the same perception, so therefore its true; majority makes right. ||= - Uncertainty due to different perceptions. - Perception could be wrong. - Individualized between each all people; not consistent. - Some individuals might not be able to perceive a certain thing because they do not have that certain senss. -Falsely interpreted( human error). ||
 * ~ Strengths ||~ Weakness ||
 * = - Easy to form very basic ideas from the use of senses.

Emotion - A reaction to a certain perception and/or could be based on body/mind interpretations of inputs.

- Emotions could be very instinctive. - They are absolute. - Easily form ideas from emotion - Help us comprehend things on a much more personal level. - Emotions can help out in situations - Instinctive - Help your memory of things. ||= - Emotions sometimes override logic. - Absoluteness. - Emotions cannot be proved. In a sense of right or wrong. - Different for each person. - Emotions could compromise commitment. - Interfere with other ways of knowing. ||
 * ~ Strengths ||~ Weakness ||
 * = - Personal way of knowing.

Reason - Creation of ideas or judgment based upon the use of logic.

- No bias. - Instinctive; using reason as a verb. - Personal way of knowing. - Generally based upon fact. - Cause and effect thinking method is very concise way of reasoning. - Solve extremely difficult and extremely basic problems. ||= - In some cases reason is overlapped by emotion. - Or influenced by a certain bias. - Reason can outweigh societal belief, in some ways, making it dangerous. - Reason could distort truth. - Reason and the use of logic are completely individual form person to person. - Reason can be clouded by imagination. ||
 * ~ Strengths ||~ Weakness ||
 * = - Should not be involved at all with emotion.

Language - Method in which communication is carried out, and could also be referring to written the word. - Easy way of describing people, places, thoughts, knowledge, objects and ideas. - Many different ways for information to be conveyed. - Allows for articulation of abstract ideas and thoughts. - Form of expression. - Extremely instinctive. - Personal way of knowing. - Language can outlast the linguist. ||= - Can be used to portray the wrong meaning of certain information. - Written language is very much open to the interpretation of the reader. - At times language can prove insufficient to describe or explain certain aspects of knowledge. - Misinterpretation is a big factor in the use of language. ||
 * ~ Strengths ||~ Weakness ||
 * = - Universal to the majority of mankind.

=What role do personal experiences play in the formation of knowledge claims?= = =

[|Role of personal experience-AK.docx] =Syllogisms=

if all monkeys are mammals and all mammals have hair then all monkeys have hair.

if all men are two legged and all two legged things are humans then all men are humans

if fire is hot and everything hot is red then all fire is red.

if all trees are green and if everything green is living then all trees are living.

If all pillows are soft and all soft if made from feathers then all pillows are made from feathers