Ways of Knowledge as a Tool - Coursework Example

Ways of Knowledge as a Tool “When the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems begin to resemble nails.” Thisis a very simple but inspiring and reality-based quotation by Abraham Maslow. Abraham Maslow was a famous American psychologist who was very popular for his hierarchy of needs. He was known for Maslow’s hammer phrased from his book The Psychology of Science published in 1966. The apparent meaning of this quote can be the application of limited knowledge at every place, whether it is needed or not. Or we can also say that with limited knowledge people mostly apply it wrongly or inappropriately. In most cases people are sure that the only skill which they possess is enough to handle all the matters of life and society. The definition of this brainy and impressive quote can be quite evident. We can say that any individual is always partial towards his own mindset, and it is not necessary that he or she be broad-minded or narrow-minded. Therefore, the individual always goes for the only solution which his or her mind suggests for every possible situation. It is a very common behavior to act in a certain way in all circumstances (Suster 1). It is applicable not only to naturally developed human behaviors but also to the skills which are learned by the age, e.g., a doctor might find a problem in you which even you would not know about. Similarly, a skin specialist can suspect a small scar on your face which you did not bother about at all. All such kinds of behaviors are always portraying a hammer and a nail type behavior, and it is very much common in our communities and the whole society. In simple words, we can say that the specific hammer is always shaping anyone’s behavior. The best approach to handling all such hammers is the understanding which can be possible due to calm behaviors. We should always try to understand others and then behave accordingly. Every person should attempt to look at the world from others’ point of view, which means how they perceive others. It is certain that anyone may not understand other person, but at least one should try for that. Yet in every situation this hammer–nail philosophy may not negative. Rather, it can also have a positive connotation. Anyone who possesses a hammer can use it in a better way because nails are always the things which keep two different things together (MacCue 1). So it means that like all the other things, we can say that every aspect of life can have a positive and negative side – all depends on its description. The theory of knowledge is an international course which is related to a standard program. This course basically teaches the procedures, or the channels, through which we can get the knowledge of any specific field. These channels are called the ways of knowledge (WOK). This tells us about the advantages and disadvantages of different ways of knowing. Another basic component included in the curriculum is the AOK, which means the areas of knowledge, i.e., natural sciences, human sciences, history, arts, ethics, mathematics, etc. When anyone is reading this article, it means that he or she must have the senses to read or re-write the essay. The four ways of senses, or four ways of knowing, identified by different philosophers are language, emotion, perception and reasoning (Kim 1). We know certain things because we have seen as they are; therefore, we can perceive them in our minds. The other source might be that someone told us verbally about anything. We also know some things because we can feel them emotionally, or subjectively. And the last source is logic, or reasoning, through which we can know something because we know the logic behind its occurrence. All above described is the common or generally illustrated ways of knowledge, but many authors have included other ways such as faith, imagination, observation, memory, etc. Now with the help of all of these, or even with the help of any one of them, one can get knowledge. However, it is commonly observed that people usually just get stick to their skill and try to use it everywhere. Say, a person possesses a good memory, so all the time he or she would be sure that he or she is right because he or she remembers the things, but it is not always right. All of these ways of knowledge are actually processes or we can say activities. But the problem occurred only when people starts to narrow down their areas or ways of knowledge. There is a famous proverb that if a person is ever bitten by a snake then he is even feared by a piece of string. This can exemplify the perception power of anyone. That’s why it is usually said to get over the perception of others because it might shape the image of people. The acquisition of one language is very easy to anyone but the problem starts when the person does not try to increase their proficiency level in that language. This is because most of the people are of the opinion that they are doing their best with this level of knowledge although they need progress or development in that field. That’s why the philosophy of hammer and the nail truly fits to the situation of narrow or limited application of knowledge. It is a fact that knowledge is always created due to interaction and the sharing of the existing information but this is only possible when people want to expand their areas of knowledge. Usually the people think that what they know is complete, what they do is perfect and what they feel is emotional. This can be true but not in all situations. There are some cases when the existing knowledge is not enough. Say for example a psycho patient not just need medicines rather he also requires a mental therapy which affect him but if we contact a medicine doctor only then it would not be beneficial for that particular patient. Emotions play a very important role in our lives. The biggest advantage of emotions is that they are free and open to everyone without any specific condition. They are the most powerful tool to affect and shape the behaviors of the people in the world at any place. But there are also some authors who are of the view which is contrary to this. According to them emotion can be the biggest hurdle in the shaping of anyone’s behavior. The areas of knowledge can be described as the fields where these ways of knowledge can be fully applied through either way or medium. When we talk about mathematics or in simple words the game of numbers then we can say it rarely affect anyone’s behavior in his or her daily routine life. But contrary to this point of view many other researchers linked mathematics with the logic or reasoning. When we consider natural sciences then they are very important in shaping our behaviors with different ways of knowledge and also in different situations. It is now clear that all the ways of knowledge and the areas of knowledge are very important but they must not be narrow down rather one should keep trying to increase the specialties of his own. Reference List: Kim, Oliver. "What are the four Ways of Knowing (WOKs)?" TOKTalk.net. N.p., 6 Dec. 2009. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. Suster , Mark. "When Youre a Hammer Everything Looks Like a Nail." 2X Entrepreneur Turned Venture Capitalist | Both Sides of The Table. bothsidesofthetable, 14 Jan. 2010. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. McCue, TJ. "When All You Have Is A Hammer: 4 Ways To Use It." Forbes. N.p., 4 Oct. 2013. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. Read More