Personal Exploration of Knowledge Paper-epistemological analysis - Assignment Example

? Personal Exploration of Knowledge Paper-epistemological analysis Personal Exploration of Knowledge Paper-epistemological analysis Over the centuries, philosophers have been preoccupied with the question “How do I know what I know?” The source of knowledge is very important to philosophers because it makes the knowledge we have moire credible and trustworthy. Epistemology, also known as the theory of knowledge is a branch of philosophy that is mainly concerned with the nature, sources and scope of knowledge (Tsoukas, 2005). The word epistemology comes from two Greek words episteme, which means knowledge and logos, which means study. The term epistemology was first introduced in philosophy by a Scottish philosopher, James Frederick Ferrier. Philosophers, through epistemology attempt to answer the philosophical question “How do I know what I know?” by examining the various ways through which knowledge can be acquired and the extent to which human beings can know about certain entities or subjects. Epistemology enables philosophers to analyze knowledge in relation to belief, trust and justification. There are various types of knowledge such as knowledge how, for instance how to drive; knowledge that, which is also known as propositional knowledge, such as knowing that P is P and knowledge by acquaintance, which is knowing a person or a place. Epistemology is mainly concerned with propositional knowledge (Nonaka & Nishiguchi, 2001). When trying to analyze knowledge, epistemologists often distinguish between a priori and a posteriori forms of knowledge. A priori form of knowledge that is independently known that is it does not come from ones experience or senses. This type of knowledge is acquired from sources outside experience such as reason and is usually arrived at beforehand. On the other hand, a posteriori knowledge refers to the type of knowledge that is acquired from experience. It is also known as empirical knowledge and is not known before hand from ones previous experiences. Most of the scientific knowledge is empirical in nature as it is based on previous experiences. Here are various sources of knowledge identified by philosophers. According to Feldman, a renowned philosopher, there are five major types of knowledge, which include perception, memory, expert testimony, introspection, and reasoning (Feldman, 2003). Perception refers to the type of knowledge derived from one’s senses. It is based on ones sensual perceptions and on the view that the primary source of knowledge is one’s experience. Perception is also referred to as empiricism. Reason is the other source of knowledge. His type of knowledge is acquired a priori, that is outside the realm of senses. This source of knowledge is based on pure reason where truths are deduced based on existing knowledge, for instance mathematical truths. The opinion that reason is the primary source of knowledge is often referred to as rationalism. Introspection has also been widely acknowledged as a major source of knowledge among philosophers. This type of knowledge is acquired through personal internal self evaluation (Feldman, 2003). Through introspection, one can know that they are tired of hungry for instance. Some philosophers recognize the similarities between introspection and perception but have widely accepted it as an independent source of knowledge. The other source of knowledge is memory. This refers to knowledge acquired from information stored in one’s brain based on knowledge previously learnt either from current information of past events. Testimony on the other hand is a source of knowledge acquired through communication we get from others (Cooper, 1999). Some philosophers have raised concern about testimony as a source of credible knowledge and have proposed that knowledge derived this way must be verifiable in order for it to be trusted and believed as knowledge. All these sources of knowledge have gained support throughout epistemology and philosophy in general. However some philosophers have reservations on other sources of knowledge and prefer to associate themselves with certain sources of knowledge as opposed to others. The two main sources of knowledge are experience (perception) and reason, which have led to creation of two major philosophical schools of thought empiricism and rationalism respectively. Personal experience of knowledge is very important for philosophers and epistemology students as well. It enables them to internalize epistemological concepts in analyzing the knowledge they have acquired from various sources. In the contemporary world, individuals can acquire knowledge from various activities and daily interactions with people around them. One can acquire knowledge at a concert, visiting museums or even from unstructured activities such as taking a walk in the woods. Bearing in mind the five main sources of knowledge, individuals can get epistemological experiences in everyday activities. I am a very introspective person and I like doing a lot of reasoning. I find reason and introspection very comfortable ways of getting new knowledge. In some cases however, I get to learn through experience and testimonies from credible sources such as people with experience and authority as well as learning from my memory. In analyzing propositional knowledge based on propositions such as S knows that P, where S is a person and P is the subject or entity hat is known, one seeks to identify the sufficient and necessary conditions that enable one to know something. This requires one to use both traditional and non-traditional approaches in epistemological analyses. Knowing something requires a justified truth belief (JTB), that is, one cannot know false propositions (Moser & vander, 2003). Knowledge therefore requires having a very high degree of truth and belief. The three conditions, justification, belief and truth are all necessary and jointly sufficient for knowledge analysis. Both the traditional approach and the non traditional approach agree on the fact that the three conditions are all necessary and jointly sufficient for knowledge. The difference between the two approaches however sets in when it comes to how justification ought to be done. Is S knows that p, then this can be regarded as epistemological knowledge is S believes that p is true. Justification is meant to ensure that the belief of S in his/her knowledge of P is not merely by luck. In the traditional approach, a proposition is justifiable if it can be justified from reason on the point of view of the person who knows. The non traditional approach on the other hand bases justification of propositions on the degree of objectivity of the truth in the statements. A proposition is regarded to be knowledge if it originates from reliable and credible cognitive process (Moser & Vander, 2003). A walk in the woods can be a very good opportunity to acquire knowledge. It gives you an opportunity to experience nature with a great atmosphere o reason, introspect, or recall from your memory or even learn from the experience of being in the woods as well as getting expert knowledge from authorities who know some of the natural plants and animals or insects in the woods. I recently took a walk in the woods and I got to learn a lot. Throughout my walk I was able to see lots of different types of vegetation and insects, some that I had seen before and known about while also encountering some that I had not seen before. I was able to rediscover the beauty of the natural world. I recalled in my memory what I had learnt before in my science classes back in school about the animal and plant life. One thing that I learnt from my walk in the woods is the impact that human actions have on the plants and animals in the woods. I came across several sections where plant and animal life had been disrupted by human actions such as road constructions through the thicket, cutting down trees, entrenchment in to the woods for settlement among others. I learnt that most of the animals are forced to migrate to new habitats, or even die and become endangered when their homes are invaded by human beings. In analyzing the knowledge that I got from my walk in the woods I is important to determine if the three main conditions have been met. I believe that it is true that human activities in the woods negatively impact on the plant and animal life in the woods. The belief can be justified with evidence that some of the plants and animals in the woods are becoming endangered or even extinct as they struggle with human beings for limited resources in the woods. The fact that human activities are detrimental to the lives of plants and insects in the woods is very objective and can be verified both from experience and from rationalism. References Cooper, D. E. (Ed.). (1999). Epistemology: The classic readings. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Feldman, R. (2003). Epistemology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Moser, P. K., & vander Nat, A. (Eds.). (2003). Human knowledge: Classical and contemporary approaches (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Nonaka, I., & Nishiguchi, T. (Eds.). (2001). Knowledge emergence: Social, technical, and evolutionary dimensions of knowledge creation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Tsoukas, H. (2005). Complex knowledge: Studies in organizational epistemology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Read More