Doubt is the Key to Knowledge - Assignment Example

Running Head: Doubt is the Key to Knowledge Doubt is the Key to Knowledge s Doubt is the Key to Knowledge There is a renowned Persian proverb that says “Doubt is the key to knowledge”. There are great implications of this proverb into the widely established theories of knowledge as the philosophers have accepted the influence of doubt upon the process of knowledge acquisition (Bertrand, 1912). It has been demonstrated by the philosophers that knowledge is product of doubt. People strive to gain knowledge about something after examining own knowledge about that thing or issue (Jonathan, 1991). When one realizes that s/he don’t really have enough information about anything the individual tends to acquire the knowledge with the intention of distinguishing the trustworthy beliefs from the untrustworthy beliefs. It implies when there doubt is evolved in minds, people look towards gaining knowledge to confront that doubt (Boufoy-Bastick, 2005). Knowledge is a broad term that is not very simple to define. Knowledge basically deals with the notions of truth, beliefs and justification and also remains concern with the means that work out to produce knowledge. Epistemology – the theory of knowledge also addresses the issue of contribution of doubt in acquiring knowledge (Tomberlin, 1999). The theory of knowledge concerns with certain questions among them an important one is to find out the motive behind the initiation of the process of attaining knowledge. For several years, the philosophers have been exploring the dynamics of knowledge and they have found the link between doubt and knowledge (Luc and Stephan, 2003). The theory of knowledge insists upon differentiating knowing that from knowing how. It means that people are not only required to have information about anything but they also need to know how to apply that information to the object under study (Bertrand, 1912). For instance, it is not enough to study the state of balance for riding a bicycle but it is also important to attain the practical knowledge about handling and riding the bicycle to become able to rise upon it. It means that the theoretical information is not complete knowledge and it is important to have practical knowledge to become able to understand any object (Clare, 2008). In this entire process, doubt tends to play the key role because people are motivated to know how and know that only when they become unsure about the trustworthiness of their existing knowledge about anything (Boufoy-Bastick, 2005). The theory of knowledge links truth, beliefs and justification. These three fundamental conceptions of knowledge also explain the scope of doubt within the theory of knowledge. The theory of knowledge starts with the explanation of belief that tells about the thinking of a person regarding his information about anything (Clare, 2008). Belief is basically to believe something. On the other hand, truth is something that could not be categorically false whereas the belief might proves wrong and untrue. The knowledge is gained in real sense when people begun to justify their beliefs to find out the truth. Thus, it implies that gaining knowledge is the journey of justifying the beliefs to recognize truth (Adam, 2002). The influence of doubt upon knowledge has been studies from varied perspective. From one standpoint, doubt generates feelings inside the individuals to find out the answers of questions that are not clear. Some philosophers also believe that doubt make people losing faith over their belief due to which they are compelled to acquire knowledge to justify their beliefs with the help of attained truth (Jonathan, 1991). The relationship between the three major notions of knowledge is also maintained by doubt because it insists people moving from one notion to another for examining their existing knowledge and exploring new prospects (Luc and Stephan, 2003). Doubt is among the most important factors that penetrate the desire of knowing about something in the mind of the individuals. It has been regarded as key to knowledge because people are convinced to find out more about their beliefs in order to confront the doubts that challenge their beliefs and place several question marks upon them regarding their credibility and trustworthiness (Tomberlin, 1999). When people find that their pre-existing beliefs are unsecure they try to grab knowledge for testing the truth within their beliefs so that they become able to have true knowledge and information. This is possible only when people realize that their beliefs are not completely true and need justification (Matthias, 2005). Most of the inventions and theories within the discipline of science, philosophy and psychology are also led by the doubt because it make people losing trust upon their existing conceptions and opens up the door for further exploring the issue. It is also important to imagine that one will not try to explore more about anything till he will have a firm believe that whatever he knows is true and complete (Luc and Stephan, 2003). However, as soon as he gets some doubt is his mind that his knowledge might not be complete and true he will break the conventional boundaries and will move beyond the established limits of knowledge to deeply explore the subject. From this perspective also, doubt proves to be the key to knowledge because it initiates the process of knowledge acquisition (Tomberlin, 1999). The defining contribution of doubt in the process of gaining knowledge could not be overlooked because without having doubt about the accuracy and completeness of information one could not be able to have motivation of gaining more knowledge (Matthias, 2005). Doubt allows people not to accept any statement as truth without learning deep about it. The unacceptability of any statement based upon some doubt is a constructive thing that urges to explore the issue in order to find the reality behind it. The process of finding out the reality tends to significantly add to the existing knowledge about anything and people succeed to know more after having doubt on their existing level of information (Adam, 2002). If one is completely sure about the accuracy and completeness of information he held about anything, it will not be possible for him to further explore the subject because he will not feel the need of knowing more about it, no matter his existing knowledge is untrue and incomplete (Luc and Stephan, 2003). It implies that the trust of people upon their existing knowledge plays vital role in evolving doubt and once doubt is evolved, it shaken the trust upon existing knowledge and paves the way towards the gaining of further knowledge to understand complete truth (Bertrand, 1912). Many of the inventions in the field of science and philosophy are also led by doubt. The scientists and theorists went on exploring their established theories in order to examine their validity. In some cases, the validity proves to be low and ultimately the theorists become committed to explore the subject in order to update their knowledge and conceptions about that matter (Boufoy-Bastick, 2005). The entire process results in the invention of any new idea or creation or it might allow the scientists to come up with refined and update version of earlier created invention. In this way, the process of invention and creation is also fostered by the doubt that keeps people busy in finding out more about certain things and ultimately their knowledge is expanded and becomes more refined. The above discussion allows understanding the role of doubt in gaining knowledge. The Persian proverb has been examined in the context of theory of knowledge and it is unveiled that the theory of knowledge also stresses upon examining and justifying the existing beliefs in order to find out the truth. This process of justification and examination is initiated by the people only when they find some doubt in their minds regarding the accuracy and validity of their beliefs (Jonathan, 1991). Hence, it is proved that doubt is the key to knowledge because it fuels up the process of acquiring knowledge. Without having doubt one could be able to have the inspiration and stimulus for knowing more and more about any subject matter. In sum, the statement proves to be very true in the light of the established conceptions and widely accepted theory of knowledge because the three basic conceptions of theory of knowledge; belief, truth and justification are also interlaced with the help of the role of doubt. The philosophers have also realized the importance of doubt in urging he quest for knowledge therefore people are always encouraged to clarify their doubts by acquiring deep knowledge. It not only expands their knowledge but also make their minds open to accept new information that might be contrary to their existing beliefs. Without having doubt the process of knowledge is hard to start due to which doubt could be truly regarded as key to knowledge as it allows the expansion of minds and the acquisition of more knowledge and information to fill up the space created as a result of the expansion of the minds. References Adam, M. (2002). A Guide through the Theory of Knowledge (Third Edition) Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Bertrand, R. (1912). The Problems of Philosophy, New York: Oxford University Press. Boufoy-Bastick, Z. (2005). "Introducing Applicable Knowledge as a Challenge to the Attainment of Absolute Knowledge", Sophia Journal of Philosophy, 8: 39-51. Clare, H. (2008). The Theory of Knowledge: A Course book, The Lutterworth Press, Cambridge Jonathan, D. (1991). An Introduction to Contemporary Epistemology (Second Edition). John Wiley & Sons Luc, B and Stephan, H. (2003). Bayesian Epistemology. Oxford: Oxford University Press Matthias, S. (2005). "Knowledge and Skepticism", Contemporary Debates in Epistemology, Peter Sosa and Matthias Steup (eds.): 1-13. Tomberlin, J. (1999). Philosophical Perspectives 13, Epistemology, Blackwell Publishing. Read More