What is Knowledge? By the definition from Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience. In Kantian definition, knowledge is limited within the bounds of possible experience and is not available to metaphysical.
The two definitions of the word knowledge are quite similar. We must ask ourselves, what is knowledge? Does everyone has the same knowledge? Do we all think alike, feel alike? If we don't, then obviously we would not have gone through same experience, and with different experience, we would have gained different knowledge, individual knowledge.
Let us take this topic step by step. Immanuel Kant talked about our senses are the first basic idea for us to experience anything in this world. We all can feel hot, cold, pain, tickle by using our senses. How do we know a fire is hot? We understand fire generate heat and warmth by reading books, or studying science, but that is just a truth by using our reasoning. In order to actually know how hot a fire actually is to a point that we know it could burn our skin, is by standing next to a fire to feel. Our skin can sense the heat that is generating by a fire but like I said before, we all sense things differently. For some, they may have to stand a bit closer to the fire in order to feel the heat, and for some they can stand a bit farther and still be able to feel the heat. Therefore, our knowledge of the fire's hotness is different, individual.
Another example that I can say about knowledge is death. What is death? Everyone know the universal truth/definition of the word "death", which is being dead. However, can anyone possibly have the knowledge of death without being dead? We can talk about how we feel about death, or what our beliefs on death, such as, some may believe if you are Christian you may either go to hell or heaven after you are dead, but how can anyone be sure if you haven't experienced being dead? Some may answer, I just know it because that's what I learn from bible, church, or my priest and my parents told me so. But that is just a believe system, the truth for you particularly, same as learning the definition of what is hot and death, no one can possibly know about any knowledge until they have actually experienced it first.
Our knowledge is individual, we can only know what we know but we cannot know what others know. Simply because we have never experienced what they have experienced before, we may share some common experience that is similar but no experience is exact. For instance, we all have experienced what breaking up with someone feeling like, therefore, we sometime feel symptomatic for those who is currently going through a break up because we understand how they feel in that common situation, but we would not know exactly how they feel.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
What is real?
What is real in this world? Is what we see, hear, touch, taste, feel, and experience is real? Is this so call "Earth" that we have been living is even real? After learning about Descrates' methodological skepticism, I start to question about the meaning of "truth". How often we just blindly believe things, until it becomes impossible to believe them?
The answer is, yes, we do do that quite often. For instance, if few strangers have been telling you that the person you have been in a long term relationship with is cheating on you, the chances of you to go right ahead to believe them is, well..., I would have to say it is not that high. Why? Because just like what Jack Nicholson said in the movie, A Few Good Men, "You can't handle the truth." To know learn about the truth, we have to accept all the ending outcome, even the worst possibility. It is our human instinct to deny what we don't know/don't want to know. So that we can live on with our "happy" daily life, at least not until when we have all the reasonable resources that left us no choice but to believe what is really right in front of us, which is the "truth".
Some people may say to deny the truth could be a foolish act, but is it? To be able to understand and accept the truth knowledge, we must first admit that all we have learned before the truth is false and the knowledge we already have is unreliable. For religious people, they must first believe that there is no such thing as God. For children, they must first acknowledge that their parents are not necessary their biological parents. A happy married couple, they would have to accept the possibility that his/her mate has been cheating on him/her. Or for a government, they must first admit to the whole country and themselves that what they have been doing for the nation is only causing damages.
The thing is, people do want to learn about the truth, just that we worry what we learn may not be what we like to learn. Therefore, majority of the time we choose not to learn about it, so that we can protect our feelings.
The answer is, yes, we do do that quite often. For instance, if few strangers have been telling you that the person you have been in a long term relationship with is cheating on you, the chances of you to go right ahead to believe them is, well..., I would have to say it is not that high. Why? Because just like what Jack Nicholson said in the movie, A Few Good Men, "You can't handle the truth." To know learn about the truth, we have to accept all the ending outcome, even the worst possibility. It is our human instinct to deny what we don't know/don't want to know. So that we can live on with our "happy" daily life, at least not until when we have all the reasonable resources that left us no choice but to believe what is really right in front of us, which is the "truth".
Some people may say to deny the truth could be a foolish act, but is it? To be able to understand and accept the truth knowledge, we must first admit that all we have learned before the truth is false and the knowledge we already have is unreliable. For religious people, they must first believe that there is no such thing as God. For children, they must first acknowledge that their parents are not necessary their biological parents. A happy married couple, they would have to accept the possibility that his/her mate has been cheating on him/her. Or for a government, they must first admit to the whole country and themselves that what they have been doing for the nation is only causing damages.
The thing is, people do want to learn about the truth, just that we worry what we learn may not be what we like to learn. Therefore, majority of the time we choose not to learn about it, so that we can protect our feelings.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Allegory of the Cave
In the Allegory of the Cave, Socrates suggests that, without philosophical education, we are all like the prisoners in the cave. To understand what being as prisoners in the cave is, we must understand why Socrates thinks that philosophy is important.
Socrates believes that what we know about the world is what the world wants us to know, therefore, our knowledge to the world is limited. Human is imperfect and the world that we live in is created by human, which means the world we live in is also imperfect. By being human is not about achieving the perfection, but to learn how to improve our imperfection. In order to achieve that goal, we must challenge ourselves to think and question about what we know, what the world wants us to know. It is then we can see the problems within our life and the world, and to find a solution to solve the imperfection.
In order to improve ourselves, we must challenge and free our mind to think and question outside of our comfort zone, the boundary line that the world set for us.
Socrates believes that life with philosophy is pessimistic. I think the word pessimistic is a bit exaggerated, but I do believe that life without philosophy would blind us from the truth about our own individual life, our community, our government, and our world. Also, without the truth, we would forever cage ourselves as a slave of this world.
Socrates believes that what we know about the world is what the world wants us to know, therefore, our knowledge to the world is limited. Human is imperfect and the world that we live in is created by human, which means the world we live in is also imperfect. By being human is not about achieving the perfection, but to learn how to improve our imperfection. In order to achieve that goal, we must challenge ourselves to think and question about what we know, what the world wants us to know. It is then we can see the problems within our life and the world, and to find a solution to solve the imperfection.
In order to improve ourselves, we must challenge and free our mind to think and question outside of our comfort zone, the boundary line that the world set for us.
Socrates believes that life with philosophy is pessimistic. I think the word pessimistic is a bit exaggerated, but I do believe that life without philosophy would blind us from the truth about our own individual life, our community, our government, and our world. Also, without the truth, we would forever cage ourselves as a slave of this world.
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