Class T-shirt mottoes:
Required text: A collection of selected
readings.
. |
See About Assignments:
Read About Research. Test 3: This page for "notes" on philosophy terms. |
Introduction:
What is 'knowledge'?
The beginning of wisdom is getting things by their right name. -
Chinese proverb
There is a great difference between knowing and understanding:
you can know a lot about something and not really understand it. ~ Charles
F. Kettering.
| In a 2001 study of Champlain students, it was found that first semester students tend to believe that: > | Knowledge is Absolute, ie. it is all out there and we just have to access it and then, remember it and learn to apply it. |
| Later, students will come to understand that: > | Knowledge is not independent of circumstances; it is contextual. |
This transition can be a very unsettling experience, and it is the objective
of this course to help you with it.
==============================================================================
Let us begin by defining knowledge. Since it would be
merely tautologic to say that it is "stuff we know," we have
to examine the word, know and its meaning.
What's the difference:
to know Fred,===================================================================
to know your sister,
to know how to sew,
to know English ?
In the Old Testament, know can mean to have sexual relations with someone: "He knew his wife and they had two sons."
We have to be precise or we cannot reach understanding. Eg. hypothesis and theory do not mean the same thing. When they are used, it is usually in the context of a point of view called the rational [of 'reason',] the objective or scientific, one.
- words denote [point to something] but words also connote [contain associations and allusions.]
- knowing the etymology [origin] of a word can help us with its history and therefore, its meaning
- a hypothesis is an idea based on attention paid to events/phenomena
- phenomenon (pl. -a) is the word philosophers use to refer to anything at all that occurs as part of reality. The connotation is a metaphysical one because it implies that things appear or turn up due to whatever outside (or inside) force or god or --- makes them do so.
- after it is tested, a conclusion is reached. When the conclusion seems to be able to predict consistently other 'findings', then it is a theory. In other words, it is fact. It is the truth as far as we can tell.
In the West, the highest academic degree in any discipline is the Ph.D -- a doctorate in philosophy. Why? Because it is felt that to know any one aspect profoundly is to have a glimspe of Truth.
Knowledge, Belief & Prejudice is a Humanities course featuring
epistemology
(theories of knowledge,) one of the branches of philosophy.
Philosophy comes from two Greek words, philo meaning
loving
(that is, caring about) + sofia, or wisdom.
A possible definition of wisdom is the insightful application of knowledge.
Sophia is a deity once especially venerated at Istanbul-Constaninople in western Turkey (Asia Minor).Philosophy, which is an activity, includes:The Hagia Sophia, a.k.a. Aya Sofia, was built by Emperor Constantine to honour Christ as an embodiment of wisdom, and is now a museum, though it was formerly a mosque.
As we have seen, any word denotes something and also connotes other things. For instance in Quebec, the red octagonal sign that in other places is merely a traffic signal has taken on references to political questions and to Bill 101 on language.
Also, we need to be aware of the fact that sometimes words are used for entirely non-existant things. This is sometimes known as reification (making a thing). An example, some would say, is the word soul. Before the discovery of the gas now known as oxygen, people referred to a substance called phlogiston which they believed was a fluid associated with fire.
Finally, we often use words in such a way that we conjure up a reality where there is none. Famous examples are phrases like "There is no rhinoceros under the table" or "The Golden Mountain does not exist."
See philosophers Ludwig Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell.if you are interested in this.How do we Know?:
About Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951): "Philosophers are like flies caught in a bottle, buzzing away, trying to break through the glass. The real task is to show the fly the way out of the bottle." & When he was told that someone had given up working on his Ph D., as he had decided he had nothing original to say, Wittgenstein allegedly said, "For that action alone, they should give him his Ph.D." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Look in the paragraph above at the verbs we use in connection with knowledge. We seem to treat it as if it were there in wait for us. Sometimes it is thought of as at a higher elevation or at a great distance. We also think of it as being concealed by a deity as in the Genesis story. In fact, the verb "to know' has been used as a euphemism (nice sounding phrase) for the sex act: "Adam knew his wife, Eve", and so we have the expression: to have carnal knowledge. This usage exemplifies the notion people have that to know is the fulfilling of an appetite, or other biological function.
It is even thought that knowledge may be harmful: Curiosity killed
the cat. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
We also speak of mastering a subject.
Divisions:
Since at least the time of Aristotle (fl. 350 BCE),
reality, that is the world of phenomena or of appearances, has been
subdivided for reasons of convenience as well as tradition, into various
categories. One important one is: living things versus
non-living. Of the living, another distinction is between animals
and plants.
The Middle Ages brought us the idea of disciplines, discrete (clearly distinct and separate) areas of reality to be studied, usually referred to by students in high school as subjects. It is important to realize that these are artificial separations. One would hope that these "subjects" are in fact, objects. :)
Chronology: The system we have been using in the West to differentiate ancient and recent times, the BC/AD business, is almost arbitrary. It is based upon an artificial and incorrect notion of the year of Jesus' of Nazareth's birth. Denis the Short determined year 1 AD (not year 0; thus starting the confusion about when a century actually begins) working from Alexandrian tables (Weber 11) . The setting up of symbolic barriers across time conditions us in a limiting fashion. Consider that the phrase Middle Ages itself refers to times the people of the Italian so-called Renaissance saw as leading up to their peak of cultural perfection. Notice how some people think, when we say the millenium, we are referring to an apocalypse at the end of time.
To put a more culturally relative face on our system, the modern trend is to use BCE (before the contemporary or common era) and CE (the common or contemporary era). BP is used sometimes (Before the Present) which is the same as saying ago, as in four years ago /4 years BP.
Reasoning: To ensure consistency in
discussion, we use logic. It reveals that there is a three-part
structure called a syllogism found in any bit of reasoning.
It consists of three ideas/statements that are related: the major premise,
the minor premise and the conclusion. When someone
makes a mistake, that is, comes to an illogical conclusion, it is usually
because one of the premises was incorrect. For example
| Major premise | Small furry animals that meow are cats. |
| A corollary: an associated idea/extension derived from a premise/law. It can never contradict the premise since a thing cannot be both true and false at the same time. | Small animals that are NOT furry do not fit in, here. |
| Minor premise | I have a small furry animal that meows. |
| Conclusion | My animal is a cat. |
Even if he thinks his pet animal meows, but is not furry it can NEVER be considered a cat, under these conditions of logic.
Messing around with the SYLLOGISM in ADVERTISING : eg. tv commercial for LOMOCIN
| Minor syllogism. | Lamisil is the best seller, but it is used between the toes. |
| This is the part that is really the conclusion. >>>>> | Buy Lomocin, a foot spray -- it's better. |
| This line is not really the conclusion, but the major premise of the argument. It is wrong because it is based on a false premise: What something is known as does not necessarily describe its nature [unfortunately]. | Hey, It's not called "athlete's TOE" ! |
Prejudice or pre-judging (called bigotry when directed against certain people-as-a-group) is a kind of belief that usually prevents any further objectivity. It is based on a fallacy, an error in reasoning, in which an individual is not treated as such, but rather as part of a group. This group is seen as essentially different from "our" group and its characteristics are the result of stereotyping. In this way, a kind of caricature is founded, by those holding the prejudice, around superficial characteristics that have little to do with the truly valuable qualities of human beings such as intelligence or creativity which contribute to the survival of this species.
In psychological terms, bigotry is a form of displacement -- a defense mechanism relied upon by members of society who are unable/unwilling to recognize that they themselves are the inadequate ones. In other words, it is a technique used by the weak to bolster their own egos. It is as if, not being able to play the game by the rules, they want to change them.
Ways of Knowing: Some observations are subjective; they are based upon personal observation and interpretation, and are likely to have emotional aspects. Whether your toe hurts or not is a subjective experience. It is very difficult to draw universal conclusions about subjective experience. Insight may provide valuable information, but it is not considered as verifiable or universally applicable and hence, as useful in this culture as is objective experience. Objectivity and empiricism are the foundations for knowledge that is universal in nature.
Protagoras
of Abdera (c. 490-420 BCE) was one of several fifth century Greek thinkers
(also Gorgias, Hippias, and Prodicus) collectively known as the Older Sophists.
They were a group of traveling teachers expert in rhetoric
(oratory) and related subjects. Protagoras is known for three claims
(1) that man is the measure of all things (which is often interpreted
incorrectly as radical relativism, ie. there is no right or
wrong. (the phrase continues: "... of things that are, that they are, and
of those that are not, that they are not.") (2) that he could make the
"worse (ie, weaker) argument appear the better (stronger)" and (3) that
one could not tell if the gods existed or not.
Two approaches to discovery
It used to be said that "Science is analysis [taking apart]
and Art is synthesis [putting together]." Do you agree?
Research: The scientific method is a useful tool with which to reach objective knowledge which is also known as truth. Units are known as facts, which is somewhat ironic since the word fact has its origin in the Latin word for something that has been made up, ie. fabricated.
Occam's Razor: William of Occam (1280-1349) provided us with the essential maxim or principle that may be summarized as: the simplest explanation is usually the truth. For example, in the case of the empty cookie jar in a home with hungry child upstairs while the parent has been downstairs doing laundry, the explanation that someone entered unseen while the child was watching tv, and left taking away all the cookies is not likely to be the truth of the matter.
Scientific Method
We make observations, then try and come up with an explanation for
them. This initial explanation or idea under examination is known
as a hypothesis.
Testing or verifying hypotheses leads to the elimination of some of
them.
It was Karl Popper
(1902 - 1994) who suggested that instead of trying to prove our ideas or
hypotheses, it would be more productive to attempt to disprove an idea
in every imagineable way in order to discover whether it holds up as a
fact.
What is left after it has been rigorously tested is the theory.
Hence, the word theory means
truth; it is
similar to
law or fact.
It is certainly wrong to think that theory means just a half-baked
notion. For example, the theory of evolution is not "just"
a theory.
Popper was a staunch supporter of the idea that rational argument is not conflict, but rather a process by which truth may be approached. Understanding this is what may distinguish an educated from an uneducated person. Rational argument is the basis for the academic tradition.
Hierarchy of information
The words that we use connected with knowledge can be ordered according
to our confidence in the information.
truth
fact
theory
hypothesis
idea
Where do we rank belief? What about trivia, or the
neologism, factoid?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our culture:
We live in the West, not soley a geographic designation but
a cultural one. It is characterized by Judeo-Christianity founded
in a mythology with a sky god. (A mythology is any traditional,
sacred explanation that is rooted in the oral tradition. When written
down, it is often called scripture.) It is also founded in
the Roman Empire established at the turn of the second-to-last millenium;
that way of life, structure of cities, organization and administrative
style, and its militaristic approach. We are the Romans.
The Bible is what Christians (any followers of Jesus) call the combined Old and New Testaments. The scripture of the Jews known as Torah contains most of the substance of the "Old Testament" but is not identical with it. [Tanakh is the expression for Torah, Prophets and Writings.]
The West is also becoming more and more closely associated or identified with those who can use the English language.
History of knowledge:
For a large portion of recorded history, most knowledge was transmitted
by elders and religious/political authorities. Ideas were rarely
questioned, and there were many topics that it was not permissible to explore.
Finally, political revolutions combined with the end of the reigns of terror
instituted by the Catholic Church through its agency, the Inquisition,
and by the Puritans in their opposition to free thinkers, gave rise to
a period of intellectual and scientific exploration in the 18th century
in Europe, a time known as the Age of Reason. Questioning
information became possible and even fashionable. Experimentation
and exploration, collection and invention became all the rage. Thus astrology
began to be replaced by astronomy, and
alchemy became of
less importance than chemistry. When we speak of Western
knowledge we usually mean the result of objective study.
In a few places in the East, like India and Tibet, the quest
for knowledge was centred on the nature of the mind. Through
meditation, yoga, and the tantric tradition, methods and results
were transmitted from master to student in a direct manner.
The masters whose method actually produced results would have the most
students. This usually functioned as a kind of winnowing process,
so lineage is very important in choosing a teacher and a method if one
wants to investigate this subjective or inner knowledge, usually called
Wisdom.
| Finding out :
One type of clear, simple question - Is there any life outside planet Earth? or Is there any evidence for the existence of Yeti a.k.a. Sasquatch or Bigfoot?
|
Do you know we are looking
for extra-terrestrials?
Did you know that http://www.generation.net/~hemalhem/seti/ is Montreal-based? You
can participate in the search by helping to process data using only
the screen saver mode on your own home pc !
|
Evaluating sources and information
Is it accurate? Is it unbiased?
Quality of writing [spelling, grammar, clarity]
Quality of design is not necessarily an indicator but could be. Why
or why not?
Authority: genuine [derived from peers and mainstream professional
organizations] or self-promotional ie. advertising.
Take a look at this site:
http://ambassadorformankind.org/ri-bulletins/index.html
Be very alert here; there is a definite agenda. Can you
find it?
Evaluating assumptions
The kinds of assumptions we make depend upon the paradigms within which
we are thinking.
Paradigms: See also Corben, The
Struggle to Understand. ch. 15
A Few Interesting Books
Allport, G. The Nature of Prejudice: [ bigotry, racism, et al. ] It's on reserve for your viewing pleasure.
Bodmer, Frederick and Lancelot Thomas Hogben.The Loom of Language
: A Guide to Foreign Languages for the
Home Student. pb., 1999.
Bronowski, Jacob. The Ascent of Man.
Burr, Chandler. A Separate Creation. [the nature of homosexuality]
Kosslyn, Stephen and Olivier Koenig. Wet Mind: The New
Cognitive Science. Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan, 1992.
[octopi communicate with seagulls}
Nuland, S. How We Die. [the nitty gritty of the death process]
Watson, Lyall. Dark Nature: A Natural History of Evil.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1995. 'theodicy'
USE YOUR BROWSER'S BACK BUTTON TO GET WHERE YOU WERE, OR USE
THE MENU BELOW.
| blue OFFICE | ASSIGNMENT menu | KBP recent topics
w. link to old topics |
Format page |
