Being humans, we are inherently curious creatures, ever ready to learn something new. In order to survive in and learn about this world, we normally use the four conventional ways of knowing: emotion, perception, reason, and language. From traditional definitions, we know tools are things used to shape, form, or finish. The above quote by Abraham Maslow can be applied to the pursuit of knowledge. In the TOK context, we can make interesting discussion about the limitations of our ways of knowledge, and the advantages and disadvantages we might face by using a select combination of them.
As discussed above, over-reliance on a single way of knowing can almost never lead us to a wholesome and unbiased rendition of the truth. It is very difficult to learn anything by using only one way of knowledge. Each way of knowledge correlates with at least one other; it cannot be used alone. For example, a person who is overly logical and, hypothetically, devoid of emotions will still need to have access to the world through perception to learn anything. He cannot use his logical mind if he has no data to work with. To climb higher on the tree of knowledge, if this person can now communicate with other people via language, he can add their discoveries and experiences into his pool of data. Yet, he cannot do this if he has no sense of perception; without sensory perception, he cannot read, write, or hear any language.
In my opinion, we can apply Maslow’s quote to the pursuit of knowledge in the context of not using all four ways of knowing, eventually leading to an undesirable method of gaining knowledge from our environment and interactions. If we look at this quote from the standpoint of the theory of knowledge, we can assume that Maslow was ...
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...in our bodies to help us study and survive in our world. Yet, when used in imbalance and without check, they can turn dangerous, providing us with a misconstrued version of knowledge. To reinterpret Maslow’s quote, if we begin to rely heavily on one way of knowing as opposed to an effective combination of them, we will eventually reach a point where that ‘tool’ will just not work on the problem, yielding a faulty result. In a few areas of knowledge, some ‘tools’ play a larger role than others; however, those other ‘tools’ still have a part to play in discovering the truth. Our ways of knowing rely directly on our mentalities; an imbalanced mentality will lead to imbalanced use of our ‘tools’. The best thing we can do in order to maximize the validity and actuality of our knowledge is to consciously strive towards learning how and when to use our ways of knowing.
Knowledge helps people make conclusions, lets them be skillful, smart, and keeps them aware. People gather knowledge through experience, whether it's from school, mistakes, witnessing a situation, or trying new activities out. Including in “Fahrenheit 451”, the author, Ray Bradbury does an amazing job in explaining and describing to his audience of how society results in a setting without reasonable amounts of knowledge. People in the society of “Fahrenheit 451” begin to lose common sense after the books are prohibited to keep. In the novel 451 Ray Bradbury warns the audience that without knowledge people are manipulated easily. In reality knowledge is the key to surviving.
...how a newfound capacity to know more than they understand, suggesting the success of humans as a species may rely on never reaching (or never reaching for) a full understanding. Perhaps we should be accepting simply knowing as principle.
So to say, knowledge can either make or break a person. It can act as a benefit, for power, or loss, for ignorance. “Do not take for granted what you know. Ask yourself how you know what you know; ask yourself whom it benefits, whom it hurts and why.” (Blackboard: Knowledge is Power)
Albert Einstein once said “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot.” Knowledge can be good because it makes one successful. Then, it can also be very bad such as a criminal being too smart for the police, he or she can keep committing crime. Too much knowledge is dangerous because it may harm many, which means that many die or get scarred for life because of one simple guy with an excess of knowledge.
Francis Bacon, a widely known English philosopher and author, once said, “Knowledge is power”. People are often told they can achieve anything; however it is the individual with the most wisdom that does the most. A person with the drive for knowledge can be dangerous and an asset to both society and its traditions. Therefore, Professor Ted Llewelyn’s assertion that “knowledge is the most priceless and most perishable substance on earth” is true because with it an individual can do impossible things and without is the world remains blind.
In the gothic novel Frankenstein, humans have a bottomless, motivating, but often dangerous thirst for knowledge. This idea was clearly illustrated throughout the novel by Mary Shelley. The three main characters in the novel shared the thirst for knowledge that later lead to their downfall. In the novel knowledge is a huge theme that led to atrocious life to anyone that tried to gain it. Knowledge is hazardous; therefore, I support Dr. Frankenstein’s warning about knowledge being dangerous and that knowledge shouldn’t be gained.
People believe that they are “wise” when they “know” something. A common member of society most often feels that knowledge enables people to feel powerful and misknowledge shows a certain weakness. Thurman explained, “Being right means that the world affirms us in what we think we know. ‘Knowing’ something is a way of controlling it, being able to put it in its proper place in relation to us so that we can use it effectively… So, knowledge is power, in the sense that it empowers us to act successfully. Misknowledge… is weakness, in the sense that our action may fail in their aim, backfire, or have unintended consequences. Knowledge is security, in that we know our vulnerabilities and can avoid harm. Misknowledge is danger, in that we don 't know what others might do to us or what traps may await us. We therefore feel powerful and secure when were right, weak and vulnerable when were wrong” (Thurman 446). Thurman took a distinctive approach and taught that not knowing meant obtaining freedom and achieving wisdom. Thurman taught, “… the Buddha discovered that this most certain knowledge of the ‘self’ is actually ‘misknowledge’—a fundamental misunderstanding, a delusion. And what 's more, he realized that this discovery was the key to liberation, the gateway to enlightenment” (Thurman 447). From a social standpoint, “wisdom” allows people to obtain a certain knowledge of themselves and in this way, acquire freedom. Once this “wisdom” is gained, one becomes selfless and allows him or her self to be a greater part of
Maslow’s idea of self-actualization gives us a purpose in life, to fulfill all our needs and to be totally satisfied with what we are.
Maslow, created a pyramid that would describe each level of a humans need to survive, to grow, develop and become successful; he believed that the drive to accomplish each level becomes stronger when a level is not being fulfilled. One lever must be mastered or accomplished before an individual can move on to the next level. Each level, has an interdependency, each setting the stage for the next level; physiological, safety, emotional, esteem and self-actualization are the five stages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The needs of each level are the “unconscious desires”’ (McLeod, 2014) that drive an individual to success.
Our knowledge is a key to our success and happiness in our life to give us personal satisfaction. Knowledge is power but not always. Sometimes our self-awareness and growth as an individual gives us negative thoughts that make us want to go back to undo it. Everyone wants to unlearn a part in our life that brought us pain and problems. Good or bad experiences brought by true wisdom can be used for our self-acceptance, self-fulfillment and these experiences would make us stronger as we walk to the road of our so called “life”, but Douglas’s and my experience about knowledge confirmed his belief that “Knowledge is a curse”. Both of us felt frustrated and sad from learning knowledge.
We were taught to know, but not how to understand. We were taught for the sake of being taught, but not for the sake of learning.
People achieve knowledge in different ways. Some of the knowledge comes from historical places, reading books, talking with wise men, but the best way to achieve knowledge is education. If people are involved with education, it will be easy for them to achieve knowledge because from books, they will receive knowledge about social science, mathematics, science, business, and humanities. For example, “I had been working on the book for about three years when I went to Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for first time. The staff inmates had developed a
...dge to one or two of the other forms by suggesting that all three forms of knowledge are logically interdependent. He argues this interdependence through the context of beliefs, and objective truth, and communication. While there is a real-world example of how this theory could falter (i.e. autism), by expanding his theory to address this counterexample, Davidson’s three varieties of knowledge can actually go a long way in explaining how we come to understand the feelings, emotions, and mental states of others.
La teoría de la pirámide de Maslow explica distintas etapas y jerarquías de necesidades que posee una persona, las cuales representan distintos niveles, desde el suelo de la pirámide, donde se encuentran las necesidades más básicas, hasta la punta de la pirámide, la cual representa la autorrealización y necesidades mas puntuales y complejas del humano.
Question No. 5 “No knowledge can be produced by a single way of knowing.” Discuss.