Expert Opinions in the Search for Knowledge

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Throughout recorded history, societies and populations across the world have relied on individuals regarded as ‘experts’ and their valued opinions to provide insight and clarification to aid the search for knowledge. This essay will assess the importance of opinions by people deemed to have a certain expertise in terms of the search for knowledge. In the question ‘how important are the opinions of experts in the search for knowledge?’ the terms ‘opinion’, ‘expert’ and ‘knowledge’ are fundamental, and thus repeatedly feature in the body of this essay. For the purpose of this essay, the following terms have been defined according this knower’s understanding of them: An ‘opinion’ is an individual’s perspective towards a certain issue or topic. An ‘expert’ is an individual that is professionally qualified in a certain field, and/or has a level of advanced knowledge or experience in that particular field that is highly specialised. ‘Knowledge’ is the acquisition of information, grounded in a certain specialised area of knowledge. As I am writing this essay, the crisis in Libya is unfolding before us. Yet, due to restrictions on foreign media, news providers like CNN have been unable to enter Libya to provide us with on-the-ground reports, therefore, we as an international audience are limited in our search for knowledge in regards to Libya as expert news providers are not present. At the moment, CNN is relying on ordinary Libyan citizens to provide amateur footage and first hand accounts of the crisis, however, questions could be raised as to whether these ‘ordinary’ citizens can be recognized to be ‘experts’, particularly since their information is being broadcasted to the world. Given the restrictions in Libya, these ‘ordinary’ c... ... middle of paper ... ...for knowledge to a certain extent. Implications of the evidence suggest that not all experts facilitate the search for knowledge, and some experts, like Professor Rohan Gunaratna may limit or distort the search for knowledge. Furthermore, It must be assumed that experts, who are deemed to be beneficial in the search for knowledge, base their opinions on information that is accurate and reliable. This knower feels that the number of experts in society that facilitate the search for knowledge considerably outweigh those few experts that hinder the search for knowledge, and therefore, it can be concluded that the opinions of experts are important in the search for knowledge, especially in highly specialised fields. Bibliography The Age. (2003). Analyse this. Available: www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/20/1058545648013.html Last accessed 24th February 2011

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