Knowledge Essay

1128 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: constitute knowledge

Knowledge can be defined in a number of ways. According to the widely accepted definition, knowledge is “justified, true belief”. Many facts that we have learned have been discarded and replaced by new contradictory or more accurate information. Nowadays, in the era of rapid development of technology, the expansion of human knowledge and the revelation of new facts and misconceptions has become even more frequent. The world we live in is subject to constant change and our knowledge about it is often modified. New discoveries and theories are sometimes dramatically different from the current true belief, that it makes us uncertain whether any knowledge represents the absolute and unchangable truth. Therefore, we pose the questions: To what extent is all knowledge truly reliable and how can we be certain about its expiry date? And how do the Ways of Knowing (imagination, faith, emotion, reason) affect the lifespan of knowledge?
Although it is a fact that knowledge is subject to change, we cannot question everything we know and consider our knowledge as just a temporary truth which has no actual scientific value even though it is, at times, discarded and proven wrong. This essay will attempt to answer the knowledge issues stated above, in relation with the Area of Knowledge: Natural Sciences and the Area of Knowledge: History, showing how the strength of justification and reason impacts the everlasting validity of some knowledge, as opposed to widely accepted beliefs which solely rely on imagination, faith or even emotion. In addition to this, we will also discuss how that which has been discarded still has its value in the way that it helped provide a certain basis for the further development of knowledge.
New discoveries and chan...

... middle of paper ...

... of knowledge change could even be predictable. Knowing this, if we are capable of understanding the principle patterns of how facts change, it can greatly help us in dealing with all the uncertainties that surround us. Even though it is evident that some knowledge is not everlasting and that it has its expiry date, we cannot claim that many facts which are scientifically proven, based on strong reason and justification, will ever change. Our planet Earth is a part of the solar system and it orbits the Sun. This fact will never change. We must not be driven into a delusion of questioning everything we learn. In fact, we should instead take advantage of the uncertainty of some knowledge and perhaps use it to develop our own critical thinking and reasoning. Such changes should not cause uncertainty but instead provide and anchor to the everlasting crave for knowledge.

Show More
Related

  • Theory of Knowledge Essay

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    The methods that available in the production of knowledge are limited by the ethical judgments, but the definition of whether the method is ethical or not depends on a couple different things. The first one is the personal judgments. Each person would have different judgments for the same method. However, one personal based judgment cannot be universal. The second one is the social judgment. It is related to the personal judgment. When a personal opinion for a method is agreed by most of people in the society, this opinion would become a social judgment.

    Read More

  • Natural Sciences Essay

    1266 Words  | 3 Pages

    Remember when it was published that Pluto is no longer considered as a planet? I remember that our physics teacher was really angry about the fact that in space agency discarded the fact that was known and generally accepted by the general public. In my essay I will discuss how the “old” knowledge was affected when there were new aspects of particular knowledge discovered. I will focus on two areas of knowledge: The natural sciences and the arts and I will ask myself: To what extend can new knowledge contributes to abundance of old, generally recognised facts?

    Read More

  • “Knowledge is nothing more than the systematic organization of facts”. Discuss this statement in relation to two areas of knowledge.

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    To sum up, in our community of learners the knowledge that we have today consists of facts that are universally acknowledged and considered to be truth. The word fact that from Latin means something that is doe, when organized systematically forms knowledge, however it changes over time. Difference between facts can be seen in different areas of knowledge for example in history and natural sciences, where language and reasoning are used as tools of attaining knowledge. While language can be used as a manipulator of knowledge by taking advantage of it being the main source of attaining knowledge, reasoning is a logical justification of facts. Both of them can be changed as for in case of language another powerful authority may capture the power and in case of reasoning new type of facts or statements can be present that will lead to shifting the knowledge.

    Read More

  • Theory of Knowledge Essay

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    Knowledge is something that can change day to day, which can be learned through both the natural and human sciences. Knowledge changes in the natural sciences when an experiment is conducted and more data has been gathered. Knowledge changes in human sciences when patterns are recognized in society and further tests have been conducted. Does our knowledge of things in the natural and human sciences change every day? I think that our knowledge grows everyday but does not necessarily change every day. The areas of knowledge that will be discussed in this essay are natural and human sciences. In History we can see that at one point something that was considered knowledge then transformed into different knowledge, especially in the natural sciences. However, in the past, due to lack of technology, it might have been more of a lack of knowledge that then turned into knowledge on the topic.

    Read More

  • Knowledge: Memory, The Grounding Force Of Knowledge

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    The meaning, scope and reliability of what we call knowledge is without a doubt completely based on our ability to remember things. We have to remember our justifications of why we find things to be true and the truth in being justified in believing things to be knowledge. The vast libraries of human knowledge as well as the things we as individual hold to be basic truths only exist insofar as we can remember them. The most basic source of knowledge being memory is the grounding force in it as well. Without memory of truths past, present and future, we can know nothing. Memory grounds knowledge, and always will as long as humans have the capacity to do so.

    Read More

  • Obtaining New Knowledge: Historical Events

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the natural sciences, a knowledge issue that may stem from the statement of “That of which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow” is: “How can we justify that new knowledge always causes pre-existing knowledge to become discarded?” With the natural sciences, new knowledge is constantly being formulated by information based from the results of experiments and/or new discoveries. New knowledge in this area of knowing may interfere with already existing knowledge by making the pre-existing knowledge become less valid. As William Lawrence Bragg said: “The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them.” A topic that came up in a past history class of mine regarded the times of Nicolas Copernicus and Gallileo. Nicolas Copernicus used reason and sense perception ...

    Read More

  • TOK

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    There’s always a new theory, experiment, or work that can prove a new stance. With the progression of time, knowledge can sometimes be discarded. But what is knowledge? And what kind of factors can impact it which leads to it being discarded? Knowledge is information centered by a concept that conveys a message and can be acquired through learning or memory. Many different factors can have an effect on whether someone accepts information as knowledge or knowledgeable. The biggest impacts are biases. Some are not able to detect their own personal biases, which are influenced by culture, gender, race, religion, etc., and therefore can discard knowledge based on their experiences. Which brings me to another factor, experience is what can change the mind of a knower. It can influence him or her to accept or not accept information. Acceptance is connoted differently than from what it used to be; just because one accepts something, does not necessarily imply that they believe it. For example, I accept that many cultures around the world believe in arranged marriages; however, I do not consider it to be an ethical act. Overall, perception can always be influenced. Today I say that being forced into marriage is wrong, the next day I could be doing the same with my own child. The point is that one will never be able to tell what they will consider to be knowledge. In this essay, the two areas of knowledge I will focus on, in agreement with the quote, “That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow,” are history and human sciences.

    Read More

  • Essay On Knowledge Is Knowledge

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    Knowledge is the fact, information, or skill that is acquired by a person through experience or education. It can also be defined as the theoretical or practical understanding of a given subject. Knowledge can be acquired in different ways. The moment that we are speaking, reading, walking, or even giving an opinion to a certain topic can be considered as knowledge. We are unaware that we encounter knowledge in every moment of our lives. But as human beings, what is knowledge? How can we connect it to different happenings in our everyday lives?

    Read More

  • Is Knowledge Provisional Essay

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    Knowledge is rarely considered permanent, because it is constantly changing and adapting as time passes and new discoveries are made. This title roughly translates into the question: to what extent is knowledge provisional? In other words, to what extent does knowledge exist for the present, possibly to be changed in the future? At first glance, one’s mind would immediately stray to the natural sciences, and how theories are constantly being challenged, disproven, and discarded. Because of this, one might be under the impression that knowledge is always provisional because there is always room for improvement; however, there are some cases in which this is not true. There are plenty of ideas and theories that have withstood the test of time, but on the other end of the spectrum there are many that have not. This essay will evaluate the extent to which knowledge is provisional in the areas of the human sciences and history.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Ambiguity In History

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is often easy to conclude that ambiguity exists in most of what we know. This reinforces the common idea that as we gain more knowledge, the less we truly know. We tend to ask more questions than receive answers following a large discovery for knowledge and because of this, we can never be certain about our current understanding of the world. As an IB knower, reading this statement conveys the incompressible vastness of our world and what surrounds us, further emphasising this idea that what we know now maybe misperceived. Many moments in history have replicated this,

    Read More

  • Essay On Knowledge And Knowledge

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    By saying “the whole point of knowledge” it restricts the statement by referring to the fact that the only reason for acquiring knowledge is to produce meaning and purpose. In order to fully answer and understand this questions, first we must define Knowledge in the context of our personal lives. Knowledge is a process of acquisition; it’s how we gain knowledge that shapes us as a knower, rather than the knowledge itself. Meaning is defined as how your paradigm is impacted by the knowledge and purpose is defined as giving an emotional or tangible aim to the knower. I interpret “our personal lives” as referring to a generalised human experience at a personal level. With these definitions being established and kept in mind, I can go forth and

    Read More

  • To What Extent Does the Knowledge of Today Qualify as the Knowledge of Tomorrow?

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    “That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow.” The pursuit of any given knowledge may or may not change over time if contradictions are stated and proved. While looking at the pursuit of knowledge, the perception that focalizes on the specific subject can be seen as reliable or unreliable due to bias or reason. Knowledge is also different in different fields of study. The use of reason will define certain things for an eternity, while others are made out of emotion. The time period of the relating to the acquiring of the “modern” knowledge could impact the resolution, appointing the fact that history has its own way of forming new concepts to old ideas. In connection to the history aspect, the perception of ideas during that time period will affect future references to the said concept.

    Read More

  • Justification Of Knowledge

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    Knowledge, which is believed and justified as true, is usually supported by facts, believed to be true by the Ways of Knowing such as perception or reason. However, this claim may be limited by using the term “nothing more”, as knowledge may contain more than only organized facts. This essay will evaluate the claim in relation to Mathematics and History, involving Ways of Knowing such as reason and perception. As an IB student, studying is not only a process of memorizing knowledge provided, but also evaluating the process of generating knowledge of the subject studied. In relation to Mathematics, I will address that knowledge can be supported by concepts that cannot be perceived or are not necessarily a fact, and that the organization of facts can happen after the knowledge is generated. In contrast, I will look at how knowledge in History is difficult to be justified and therefore can be biased depending on who is organizing the facts.

    Read More

  • To What Extent is Knowledge Provisional

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    Knowledge has a preliminary definition which is that it is justified true belief. Due to its dynamic nature, knowledge is subject to review and revision over time. Although, we may believe we have objective facts from various perceptions over time, such facts become re-interpreted in light of improved evidence, findings or technology and instigates new knowledge. This raises the questions, To what extent is knowledge provisional? and In what ways does the rise of new evidence give us a good reason to discard our old knowledge? This new knowledge can be gained in any of the different areas of knowledge, by considering the two areas of knowledge; History and Natural Sciences, I will be able to tackle these knowledge issues since they both offer more objective, yet regularly updated knowledge, which is crucial in order to explore this statement. I believe that rather than discarding knowledge we build upon it and in doing so access better knowledge, as well as getting closer to the truth.

    Read More

  • Essay On Knowledge Of Knowledge

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    By using the areas of knowledge, history and the natural sciences we will see the issue of how false information in history can be regarded as the truth and those natural sciences are constantly shifting with new breakthroughs and information being assimilated. History provides information of the past and how small events can lead to large scale ones but if the information given is falsified or wrong it may cause inaccuracies in knowledge. Natural science shows us how knowledge must be tested before being discarded an...

    Read More

More about Knowledge Essay

Open Document