Little Consensus on the Theory of Knowledge

816 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays about free will

Little Consensus on the Theory of Knowledge

Descartes’ meditations deal largely with the issues of knowledge; namely can we have any, if so of what sort, and of course with what support? This essay will ask a single question of a rather different nature: Why? This stated more clearly is to ask: Why bother with knowledge or any theory thereof? In response to this, Descartes will offer several arguments; these include a simple human interest, concerns over free will, and understanding of human motivation, and a question of moral values.

One of the primary arguments posed for the motivation of humanity to pursue knowledge is an affirmation of simple human interest. Most people, whether they are philosophers or otherwise, can agree that humans have an innate curiosity. Take for example the debate of creationism versus evolution theories. In reality, it matters little how humanity came about. If there is no god, than there are still plenty of very convincing reasons for humans to live a moral life. If there is no afterlife, its lack of existence will make no difference in our feelings when we are dead regardless of anything. Knowledge of an afterlife or of a god serves little practical purpose for everyday life. The counter to this, of course, is that I am absolutely right and that the true purpose of the pursuit of knowledge in this case is that of human curiosity. Simply put, people will always care about knowledge regardless of whether or not it makes a difference in their lives practically (Pojman, p. 29).

Another argument for the pursuit of knowledge is the consideration of free will (Pojman, p. 24). The argument goes that if we are not living with free will we should know...

... middle of paper ...

...ne theory more likely than another? The answer for the skeptic is nothing, and so that is what the skeptic believes. So, why not skepticism?

The discussions above show that there is little consensus on the theory of knowledge today. Each possible belief comes complete with its own following. If anything can be shown from the discussions above, it is that one of the most important causes for divide in epistemology is opinion. Opinions are values. Some people value belief and faith in knowledge, these people pursue knowledge. Others are more interested in certainty and so are uncertain of everything, these are the skeptics. It is a sure belief that no one is certain of anything, they may believe they are, but it is belief only.

Source

Pojman, Louis P. The Theory of Knowledge: Classical and Contemporary Readings 3rd Ed. United States: 2003

Show More
Related

  • Mary Surratt and the Death Penalty

    2435 Words  | 5 Pages

    Wulf, Andrew James., Louise Taper, Silvina Niepomniszcze, and Dustin Crozier. A. Lincoln: Railsplitter to Rushmore. Simi Valley, CA: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, 2013. Print.

    Read More

  • The Rise and Fall of the Negro Baseball League

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    For the better part of the 20th century, African American baseball players played under unequal opportunity. On one side of the field, European descendants were given a license to play this children's game for money and national fame. While on the other side of the field, African slave descendants were also given a license to play - as long as they didn't encroach upon the leagues of the Caucasians. What was left over for African American player in terms of riches was meager at best. Though the fortune wasn't there, the love and fame within the African American communities made the players of the Negro Baseball League legends.

    Read More

  • Corps Of Discovery Dbq

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    Without this knowledge so early on, many more explorers may have died. Without Lewis and Clark’s exploring and mapping, the United States may not have become our land, but may have continued to be the Indian’s land, or possibly the Spanish. With the Indian’s cooperation, some of the history that had been previously unrecorded was written down, as well as scientifically inspecting the wildlife in their Western habitats. In the end, this shows that Lewis and Clark mapping the new Western territory was their greatest

    Read More

  • Race Relations In Sports

    1363 Words  | 3 Pages

    In essence, baseball resembled American society at the time. African Americans were not allowed to play in any recognized major and minor leagues of Organized Baseball from 1903 – 1947. This all changed when Jackie Robinson came on the scene and debuted as the first African American in Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson in 1947 in what was call a “noble experiment” and effectively brought the issue race on the forefront of American culture nearly 20 years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Baseball has been a sport that from its origin has been able to transcend the race issues, but not without its own share of

    Read More

  • Letter From Birmingham Jail Comparison

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thoreau’s tone is critical as he explains, “To devote himself to the eradication…(Thoreau 5),” how the government does not protect the citizens and unjust laws. He ends illustrating this tone for the understanding on why citizens should opposed. Although, KIng’s tone was also critical,but somewhat changes it. King hoped that the white moderates would help KIng fight injustice. His change of tone was changed from being calm to being furious by explaining, “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given right (King 3).” At this point he includes lot’s of emotions, also uses religious examples by adding God, to touch on the fact that his audience are pastors and reverends. Both historical figures uses a lot emotional or logical tone for the corruption and persuading to oppose the

    Read More

  • Causal Determinsim

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his paper Has the Self “Free Will”? Campbell suggests that an effective free will is confined to the domain of moral decisions. He asserts that to exercise free will an agent must be sole author of an act, not simply yieldin...

    Read More

  • Negro League History

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1920, Andrew Rube Foster created the Negro League which was a baseball league started in New York City. Andrew Rube Foster explored ways for the blacks to have the same opportunities as whites. This not only impacted baseball, but also segregation in America.This League was made to give blacks more opportunities to get into Major League Baseball. Legacy on the Negro League made baseball not segregated and more diverse in today’s baseball.

    Read More

  • Knowledge Skepticism

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    To believe something is to know it so in order to know something, it is not enough to believe it- you have to learn it or have a good reason to believe it. Skepticism talks about two types of position: knowledge and justification. The skeptic argues that we do not know what we think we do it is only a thought. Skepticism of knowledge says there is no such thing as knowledge, and justification denies the belief of justified belief existing. These two are closely related which depends on the relationship between the factors of knowledge and justification: if knowledge entails justified belief, as theorists say, then justification skepticism entails knowledge skepticism. Gettier and Nozick broke down the subject and explain their point of views of it. To defend these views, skeptics lay out many requirements for knowledge or justified belief, and try to show that these requirements are not met. It still stand that’s why if I know something and I believe it that which I claim knowledge then why do I need a reason to believe it? Is black white?

    Read More

  • The Historical Significance of Negro Baseball Leagues

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... they were able to face all of the unfair treatment (like separate water fountains or bathrooms) with a fierce face and sturdy beliefs. The Negro Baseball Leagues are honored still today as the US postal service gave out stamps with league players on them.

    Read More

  • Descartes' Wax Passage

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    The teaching of Descartes has influenced many minds since his writings. Descartes' belief that clear and distinct perceptions come from the intellect and not the senses was critical to his ultimate goal in Meditations on First Philosophy, for now he has successfully created a foundation of true and certain facts on which to base a sold, scientific belief structure. He has proven himself to exist in some form, to think and therefore feel, and explains how he knows objects or concepts to be real.

    Read More

  • Linda Zagzebski: A Virtue Based Definition of Knowledge

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    How we approach the question of knowledge is pivotal. If the definition of knowledge is a necessary truth, then we should aim for a real definition for theoretical and practical knowledge. Methodology examines the purpose for the definition and how we arrived to it. The reader is now aware of the various ways to dissect what knowledge is. This entails the possibility of knowledge being a set of truths; from which it follows that one cannot possibly give a single definition. The definition given must therefore satisfy certain desiderata , while being strong enough to demonstrate clarity without losing the reader. If we base our definition on every counter-example that disproves our original definition then it becomes ad hoc. This is the case for our current defini...

    Read More

  • Descartes' First Meditation

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rene Descartes decision to shatter the molds of traditional thinking is still talked about today. He is regarded as an influential abstract thinker; and some of his main ideas are still talked about by philosophers all over the world. While he wrote the "Meditations", he secluded himself from the outside world for a length of time, basically tore up his conventional thinking; and tried to come to some conclusion as to what was actually true and existing. In order to show that the sciences rest on firm foundations and that these foundations lay in the mind and not the senses, Descartes must begin by bringing into doubt all the beliefs that come to him by the senses. This is done in the first of six different steps that he named "Meditations" because of the state of mind he was in while he was contemplating all these different ideas. His six meditations are "One:Concerning those things that can be called into doubt", "Two:Concerning the Nature of the Human mind: that it is better known than the Body", "Three: Concerning God, that he exists", "Four: Concerning the True and the False", "Five: Concerning the Essence of Material things, and again concerning God, that he exists" and finally "Six: Concerning the Existence of Material things, and the real distinction between Mind and Body". Although all of these meditations are relevant and necessary to understand the complete work as a whole, the focus of this paper will be the first meditation.

    Read More

  • Epistemology: The Philosophical Study Of The Nature Of Truth And Knowledge

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Epistemology is the philosophical study of the nature of truth and knowledge. This branch of philosophical inquiry attempts to discover what truth and knowledge are, the process of how we obtain truth and knowledge, and the distinguishing differences between truth and falsity and knowledge and belief. The two opposing schools of thought of epistemology are rationalism and empiricism.

    Read More

  • Rene Descartes and the Source of Knowledge

    2129 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ll true knowledge is solely knowledge of the self, its existence, and relation to reality. René Descartes' approach to the theory of knowledge plays a prominent role in shaping the agenda of early modern philosophy. It continues to affect (some would say "infect") the way problems in epistemology are conceived today. Students of philosophy (in his own day, and in the history since) have found the distinctive features of his epistemology to be at once attractive and troubling; features such as the emphasis on method, the role of epistemic foundations, the conception of the doubtful as contrasting with the warranted, the skeptical arguments of the First Meditation, and the cogito ergo sum--to mention just a few that we shall consider. Depending on context, Descartes thinks that different standards of warrant are appropriate. The context for which he is most famous, and on which the present treatment will focus, is that of investigating First Philosophy. The first-ness of First Philosophy is (as Descartes conceives it) one of epistemic priority, referring to the matters one must "first" confront if one is to succeed in acquiring systematic and expansive knowledge.

    Read More

  • Paradigm Shift Essay

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is stated above happens around us all the time. Something might be proven today, but proven wrong tomorrow. Therefore I completely agree to this statement. But how do we accept something to be knowledge, and what makes one thing knowledge and the other thing just a theory? We can look at it from various aspects.

    Read More

More about Little Consensus on the Theory of Knowledge

Open Document