The Theory of Knowledge

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Recommended: Ethics in pursuit of knowledge

Producing knowledge has always been a fundamental aspect of human nature. As curious individuals, we strive to discover new facts, create new inventions, and define new ideas. This fascination with exploration is what propels us forward as a society; however, the methods we utilize to achieve these goals can be debated as ethically correct or not. As each individual has his or her own perceptions of what can be considered ethically correct, ethical judgements often vary, limiting the abilities of ethical judgements to limit the production of knowledge.
Before I examine the methods of production and their limitations through ethical judgements, I must first define several words and phrases as they will be used in my analysis. An ethical judgment is a judgment based on an individual or society’s perception of right or wrong, as well as commonly accepted values and behaviors. Two ethical models that I will utilize are the utilitarian and the rights. The utilitarian model emphasizes the greatest good for the greatest number of people. The rights model protects individual rights to freedom of speech, religion, etc. (Velasquez). Other phrases I defined are as follows--limit, method, and production of knowledge. A limit is a restriction on how far an individual can go to produce knowledge. Methods are established procedures for accomplishing or approaching a goal. Production of knowledge differs slightly between arts and natural sciences; in the arts, production of knowledge is the process of bringing common awareness to previously unknown facts, opinions, or beliefs. In contrast, production of knowledge in the natural sciences is the process of discovering and sharing previously unknown theories or innovations.
In the arts, ethical jud...

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...ll ethical judgements work. Consequently, while ethical judgements in limiting methods are efficient on a small scale, such as a family or an organization, on a large scale, it is difficult for individuals to agree on a single way to judge a method on its ethics.

Works Cited

1. Andre, Claire, and Manuel Velasquez. "Of Cures and Creatures Great and Small." Santa Clara University. N.p., 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
2. "National Institutes of Health's Guidelines." National Institutes of Health, 2000. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
3. Teicher, Jordan G. "Stunning Portraits of Crying Children That Brought the Photographer Hate Mail." Slate. The Slate Group, 04 Aug. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
4. Velasquez, Manuel, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, S. J., and Michael J. Meyer. "Thinking Ethically: A Framework for Moral Decision Making." Santa Clara University. N.p., 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

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