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.
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.
it is seen that knowledge can hurt. It is also shown that sometimes one can know
Throughout our lives, we 're told that knowledge is power. However, does knowledge alone achieve this? In the book, The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, the main character, Tony, gains knowledge. In the beginning, he learns through his dependency on Adrian, his classmate. However, as he moves into his twenties, his learning stagnates. He 's peaceable to a point he seems spiritless but also too stubborn to change his original beliefs. It 's not until he wants to understand why Sarah, his ex-girlfriend 's mother, left him money and Adrian 's diary, that he actively pursues knowledge, helping him realize that his life may not be as black and white as he had thought. The evolution of Tony shows that a person needs to have an open mind in
Dangerous knowledge almost sounds ironic; knowledge is supposed to benefit us as human beings, but pursuing knowledge can lead to catastrophic events. Human beings for many years have been pushing the limits, reach past the boundaries to uncover some of the most mystical things, yet millions have died doing so, but it is what makes us human. Love and devotion are both extremely powerful forces that even some of the smartest individuals cannot explain, and putting us into life death situations, yet we still follow it. Finally the purpose of life, such a broad term, and should be simple to answer, yet it has been a question unanswered for thousands of years. Pursuing knowledge has disastrous consequences, exploration is important to us as human beings but in both the novel Frankenstein and movie Forrest Gump, it enables us to that pursuing knowledge can be fatal.
The foundation of valid knowledge depends on one’s personal understanding. To “know” means to understand or be aware. Everyone’s personal knowledge differs and the way we obtain and interpret our knowledge is usually through our spiritual beliefs. In order to gain knowledge I rely on the Word of God. The knowledge of God is the most valuable knowledge a human being can possess. The Word of God can be found in Scripture. Proverbs 2:6 tells us that the Lord gives us wisdom and that the wisdom of God results in knowledge and understanding. But it is also clear that simply being aware of God’s existence is not adequate; the knowledge of God must encompass the profound appreciation for Him and produce a loving and growing relationship with Him.
In Maslow’s theory there is a six-part choice of experiments used to conduct a psychological value system. Homeostasis, Maslow uses the example of animals and how they know what is healthy for them in order to survive, this cannot be the same for humans because there are outside forces that an drift us from the good. There are good choosers
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.
The pursuit of knowledge can lead to a humans destruction and awareness. The pursuit of
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...
...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.
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)
Question No. 5 “No knowledge can be produced by a single way of knowing.” Discuss.
Real knowledge, like everything else of the highest value, is not to be obtained easily. It must be worked for, studied for, thought for, and, more than all, it must be prayed for”
Maslow’s contributions are many and diverse; perhaps his most famous is the hierarchy of needs. Beyond the details of air, water, food, and sex, he laid out five broader layers: the physiological needs, the needs for safety and security, the needs for love and belonging, the needs for esteem, and the need to actualize the self, in that order.
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.