Knowledge Is Knowledge Today

1177 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What really constitute knowledge

When thinking of the knowledge we have today, we realize that some of it is different to what it may have been in the past. The knowledge issue that arises from the statement, “That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow,” is on what we can believe to “know” today, if it can be proven false tomorrow. “Knowledge that is accepted” is another way of saying that it’s what is generally believed by everyone, but that it’s sometimes “discarded,” which is another way of saying that some knowledge is updated or cast away as false. The problem is that people strive to gain knowledge, which can be classified as false, which makes gaining knowledge pointless after a time. I’ll be focusing on how the areas of knowledge, history and the natural sciences to be specific, are major proponents of this concept. Knowledge has never been concrete because of the way people change their views on the histories and natural sciences. I think history is consistently recorded and “revised” by many historians, and consistently gets discarded when it isn’t necessary anymore. What is accepted universally in the natural sciences is that there is always more to be discovered when it comes to what is already known, which in turn can disprove itself. It’s important to note that we are bound by the ways of knowing, as well, because it’s about how our reason and language are used, that also result in new knowledge being formed while old knowledge becomes rendered useless. There is also the counter-argument that knowledge in mathematics because it follows the principle of only having one correct answer, thus it can never be proven wrong. But, to start off, history is usually full of information that is important then gets buried with new ...

... middle of paper ...

... being replaced by new knowledge because there is an expectation to find new information to disprove what was taught in the past, this then becomes glorified by the people around. There is an outlier in mathematics because the knowledge in math is rather set-in-stone because there isn’t much to improve upon or disprove. The issue of knowledge being discarded in the other areas of knowledge is that there isn’t any way to know what is true or false. We accept what we are taught in our schools, but that’s where there can be a problem. We learn in
Page | 5
006537-0007
the theory of knowledge the intricacies of what we’ve been taught since we were children and we have to judge to an extent of how much we believe the knowledge we have received. It’s hard to argue against someone about the knowledge we learn today, when the knowledge of yesterday has already been discarded.

Show More
Related

  • Modernistism And Postmodernism

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    What we assume is knowledge in society is only what we have been told or been persuaded to believe by other high powers and dominant economical, intellectual or even political positions. For example, what proof do we have that the earth is round? We might not have actually seen it for ourselves or figured it out on our own, but it is what we have been taught to believe. “This idea simplifies what the earth actually is, and that such statements trick us into thinking that we truly understand that Earth’s shape, when really, there are many place...

    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

  • Knowledge Of Knowledge Essay

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    If knowledge didn’t evolve, then according to what was once ‘accepted knowledge,’ the Earth would still be flat. This evolution however, was only possible due to the inherently flawed means by which humans pursued this so-called knowledge. The statement we will be addressing throughout this essay – “That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow” – has a key word; “accepted.” When people accept something as knowledge based on unreliable principles, then it is bound to be discarded tomorrow. Because of the flawed ways of knowing, our knowledge is also flawed and therefore should always be challenged to ensure it is accurate and reflective of the objective world. Various disciplines – science and history– along with their associated knowledge claims will be examined closely throughout this essay to assess whether knowledge should in fact be discarded.

    Read More

  • Obtaining New Knowledge: Historical Events

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    Knowledge that is acquired and accepted as true today is constantly changing. This is because we curious humans are always generating questions that spark the production of newly conceived ideas and theories. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science.” While these ideas may be accepted as relevant and reliable currently and can be useful tools for acquiring newer knowledge, it is easy to assume that pre-existing knowledge has been discarded. This is not always necessarily true, but rather that pre-existing knowledge is revisited and improved upon. With the areas of knowledge natural sciences and human sciences, knowledge is acquired through different ways, even though they are both classified as a science. With this, knowledge issues may arise within these two areas of knowledge in which a consideration of pertaining ways of knowing must be included.

    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 the knowledge? And what kind of factors can impact it which leads to it being discarded? Knowledge is information centered on a concept that conveys a message and can be acquired through learning or memory.

    Read More

  • Essay On Knowledge Of Knowledge

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    Traditionally the word knowledge conjures thoughts of comprehension, intelligence, discovery, realization and information. The following essay is aimed at exploring the notion that knowledge develops through time as well as the way reasoning and perception make the knowledge humans have today much more advanced. Throughout the decades disagreements and curiosity were key for new findings, which eventually led to the discarding of other realizations made in the past. Knowledge is defined as “facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject” (Knowledge). In my opinion, I would also interpret that; knowledge is regarding the accuracy of our acquaintance with existence, more importantly how accurately our concepts and statements represent existence. I believe that the two ways of knowing, reason and perception have greatly helped the development of knowledge in both history and the naturals sciences, but to what extent has knowledge been discarded due to new findings?

    Read More

  • TOK Essay

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    We learn about the acquisition of knowledge from the moment we are born. We first think that we make knowledge claims through our senses when we are growing up and recognise knowledge in many forms and different sources. We are trained over 13 years in school in various subject areas such as Mathematics, Science, History, and many different subjects, and we are forced to learn the details whatever is in the book. The scientists and mathematicians reasoning lead them to come up with these theories. With the help of knowledge that we gain from these subject areas, we are able to apply them in our daily lives. I being a Mathematics Higher level and Physics Standard level student, I come across so many theories made by various scientist and mathematicians. With the help of their formulas I am able to do my experiments and other internal assessments. I often question myself of how do they come with these theories? Another question arises in our minds whether the information that we are absorbing is reliable and true? It takes a lot of effort for the scientists to prove a theory wrong. It requires a lot of paper work to be done and an effective experiment should be shown to the world so that they believe that the theory is true. There were many theories being formed in the ancient times and we use quite a lot of them till today. However, there were some theories to be superseded as the years went by and it was very much common in the field of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. This lead to republishing of textbooks and many other sources so that the society learns correct form of knowledge. A question arises in our minds whether what we are going to learn today, will it be wrong tomorrow?

    Read More

  • What is Knowledge?

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everything in our world is at a constant change over time. In knowledge, change is also the constant and we evolve around these changes. Let me define some key words in this essay. The word "discarded" in the context of this essay might not really mean erased, however; it might mean that it is no longer useful. It is no longer useful because "some" are completely discarded because of new theories. The implication is that knowledge claims are "replaced" or "evolved", as old theories are constantly being evolved by new theories. Peter Ducker states, “Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes.” Another key word: Accepted. Knowledge has to be approved by someone in order for the knowledge claims to be "justified true belief", which Plato defines it. Therefore, this research question is implying that knowledge which was accepted as justified true belief can sometimes be discarded tomorrow because knowledge claims can be improved or replaced by new ones. Thus, in this essay, I will explore the extent to which this claim appertains to natural science, history and ethics. I will also consider how the dynamics of these disciplines are affected by external factors.

    Read More

  • Loss Of Knowledge Essay

    1032 Words  | 3 Pages

    Knowledge can be defined as the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. Knowledge is a combination of facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education. However, as the times change, some knowledge gets discarded. Therefore knowledge is evolving. The knowledge that is accepted today could be discarded tomorrow. The discarding of knowledge can be related to the arts, ethics and natural sciences. Loss of languages, Loss of religion and scientific philosophies are examples of knowledge that were accepted but discarded today.

    Read More

  • The Possibility of the Discarding of Knowledge

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this essay, the extent that the discovery/ development of new knowledge in the fields of the natural sciences and history causes the discarding of older and previously held knowledge will be explored. It is important to understand that the definition of knowledge is justified, true, belief. The central knowledge issue that arises from this exploration, is that the discovery/ development of new knowledge cause things that were previously held as knowledge to be discarded. This knowledge issue will be explored across the natural sciences and history. Throughout this essay, I will attempt to show that which is accepted as knowledge today, is sometimes discarded in regards to the natural sciences and history as areas of knowledge.

    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

  • Knowledge And Epistemology: The Study Of Knowledge

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    Socrates once said “To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.”(Citation ) The study of knowledge is something philosophers have been conducting from the creation of philosophy. In fact knowledge is one of the perennial topics of philosophy, just as nature of matter in the physical sciences. The discipline of knowledge is known as epistemology(Greek meaning of knowledge and reason). Epistemology is literally defined as means to reason about knowledge, to think about knowledge and to examine knowledge so that we may better ourselves. Philosophers who study knowledge attempt to study what makes up knowledge, the kinds of things one can know, what the limits of knowledge and above all, the age long question

    Read More

  • Essay On Indigenous Knowledge System

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...s new pieces of evidence or even new perspectives based on other memories rise. Also, oral storytelling is often considered to be an “invalid” method of recordkeeping after three generations have passed on a story. Because perspectives and memories change with time, the message changes too. These factors all add to why knowledge, particularly knowledge derived from memory, is sometimes “discarded,” as the statement says.

    Read More

  • Natural Science And History

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    “There are no whole truths: all truths are half-truths.” Said by Alfred North Whitehead. In this essay explore the issue in both natural science and history, leading to a conclusion of there is no perfect knowledge in natural science and history. Our picture of the world is always an explanation and we can never be sure that our understanding is true. It is true that knowledge have been accepted as truth can be discarded. As we search down into details with ever more accurate measurements, we constantly find new evidences that contradict our accepted knowledge. A new theory developed base on the new information that explained the phenomena in a more accurate way. But the previous research was always constructed a step in the continuous ladder of knowledge.

    Read More

  • Essay On Knowledge Of Knowledge

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ethod we learn to further knowledge to increase our understanding. Those in power may try to do this for beneficial or even unethical needs but knowledge cannot easily be fully erased from history, traces will always remain and it is our job to find it. Some knowledge can withstand the test of time due to this and thus are always changing little by little in order to obtain a better or a more complete truth. Therefore in conclusion “That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow” is an accurate statement as shown from the areas of knowledge history and natural sciences. However, emphasis on the word ‘sometimes’ must be given as history shows us that it will only be discarded if wrong or can be manipulated for personal gain. While the natural science show us knowledge must tested thoroughly before being discarded as all knowledge is useful.

    Read More

More about Knowledge Is Knowledge Today

Open Document