What is knowledge, and how should we approach established truths around us? At university, we are expected to both learn and question the information given to us. As the below paragraphs will entail, many philosophical arguments promotes the idea of subjectivity and individual translations of our surroundings.
Even though the writings of philosophers like Kant and Socrates might seem outdated stylistically, reflecting on what true knowledge is (and how it is attained) is crucial for a modern citizen of the connected world!
Kant and subjective conceptions of logic
Kant and subjective conceptions of logic
Since the beginning of time, humankind has tried to make sense of the surrounding world. We have turned rocks to discover new eatables, we have built boats to sail to find new land and we have engaged in science to excel as a civilized species. Kant's preface to his complex work "Critique of Pure Reason" leads its reader to question whether or not what anything that she or he percepts can ever truly be called facts.
Kant's perception of knowledge is based on priori and post-priori knowledge. I.e., facts or truths that we know as universal and constant (e.g. maths and the laws of physics), and facts or truths we discover through experience (e.g. the pain of a broken heart or work experience).
Further, Kant draws connections to how the human mind is adapted to concepts of space and times, and that our pure logic hence can establish truths such as mathematics. He argues that pure reason can bring a person to know important truths, but he does not believe that it may help him or her to understand more complex metaphysical issues of human existence.
Kant argues that the human mind is incapable of simply receiving information. Rather, he suggests that we interpret it and shape it with our own preconceptions. A vivid example is that of tinted glassed. Every person, according to Kant’s theory, wears irremovable glasses that are coloured by their past experiences and accepted truths. His statement that humans shall thrive in the field of metaphysics if we accept that all object must conform to our cognition can be linked to this concept of “tinted glasses”.
Since metaphysical issues are not accessible to human senses (e.g. touching and hearing), past sensory experiences are of no use. But cognition and priori knowledge/reason is, especially when it is extended beyond definitions of truth, senses and experiences. If mankind goes beyond experiences by senses and what is in our grasp, we may (according to Kant) thrive in the field of metaphysics by focusing on how objects are created for us in our own perceptions.
Kant's perception of knowledge is based on priori and post-priori knowledge. I.e., facts or truths that we know as universal and constant (e.g. maths and the laws of physics), and facts or truths we discover through experience (e.g. the pain of a broken heart or work experience).
Further, Kant draws connections to how the human mind is adapted to concepts of space and times, and that our pure logic hence can establish truths such as mathematics. He argues that pure reason can bring a person to know important truths, but he does not believe that it may help him or her to understand more complex metaphysical issues of human existence.
Kant argues that the human mind is incapable of simply receiving information. Rather, he suggests that we interpret it and shape it with our own preconceptions. A vivid example is that of tinted glassed. Every person, according to Kant’s theory, wears irremovable glasses that are coloured by their past experiences and accepted truths. His statement that humans shall thrive in the field of metaphysics if we accept that all object must conform to our cognition can be linked to this concept of “tinted glasses”.
Since metaphysical issues are not accessible to human senses (e.g. touching and hearing), past sensory experiences are of no use. But cognition and priori knowledge/reason is, especially when it is extended beyond definitions of truth, senses and experiences. If mankind goes beyond experiences by senses and what is in our grasp, we may (according to Kant) thrive in the field of metaphysics by focusing on how objects are created for us in our own perceptions.
Socrates and his critique of knowledge as perception
Socrates example of seeing and hearing through our eyes and ears, rather than with them, refers to the fact that they are a mere tool for our perceptions, and that all perception is subjective. The assumption that we see and hear with our eyes, implies that the knowledge is a set thing which is already out in world for us to simply take in. When viewing the senses as ‘instruments of the mind’, one understands (just like Socrates) that they are a step in the process of attaining (subjective, nevertheless) truths from the world. With senses confirming each other, and together with previous experiences and an inherent sense of logic, we make sense of our surroundings.
A photo is a nice illustration of this concept. Are the eyes all that is needed to gain knowledge from a photo, or does it require interpretation from the soul as well? Socrates would argue for the latter.
When Socrates states that ‘the soul views some things by herself and others through the bodily organs’, he strengthens his idea of knowledge as reasoning about impressions of senses. This argument resonates with parts of the empiricist claim that sense experiences are the ultimate source of every human concept and truth. The empiricist will claim that knowledge can only be attained by experience, but Socrates would argue that this is only partially true since he argues that the soul has to reason about these experiences in order for knowledge to be found. Hence there is a conflict between empiricism and Socrates idea of knowledge.
A true empiricist might even regard Socrates as partially rationalist. The ‘innate knowledge thesis’ argues that we have knowledge of some truths in a particular subject area as part of our rational nature. Socrates argued that men have ‘some natural or latent logic’, and one might connect such belief to the innate knowledge thesis (even if knowledge and logic are not synonyms).
The text reads fairly easily. The feeling is that the author is engaged and somewhat enthousiast about the topic. The illustrative examples of tinted glasses for Kant and photo for Socrates were used in an effective way to help the reader in visualizing the theory.
ReplyDeleteIt was strange that the first text mentions Kant, the author, but Socrates which is a fictive character in the second text. Better would have been to name Plato, the author.
It would also have been desirable to see the author go further in examining the topics outside of the texts at hand, linking to other sources to contrast.
Stylistically I find the text at a good level; good vocabulary and aimed at the target group. One remark is that the author did an attempt in remaining gender neutral at one point where referring to "him or her". I would recommend to instead use "them" in a similar context.
The text reads fairly easily. The feeling is that the author is engaged and somewhat enthousiast about the topic. The illustrative examples of tinted glasses for Kant and photo for Socrates were used in an effective way to help the reader in visualizing the theory.
ReplyDeleteIt was strange that the first text mentions Kant, the author, but Socrates which is a fictive character in the second text. Better would have been to name Plato, the author.
It would also have been desirable to see the author go further in examining the topics outside of the texts at hand, linking to other sources to contrast.
Stylistically I find the text at a good level; good vocabulary and aimed at the target group. One remark is that the author did an attempt in remaining gender neutral at one point where referring to "him or her". I would recommend to instead use "them" in a similar context.
The author seems to have a good understanding of the text and the topic of the theme, as well as an interest in learning more. Both posts are well written, and I would have wished to go deeper into putting Kant and Plato into different context, I was really interested in the thoughts on happiness/sanity vs mental instability and would have wished the author to follow that thread more. What could be the consequences of a breakdown of the organization?
ReplyDeleteI thought the thoughts about media and the example of "truths" about what a perfect body looks like, were very interesting and very relevant! Social media does play a major role in todays society and how we perceive the world. It mirrors what we think is "normal" or should aspire to be. In a way, media today sets the rules of what we think and feel, especially when it comes to our own self.