What has always fascinated me is the theory of knowledge known as epistemology. We were discussing the idea in one of our classes, stating that it was the study of the origin and validity of knowledge. To expand more on that idea, epistemology is not about understanding facts but rather why we accept them as facts. It is the study of relationships between people and truth and why we believe what we believe. Epistemologists tend to be ahistorical, meaning they believe the past can be altered to a certain extent and when coming up with ideas, they do not consider historic details.
Applying the theory of epistemology to our daily lives allows us to see how sheltered we are from knowing if the truth is really the truth. The big news corporations are run by a very small amount of people, so if these few people are the only ones telling us what is the truth, we have nothing else to compare the truth to. If every news channel on television told us that scientists have 100% proven that in 2 years Antarctica will have melted, us as the viewers do not have the means to determine if what they’re saying is true or not. This also relates to Michel Foucault’s idea that “knowledge is power”. To expand more on that idea, whoever controls the information people are hearing is in control of everything.
We mindlessly listen to information without confirming that what we’re hearing is valid or not. If everyone’s philosophy of life was centered on the idea of epistemology, a rumor we heard on the streets would be quickly proven as true or false. Instead people quickly jump to the assumption that it is true, partially because we have such a great need for knowledge that we cling to whatever “truths” we receive without bothering to see if our “truths” are valid.
References:
Foucault, Michel. Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and
other Writings 1972-1977. Ed. Colin Gordon. New York:
Pantheon Books, 1980.
Heylighen, F.. "Epistemology, Introduction." Principalia Cybernetica. Sept (1993). 29 Sep 1993 <>.
Lechte, John. Fifty Key Contemporary Thinkers. 2nd Edition. New York: Routledge, 2008.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment