The Theory of Knowledge—a core element of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme—is a course in epistemology and practical philosophy. By examining short texts (including but not limited to local and world issues, philosophy, history and its perspectives, and scientific research) and the knowledge issues they contain and inspire, you will gain the skills necessary to analyze knowledge claims, their underlying assumptions, and their implications.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Let's Get a Sense of Knowledge
For Thursday morning, please consider sensory perception as a way of knowing. Share two examples of things you know as a result of your senses. Try to consider different senses, and to evaluate how subjective your knowledge is in each case.
~Sensory perceptions are the most important part of "knowing." "I know" when something is hot because of my sense of TOUCH, because when I touch it, signals will be sent to my brain which will tell my body to remove it. I also "know" if something is in front of me because I'll be able to feel a object in my presence without SEEING it. Seeing is very important because I depend on my sight to know whether something is in front of me or not, and what something looks like. "I know" what color my shirt is in the morning because I can physically see what color it is. SMELL is a way of "knowing" whether something smells good or bad. If something smells bad my body reacts by either making a face, but if it smells good I might take deep breaths in to savor and remember the smell. TASTE is important because if we didn't have this sense we would be able to enjoy food. When something tastes good "I know" because I'll continue to eat, but if its bad my body will sense it, and tell me not to eat any more. HEARING is very important but sometimes I don't find it very reliable because sometimes I question what I heard, which also questions whether "I know" something or not. It can also can help because you'll be able to hear the sound of the voice which can sometimes help you "know" what kind of person they are. If we didn't have sense perceptions we would be lost, not be able to contain knowledge, and wouldn't "know" many things.
As a way of knowing, sensory perception can be understood as a person’s sight, auditory, smelling, tasting, and feeling. People use their senses trying to know the environment they live in, and their sense perception is their first understanding of the surroundings. Even before they use their knowledge to understand what are around them, their senses already give them a brief idea due to their natural body sense. However, a person’s body senses do not always stay the same because they are the feelings of the body, and they can change variously due to the people and their environment. For example, when I relaxed on my bed, and listened to a piece of music, I felt that the music was very peaceful, and I knew that it made me feel even more relaxed and joyful. Although music is usually a delightful part of my life, it is not always. Once I was doing my math homework with my headphone on playing the same piece of music, and there were a couple of difficult questions in front of me that needed highly focus. At that time, I felt that the music in my headphone was so annoying, and it disturbed my focus on the homework. When I compare these two cases, my senses of hearing are different; one of them shows that my preference for music, while the other one tells the opposite. In another case, once I was watching a horrible movie with the light off, I felt terribly scared when somebody was suddenly killed in the movie. However, after a long time, I watched that movie again during the day with my friends, I did not think the movie was as horrible as last time I watched it. In this example, the environment that I was in and the people around me influenced my feelings, and they changed my sense perception in different ways. From these two examples, I found out that the sense perception is usually very subjective, and can change in different situations. The sense perception determines my knowledge in these cases, and it is very hard to tell the exact answer, whether they are right or wrong.
The five basic senses agreed upon by kindergarten teachers the world over are vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. All of these play a key role when we learn something. Many of us are kinesthetic learners, meaning that we learn something best through physical or hands on activities. Others of us are auditory or visual learners, both pretty self-explanatory. Many of us think we know things because we learn them through sense perception. Sense perception is probably the easiest way to know something because it allows us to form an immediate opinion (e.g. the lights are on), making us know our own opinion. Through sense perception, one could learn that their hair had been dyed blue in their sleep (sight), that their mother-in-law had added more salt to the soup (taste), why their friend did not make the select choral group (sound), that their popcorn was burning (smell), or why finding someone who can lie on a bed of nails is such a hard task (touch). Most everything is learned or is complemented by sense perception which is why people perceive things so differently from one another. Sense perception is the most subjective of the ways of knowing, stemming from previous knowledge and the learners disposition, to create the sense they experience, individualized to every human being.
Sensory perception is a way of knowing through touching, smelling, hearing, tasting, and seeing. Your senses are something that you have been developing since you first opened your eyes and saw the world. When you were younger, you probably got really excited when you were playing upstairs in your room and then all of a sudden the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies filled the air. You did not see the cookies, or taste the cookies yet, but you knew they were there and you imagined what they were going to look and taste like. Like wise when there is going to be a rain storm, you do not need the weather man to tell you it is going to rain. the day of a rainstorm you can see the clouds getting heavier, and feel the humid air, making your skin feel sticky making you uncomfortable. You are able to smell the fresh rain even before it hits the ground. When the rain finally come you can sit by the window and listen to the pattering on the roof while you fall asleep. Then when you wake up you can feel the freshness of the air, as if the air also felt regenerated due to the rain. These 5 senses are the basic ways of "knowing" without needing to think. During the summer when you are walking on the pavement with no shoes or socks on, the sensory nerves in your feet tell your brain that the ground is too hot to walk on and therefore you start to walk faster or run to a shaded or grass covered area, without really thinking about what you are doing. When you get into the car and turn on the radio and it is on full blast, your first reaction is to turn it down, you do this because you "know" that your ears are unable to listen to music that loud without damaging them. when you eat new food the sensory nerves on your tongue will help you decide whether or not you like the food you are eating. It may be too spicy or not spicy enough, it may also be a strange texture that your tongue does not like. If you have ever walked by a dumpster the day before it gets emptied you will quickly block your nose because the smell is so overwhelming that your nose cannot handle it. If you are walking to someplace and you see something is in your way you will move to avoid hitting it. This is because your eyes are telling your brain that you are going to get hurt if you walk into what is in front of you. Sensory perception is the basic way of knowing without realizing that you know.
What if people saw colors differently? What if the color I identify as red is actually green in someone else’s eyes? What if an F # in my ears is a G# in someone else’s? We can’t see, hear, taste, smell or feel the world through other peoples’ eyes; only through ours. That is why sensory perception as a way of knowing is highly subjective depending on the individual.
The smell of pickles makes me nauseous. It makes my brother hungry. When I smell pickles, I know that I don’t want to eat them. However, when my brother smells pickles, he knows that he wants to eat them. This brings me back to my claim about sensory perception differing from individual to individual. We can still know things through sensory perception, but not necessarily the same things as someone else knows through similar experiences.
Another example is fashion sense. When people see a style they like, it is appealing to their eyes. However, what I find appealing is not the same as what Tina finds appealing. She might like motorcycle boots and black clothes while I prefer bright floral patterns. Therefore, she might cringe in disgust over the way I look and appreciate people who dress like her while I cringe in disgust over the way she looks and appreciate people who dress like me. I know that floral patterns are pretty and black clothes are ugly while Tina knows that black clothes are pretty and floral patterns are ugly.
Sensory perception varies from one individual to another. People use their sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing senses as ways of knowing. Growing up in a big family, I was used to hearing laughter and people talking in the living room and in their rooms. Sometimes, I could hear music coming from the living room and that always meant that someone was bored or alone and needed company. Each time I could hear music, I would go directly in the living room and cheer up the person. I knew this as a result of my hearing ability. As a kid, I grew up knowing that when it is cold, I had to cover my feet in order to feel the warmth of the blanket and sleep well. I used my sensory perception of touch as a way of knowing that if my feet are cold I will not be able to sleep well. Sight is also important to me because it helps me in identifying different things. When I look at different things, I have the ability of discerning good from evil. This gives me the power of knowing because I am capable of identifying things using the knowledge that I have about them. Smell is also part of the senses that are essentila to me, I use it a lot in my daily life. Smelling things gives me directions. For example, if a place smells bad I don't let myself approach it and also if I have food that smells bad I don't eat. I use my smelling sense in different situations and it helps me in setting boundaries for myself. Taste is also one of the senses that I use alot daily. My taste sense helps me to choose what is suitable for my mouth. For example when I eat tasty meal I get a different reaction from when I eat a bitter or sour meal. I use my taste sense as a way of knowing what I should eat or taste. Although I use my senses as a way of knowing, most of the times I find myself questioning what I sensed.
Sensory perception can be misleading, vein, and limiting, but it is all any being has when concluding what unquestionably exists while not incorporating anything religious. Sensory perception allows us complex beings to be shallow and instinctual. Sensory perception influences the standard body of a living being to seek to behave in they way beneficial to the physical comfort level of the body. Sensory perception in basic terms, is what the body knows. What the body knows is what we know, the basic senses anyways. Different bodies may have differing knowledge because what the bodies find comfortable and pleasing contrast.
For Example, the red dress I see may look utterly stunning and vibrant, but the same red dress I see may be seen as a sinful piece of satan fabric to another. Which brings me to the point that sensory perception is also influenced by the mindset associated. This permits a wider variety of knowledge that is correct because it relies solely on opinion. One cannot truthfully state that the dress is universally beautiful, only that it is beautiful to him or her.
Next, if I taste a spicy food, I may be repulsed by it. If my friend Savannah tastes it and it is her new favourite food, both are accurate. As stated previously, different bodies may have differing knowledge because what the bodies find comfortable and pleasing vary.
Each human being has a unique genetic code. Born with different "capabilities" or "disabilities" and growing with an individual knowledge which is about ones body, one can only claim knowledge of themselves when referring to knowledge through sense perception. To reiterate, sense perception allows knowledge of ones own body; unless studied through science. Sense perception also entitles a sole being to be true because perception varies upon DNA and associated thoughts; such as sight and colours.
Different people perceive things differently. Because we are all different we are going to identify certain sounds, sights, smells, textures and tastes individually. An example of something you know because of your senses is if milk has gone bad. First you will know by seeing the date printed on the bottle, second you will know by how the milk smells, and if you can not decide whether the milk is bad or not you know by how it tastes. Normally people are subjective to know if milk has gone bad before they actually taste it, but everyone is different. Another thing you know because of your senses is if someone needs help. You can see someone being attacked and you can hear them yell for help. Subjectively most people can sense tension or fear. Sensory perception is a more concrete way of knowing than some of the other ways.
Sensory perception shows us what we know because it is what we can hear, see smell, taste, and touch. For example I know that a muffin is too hot to eat when I touch it and burn my finger. I know that something is smelly when the unpleasant fumes enter my nose and I feel repulsed. The saying " the mirror doesn't lie" is also an example of how our senses let us know, because it is true, the mirror cannot lie. What you see is what you get, or what you know. If you put ear buds in and the music begins blasting at a painful volume that would be the time to remove them. If you eat a rotten egg your body knows that the egg is something that will make you sick and it rejects it almost immediately. Sensory perception is a protective system, "the body knows what it knows, listen to it".
~Sensory perceptions are the most important part of "knowing." "I know" when something is hot because of my sense of TOUCH, because when I touch it, signals will be sent to my brain which will tell my body to remove it. I also "know" if something is in front of me because I'll be able to feel a object in my presence without SEEING it. Seeing is very important because I depend on my sight to know whether something is in front of me or not, and what something looks like. "I know" what color my shirt is in the morning because I can physically see what color it is. SMELL is a way of "knowing" whether something smells good or bad. If something smells bad my body reacts by either making a face, but if it smells good I might take deep breaths in to savor and remember the smell. TASTE is important because if we didn't have this sense we would be able to enjoy food. When something tastes good "I know" because I'll continue to eat, but if its bad my body will sense it, and tell me not to eat any more. HEARING is very important but sometimes I don't find it very reliable because sometimes I question what I heard, which also questions whether "I know" something or not. It can also can help because you'll be able to hear the sound of the voice which can sometimes help you "know" what kind of person they are. If we didn't have sense perceptions we would be lost, not be able to contain knowledge, and wouldn't "know" many things.
ReplyDeleteAs a way of knowing, sensory perception can be understood as a person’s sight, auditory, smelling, tasting, and feeling. People use their senses trying to know the environment they live in, and their sense perception is their first understanding of the surroundings. Even before they use their knowledge to understand what are around them, their senses already give them a brief idea due to their natural body sense. However, a person’s body senses do not always stay the same because they are the feelings of the body, and they can change variously due to the people and their environment. For example, when I relaxed on my bed, and listened to a piece of music, I felt that the music was very peaceful, and I knew that it made me feel even more relaxed and joyful. Although music is usually a delightful part of my life, it is not always. Once I was doing my math homework with my headphone on playing the same piece of music, and there were a couple of difficult questions in front of me that needed highly focus. At that time, I felt that the music in my headphone was so annoying, and it disturbed my focus on the homework. When I compare these two cases, my senses of hearing are different; one of them shows that my preference for music, while the other one tells the opposite. In another case, once I was watching a horrible movie with the light off, I felt terribly scared when somebody was suddenly killed in the movie. However, after a long time, I watched that movie again during the day with my friends, I did not think the movie was as horrible as last time I watched it. In this example, the environment that I was in and the people around me influenced my feelings, and they changed my sense perception in different ways. From these two examples, I found out that the sense perception is usually very subjective, and can change in different situations. The sense perception determines my knowledge in these cases, and it is very hard to tell the exact answer, whether they are right or wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe five basic senses agreed upon by kindergarten teachers the world over are vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. All of these play a key role when we learn something. Many of us are kinesthetic learners, meaning that we learn something best through physical or hands on activities. Others of us are auditory or visual learners, both pretty self-explanatory. Many of us think we know things because we learn them through sense perception. Sense perception is probably the easiest way to know something because it allows us to form an immediate opinion (e.g. the lights are on), making us know our own opinion. Through sense perception, one could learn that their hair had been dyed blue in their sleep (sight), that their mother-in-law had added more salt to the soup (taste), why their friend did not make the select choral group (sound), that their popcorn was burning (smell), or why finding someone who can lie on a bed of nails is such a hard task (touch). Most everything is learned or is complemented by sense perception which is why people perceive things so differently from one another. Sense perception is the most subjective of the ways of knowing, stemming from previous knowledge and the learners disposition, to create the sense they experience, individualized to every human being.
ReplyDeleteSensory perception is a way of knowing through touching, smelling, hearing, tasting, and seeing. Your senses are something that you have been developing since you first opened your eyes and saw the world. When you were younger, you probably got really excited when you were playing upstairs in your room and then all of a sudden the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies filled the air. You did not see the cookies, or taste the cookies yet, but you knew they were there and you imagined what they were going to look and taste like. Like wise when there is going to be a rain storm, you do not need the weather man to tell you it is going to rain. the day of a rainstorm you can see the clouds getting heavier, and feel the humid air, making your skin feel sticky making you uncomfortable. You are able to smell the fresh rain even before it hits the ground. When the rain finally come you can sit by the window and listen to the pattering on the roof while you fall asleep. Then when you wake up you can feel the freshness of the air, as if the air also felt regenerated due to the rain. These 5 senses are the basic ways of "knowing" without needing to think. During the summer when you are walking on the pavement with no shoes or socks on, the sensory nerves in your feet tell your brain that the ground is too hot to walk on and therefore you start to walk faster or run to a shaded or grass covered area, without really thinking about what you are doing. When you get into the car and turn on the radio and it is on full blast, your first reaction is to turn it down, you do this because you "know" that your ears are unable to listen to music that loud without damaging them. when you eat new food the sensory nerves on your tongue will help you decide whether or not you like the food you are eating. It may be too spicy or not spicy enough, it may also be a strange texture that your tongue does not like. If you have ever walked by a dumpster the day before it gets emptied you will quickly block your nose because the smell is so overwhelming that your nose cannot handle it. If you are walking to someplace and you see something is in your way you will move to avoid hitting it. This is because your eyes are telling your brain that you are going to get hurt if you walk into what is in front of you. Sensory perception is the basic way of knowing without realizing that you know.
ReplyDeleteWhat if people saw colors differently? What if the color I identify as red is actually green in someone else’s eyes? What if an F # in my ears is a G# in someone else’s? We can’t see, hear, taste, smell or feel the world through other peoples’ eyes; only through ours. That is why sensory perception as a way of knowing is highly subjective depending on the individual.
ReplyDeleteThe smell of pickles makes me nauseous. It makes my brother hungry. When I smell pickles, I know that I don’t want to eat them. However, when my brother smells pickles, he knows that he wants to eat them. This brings me back to my claim about sensory perception differing from individual to individual. We can still know things through sensory perception, but not necessarily the same things as someone else knows through similar experiences.
Another example is fashion sense. When people see a style they like, it is appealing to their eyes. However, what I find appealing is not the same as what Tina finds appealing. She might like motorcycle boots and black clothes while I prefer bright floral patterns. Therefore, she might cringe in disgust over the way I look and appreciate people who dress like her while I cringe in disgust over the way she looks and appreciate people who dress like me. I know that floral patterns are pretty and black clothes are ugly while Tina knows that black clothes are pretty and floral patterns are ugly.
Sensory perception varies from one individual to another. People use their sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing senses as ways of knowing. Growing up in a big family, I was used to hearing laughter and people talking in the living room and in their rooms. Sometimes, I could hear music coming from the living room and that always meant that someone was bored or alone and needed company. Each time I could hear music, I would go directly in the living room and cheer up the person. I knew this as a result of my hearing ability. As a kid, I grew up knowing that when it is cold, I had to cover my feet in order to feel the warmth of the blanket and sleep well. I used my sensory perception of touch as a way of knowing that if my feet are cold I will not be able to sleep well. Sight is also important to me because it helps me in identifying different things. When I look at different things, I have the ability of discerning good from evil. This gives me the power of knowing because I am capable of identifying things using the knowledge that I have about them. Smell is also part of the senses that are essentila to me, I use it a lot in my daily life. Smelling things gives me directions. For example, if a place smells bad I don't let myself approach it and also if I have food that smells bad I don't eat. I use my smelling sense in different situations and it helps me in setting boundaries for myself. Taste is also one of the senses that I use alot daily. My taste sense helps me to choose what is suitable for my mouth. For example when I eat tasty meal I get a different reaction from when I eat a bitter or sour meal. I use my taste sense as a way of knowing what I should eat or taste. Although I use my senses as a way of knowing, most of the times I find myself questioning what I sensed.
ReplyDeleteSensory perception can be misleading, vein, and limiting, but it is all any being has when concluding what unquestionably exists while not incorporating anything religious. Sensory perception allows us complex beings to be shallow and instinctual. Sensory perception influences the standard body of a living being to seek to behave in they way beneficial to the physical comfort level of the body. Sensory perception in basic terms, is what the body knows. What the body knows is what we know, the basic senses anyways. Different bodies may have differing knowledge because what the bodies find comfortable and pleasing contrast.
ReplyDeleteFor Example, the red dress I see may look utterly stunning and vibrant, but the same red dress I see may be seen as a sinful piece of satan fabric to another. Which brings me to the point that sensory perception is also influenced by the mindset associated. This permits a wider variety of knowledge that is correct because it relies solely on opinion. One cannot truthfully state that the dress is universally beautiful, only that it is beautiful to him or her.
Next, if I taste a spicy food, I may be repulsed by it. If my friend Savannah tastes it and it is her new favourite food, both are accurate. As stated previously, different bodies may have differing knowledge because what the bodies find comfortable and pleasing vary.
Each human being has a unique genetic code. Born with different "capabilities" or "disabilities" and growing with an individual knowledge which is about ones body, one can only claim knowledge of themselves when referring to knowledge through sense perception. To reiterate, sense perception allows knowledge of ones own body; unless studied through science. Sense perception also entitles a sole being to be true because perception varies upon DNA and associated thoughts; such as sight and colours.
Different people perceive things differently. Because we are all different we are going to identify certain sounds, sights, smells, textures and tastes individually. An example of something you know because of your senses is if milk has gone bad. First you will know by seeing the date printed on the bottle, second you will know by how the milk smells, and if you can not decide whether the milk is bad or not you know by how it tastes. Normally people are subjective to know if milk has gone bad before they actually taste it, but everyone is different. Another thing you know because of your senses is if someone needs help. You can see someone being attacked and you can hear them yell for help. Subjectively most people can sense tension or fear. Sensory perception is a more concrete way of knowing than some of the other ways.
ReplyDeleteSensory perception shows us what we know because it is what we can hear, see smell, taste, and touch. For example I know that a muffin is too hot to eat when I touch it and burn my finger. I know that something is smelly when the unpleasant fumes enter my nose and I feel repulsed. The saying " the mirror doesn't lie" is also an example of how our senses let us know, because it is true, the mirror cannot lie. What you see is what you get, or what you know. If you put ear buds in and the music begins blasting at a painful volume that would be the time to remove them. If you eat a rotten egg your body knows that the egg is something that will make you sick and it rejects it almost immediately. Sensory perception is a protective system, "the body knows what it knows, listen to it".
ReplyDelete