Are some ways of knowing more likely than others to lead to truth Essay

Are some ways of knowing more likely than others to lead to truth - Essay Example However, the following definition of knowledge can be taken for our current consideration. Information or data that is gathered by any one or any thing, using the ways of knowing can be construed as knowledge. Knowledge has to be known to become knowledge. Therefore, knowing is an important activity or part of the knowledge. For our current consideration, this may be taken as the definition of what knowledge is. The above definition of knowledge brings into focus the ways of knowledge. What is 'knowing' and what are the ways of knowing Knowing is to gather information or data about something of interest to a person or object. Webster's English dictionary defines the word 'knowing' as: Possessing information may be special on any specific subject or object. This also places the word 'know' under question. 'Know' is to have some idea or information on a specific subject or object of interest. If this is to, how can a person 'know' about something Knowing then is what one can gather information or data about. One can know about the object of interest in the following ways: A person might gather information or 'know' about an object or a person using any of these methods. These therefore, are the ways of knowing and hence the ways to get the knowledge that one would like to possess. In addition, knowledge is accepted as knowledge by subjecting it to the knowledge tests, viz., coherence, correspondence, pragmatism and consensus. If the knowledge when subjected to any of these tests comes out successfully, then the same may be considered as knowledge. Similarly, there are nine justifications for the knowledge. These are the ones that help in bringing about or reasons for having knowledge. These include logic, sensory perception, revelation, faith, memory, consensus, authority, intuition and self-awareness make up the nine justifications of knowledge. Perception Perception of an object would depend on every individuals thought and action. The state of mind also alters the perception a person has on an object. This also decides what the person understands about the event or object when he encounters it. This would depend on the perception of the person. However, it can also be noted that such perceptions are normally ultra sensitive perceptions that seems more like things outside of the living earth. This would include even the Platonic Forms that are more a representation of the remote thoughts and actions that change the way work but are influenced by our 'perception' of the object or the subject and not on other factors (Morton 2002). Perception has been more refined now to mean only those that are realized through sensory perception and not anything else so that any other means of perception or avoided in the ways of knowledge. Therefore, it can be taken that perception today means only those information that are gathered using any of the sensory perceptions like seen, heard, felt, etc. Therefore, it now includes all that is read or heard through some one or from some thing to make the knowledge learnt through perception. This implies that learning is also a knowledge gathering exercise and education is one such process. However, perception or seeing is possibly the beginning of gathering information or knowledge. But as John Berger (1983)