Perspective is an individual process of considering thoughts. It is important because it affects the way people make decisions. What role does perspectives play in what we know? Ultimately, it plays a crucial role in the pursuit of knowledge. One’s perspective can hinder the pursuit of knowledge, and hence, it is important to understand the role perspective plays in this process. Knowledge from faith, memory and intuition significantly contributes to how a person views and perceives things. In fact, all perspectives will contribute to the way an individual pursues knowledge. The purpose of this essay is to prove that the knower's perspective is essential in the pursuit of knowledge, only to the extent that the knower's perspective does not hinder his/ her ability to pursue knowledge.
In order to answer this question properly, it is important to distinguish between personal and shared knowledge. Personal knowledge is knowledge that remains as one’s own, while shared knowledge is knowledge that is communicated with others (Dombrowski 33).
Separating personal views from one’s pursuit of knowledge is difficult. A Christian doctor may perceive abortion as evil because according to Christian beliefs, it is morally wrong to kill. This doctor may even fail to perform abortions on his clients because abortion is not in line with his moral compass (Maton 96). If there were a research project on abortion to pursuit knowledge on this subject matter, this doctor would need to find a way to reconcile the two conflicting parts of his life-faith and profession. In contrast, a pregnant teenager might undergo abortion because she believes that she has the right to choose the necessary action. She can seek further knowledge on abortion to better understand this subject matter. These two individuals have completely different perspectives although both are pursuing the same knowledge (Hofer and Pintrich 213). Thus, it might lead to both individuals interpreting the knowledge they obtained differently. The counterclaim is it is possible for an individual to separate his/ her perspective from the pursuit of knowledge. This can be seen in a case where a journalist is reporting on the conflict and the plight of the Syrian refugees. The journalist has to maintain his professional standards with regards to this subject, and has to report objectively and tell the story from both sides. This is duty ethics, which in other words means rules that bind you to your duty (Williams n.p). This is a person trying to separate his perspectives from the pursuit of knowledge consciously. However, one might wonder why the journalist wishes to cover the Syrian crisis in the first place. Doesn’t his perspective provide an initial reason as to why he wishes to cover the story? The journalist will still have subconscious bias, and this can make the pursuit of knowledge biased without his intention. Assuming that the journalist’s background is the reason why he is pursuing the story, it can be said that perspective actually plays a role in his pursuit of knowledge. Scholars disagree on whether it is possible for a person to consciously remove one’s initial perspectives in the pursuit of knowledge. Hence, objectivity is key, but it is almost impossible to separate one’s perspectives in the pursuit of knowledge. Aristotle is one of the most well known philosophers. …show more content…
During his time, science was not yet advanced, and knowledge came from myths and religion. According to him, there are four elements: air, earth, fire and water. Years later, a scientist named Dalton disagreed with Aristotle and claimed that all matter is composed of small indestructible, but invisible atoms. Compounds are formed by a combination of two or more different atoms, and the rearrangement of atoms causes chemical reactions. Another key point that Dalton made was that all elements have atoms that are identical in weight and mass. However, this point is later proven to be false because there are isotopes whose elements have different mass numbers. A knower's perspective contributes to the accumulation of shared knowledge in this world. Aristotle and Dalton are separated by time; hence they had different perspectives that drove them in their pursuit of knowledge. Aristotle only had myths and religion to go on and not the required research material to help him while Dalton was lucky enough to be born in a
In order to answer this question properly, it is important to distinguish between personal and shared knowledge. Personal knowledge is knowledge that remains as one’s own, while shared knowledge is knowledge that is communicated with others (Dombrowski 33).
Separating personal views from one’s pursuit of knowledge is difficult. A Christian doctor may perceive abortion as evil because according to Christian beliefs, it is morally wrong to kill. This doctor may even fail to perform abortions on his clients because abortion is not in line with his moral compass (Maton 96). If there were a research project on abortion to pursuit knowledge on this subject matter, this doctor would need to find a way to reconcile the two conflicting parts of his life-faith and profession. In contrast, a pregnant teenager might undergo abortion because she believes that she has the right to choose the necessary action. She can seek further knowledge on abortion to better understand this subject matter. These two individuals have completely different perspectives although both are pursuing the same knowledge (Hofer and Pintrich 213). Thus, it might lead to both individuals interpreting the knowledge they obtained differently. The counterclaim is it is possible for an individual to separate his/ her perspective from the pursuit of knowledge. This can be seen in a case where a journalist is reporting on the conflict and the plight of the Syrian refugees. The journalist has to maintain his professional standards with regards to this subject, and has to report objectively and tell the story from both sides. This is duty ethics, which in other words means rules that bind you to your duty (Williams n.p). This is a person trying to separate his perspectives from the pursuit of knowledge consciously. However, one might wonder why the journalist wishes to cover the Syrian crisis in the first place. Doesn’t his perspective provide an initial reason as to why he wishes to cover the story? The journalist will still have subconscious bias, and this can make the pursuit of knowledge biased without his intention. Assuming that the journalist’s background is the reason why he is pursuing the story, it can be said that perspective actually plays a role in his pursuit of knowledge. Scholars disagree on whether it is possible for a person to consciously remove one’s initial perspectives in the pursuit of knowledge. Hence, objectivity is key, but it is almost impossible to separate one’s perspectives in the pursuit of knowledge. Aristotle is one of the most well known philosophers. …show more content…
During his time, science was not yet advanced, and knowledge came from myths and religion. According to him, there are four elements: air, earth, fire and water. Years later, a scientist named Dalton disagreed with Aristotle and claimed that all matter is composed of small indestructible, but invisible atoms. Compounds are formed by a combination of two or more different atoms, and the rearrangement of atoms causes chemical reactions. Another key point that Dalton made was that all elements have atoms that are identical in weight and mass. However, this point is later proven to be false because there are isotopes whose elements have different mass numbers. A knower's perspective contributes to the accumulation of shared knowledge in this world. Aristotle and Dalton are separated by time; hence they had different perspectives that drove them in their pursuit of knowledge. Aristotle only had myths and religion to go on and not the required research material to help him while Dalton was lucky enough to be born in a