Tuesday, October 21, 2014

How Do I Know What I Know?

Most of the knowledge we get comes from learning and experience. What we learn can be something taught at school or an idea drilled into our heads by society or even our families. This kind of knowledge, the knowledge that is passed on to us, maybe not necessarily be “true” or “right” but it’s still what we know. The knowledge we gain directly comes from experiences we have.

I think the knowledge we get from learning and experience is only half of what we know. The other way we come to know things is through assuming. Again, our assumptions may not be (and most likely won’t be) true, but it’s still a part of what we know.

Assumptions come from both learning and experience, so really, the way we come to know things is through the ideas that we already have. From previous knowledge, every person has their own sense of “logic” to create and reason their assumptions.

Just for an example…
I think it’s safe to say that most Americans haven’t been to the Middle East recently, yet most will assume that it’s not the safest place to be in right now. We haven’t actually been to these countries, but from watching the news, reading articles, and hearing about all of the current conflicts in the region, “logically” it would seem to be an unsafe in environment to be in.


This isn’t something I know to be true, but it’s just something I know…

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