TOK Does all knowledge require some kind of rational basis? Essay Example
TOK Does all knowledge require some kind of rational basis? Essay Example

TOK Does all knowledge require some kind of rational basis? Essay Example

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  • Pages: 7 (1703 words)
  • Published: July 22, 2017
  • Type: Essay
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The cognition issue presented in this inquiry promotes the scrutiny of the relationship between cognition and ground. The inquiry being explored is if ground is the lone footing upon which cognition can be constructed. The term cognition is wide. but under the margins of the cognition issue. it means to hold certainty on a certain subject. This cognition refers to the creative activity of certainty about an equivocal state of affairs. It can be the merchandise of critical believing about any of the “ways of cognizing. ” or it can be certainty about personal state of affairss. Knowledge is non truth but certainty. Certainty is a personal place and this is one of the major margins of the cognition issue.

Rational footing ( i. e. ground ) is a manner of cognizing in which one compiles historical information about

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similar state of affairss in the yesteryear. and extrapolates to happen certainty. In my geographic expedition of this cognition issue. I will mention to all countries of cognition. and to the country of ego consciousness. I will mention to ground. and emotion to expose the elusive truth behind this inquiry. What I will research is the thought that cognition doesn’t have to be formed on a rational footing. but it can be formed utilizing belief. The most common signifier of believe is faith. and this represents “public” belief. It is seen less. but “personal” beliefs exists. and they show how powerful the manner of knowing is.

Belief is the most powerful manner of knowing. because it can overcast any logical statements. and ground holds no weight in comparing. The job with belief. is that most people don’t hav

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the strong belief to truly believe. A belief can and frequently does belie the cognition that others have. and it is for fright of standing out. that beliefs are killed early. in many. A belief can take to letdown if non actualized. and the best beliefs are seen as farcical. because most people don’t think they possible.

Peoples learn to kill beliefs early. An illustration of how strong a belief can be is faith. The ground faith has survived is because it has become normal. There is nil outstanding about being spiritual. so there is no societal reverberations to fear. When faiths are challenged. the strength of beliefs are demonstrated. Often bible narratives which feature miracles. like Jesus turning H2O to wine. are challenged because there has been nil in the recent yesteryear which rationally leads people to believe the narratives are possible. Peoples use ground to seek to confute the narratives in the eyes of
spiritual people.

They use their cognition of scientific discipline and their cognition of history ( both are based on the observations of state of affairss. and the extrapolation of the findings to derive certainty ) to turn out how. since it hans’t happened late. and there isn’t a chemical reaction which could bring forth vino from H2O. the act is impossible. and the narrative is false. Despite these rational statements the spiritual people’s cognition is unfazed. This is because their belief overrides any rational idea. Their demand for certainty of God or the everlasting. requires that they believe narratives that aren’t imperially supported because faith doesn’t allow the two to be separated. In the instance of beliefs. cognition doesn’t have to be

based on ground.

The strength of spiritual belief is difficult to counter. but whether the belief is unconditioned or based on logic is problematic. Almost every faith tells narratives of Prophetss or reverent intercessions and actions. such as in the bible. Many people besides have personal narratives. or have heard personal narratives. about a religious power. My father’s friend. as a kid. was terminally riddled with malignant neoplastic disease. In a dream. he was in a crashing plane and he heard the voice of what he thought was God. It said that he had to turn off a figure of the visible radiations in the cockpit before the plane crashed.

He did. When he next visited his physician. all of his malignant neoplastic disease was gone. These narratives may be due to selective attending. and the invalid ascription of holy power to a merely improbable or coinciding circumstance. or the action of a religious power. but about every spiritual individual has experiences to endorse up their spiritual cognition. Harmonizing to the definition of a rational footing. “a manner of cognizing in which one compiles historical information about similar state of affairss in the yesteryear. and extrapolates to happen certainty. ” their cognition of faith is rational. They are utilizing old cognition and generalizing to formalize the being of a God or religious power.

Belief is a strong manner of knowing and faith is an illustration of it. In contradiction to the counter-claim. spiritual beliefs are frequently accepted and so validated. intending that they were believed earlier reasoned. and the cognition was created by belief and merely strengthened by the ground generated by these personal experiences. Religion is an

illustration of how knowledge doesn’t have to hold a rational footing. but how frequently can knowledge be created based on belief? Is faith the lone illustration of cognition based on belief?

Religion is one of the lone publically accepted beliefs that creates cognition without the influence of ground. nevertheless a personal belief can make cognition. Personal beliefs are less common. This is because knowledge-based beliefs don’t make sense. They aren’t based on anything but inner-confidence. When 1000000s of people portion the belief. it is easy to follow. but people frequently won’t let their beliefs to boom. These beliefs frequently have to make with personal potency. or a state of affairs with the odds stacked against it. Not merely do people non hold the unconditional-confidence in their belief. but these types of beliefs frequently contradict the sentiment of the bulk of people. and people don’t want to get down struggle.

These are the grounds why personal beliefs aren’t seen frequently. There needs to be a individual who has unlimited assurance and doesn’t shy off from struggle. When these conditions are met. it is shown how beliefs become cognition in amazing manner. Michael Jordan is the perfect illustration of personal beliefs. As with any NBA participant. the odds of doing it are stacked against them as a kid. With Michael Jordan the odds were stacked higher as he didn’t do the varsity hoops squad his first-year twelvemonth. Any rational mind would take this to intend that if he didn’t have what it takes to do the high school squad. how could he be a pro?

He was besides 5’ 10” in high school. which stacked the odds so high they

would barricade out the Sun for most people — but Michael Jordan still saw the visible radiation. He defied the odds and became non merely an NBA participant. but arguably the greatest hoops participant of all clip. What is it that drove him? It was his belief in himself. His belief in himself. which wasn’t even backed up by his high school manager. created the cognition that he would do it. These illustrations exist in the greatest rejoinders and disturbances in athleticss history. such as Muhammad Ali crushing George Forman.

The athleticss observer Howard Cosell was concerned that non merely would Ali lose. but that he might really decease in the ring. but Ali’s firm belief contributed to his cognition that he would predominate against the much younger and stronger Foreman. The illustrations besides exist in wars. such as in the Battle of Stirling Bridge where the Scots ground forces. outnumbered five to one. defeated the English Army. The belief that each party had in themselves was the footing for the cognition that they would win. and for that grounds they fought on.

Sing Michael Jordan and the other underdogs. the belief that they had in themselves is undisputed. but there is a counter to whether ground played a portion in the cognition of their inevitable success. Having known the extent of their ain ability. they could establish their cognition off of the fact that their old experiences turn outing their accomplishment. such as pick-up games. or clip spent in pattern. indicated that they had what it takes to win. Using old experiences to generalize to a knowing decision. is the definition of ground. and their belief

may non hold been unconditioned.

The fact that Michael Jordan was denied a topographic point on the squad indicates that his personal sentiment of his ability would hold been shaken badly or tattered if he based it on logical statements. His belief was unconditioned. and that was the base for his cognition. This is an illustration of how personal belief can make cognition. non merely without a rational footing. but despite it.

Knowledge can be create without a sensible footing. on the strength of grim belief. In the instances of both the public beliefs of faith. and the personal beliefs in our ain power to predominate. we gain certainty about an result. As with faith. a logical statement doesn’t dent a spiritual person’s cognition of the being of a religious power. because they know they will see life after decease and hence they believe all the spiritual instructions which promise that. Athletes. warriors. and others who find it worth it to believe. make their ain cognition based non on the ground of others. but the belief of themselves. Why does person believe in the first topographic point?

In my yesteryear I have wanted few things more than I wanted to stand on the dais. while I stood on the start line of the class six transverse state metropolis finals. The odds weren’t in my corner. but I could contend that. My pace was shorter. It didn’t affair. I wanted it so severely that I believed I would make it — that I knew it. When you want something severely plenty. you will believe that it is possible. because that is the lone manner that you can carry through

it. When you are certain that you will win there is non a force in the existence that could halt you.

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