How Do We Acquire Knowledge And Shape Our Beliefs
CRITICAL THINKING & DECISION-MAKING
2 min read
Learning Cycle (Memory-Dependent)
Observe -> Think & Understand (Using Methods Like Asking, Searching, Testing, Etc.) -> Knowledge (Direct And/Or Indirect).
(1) Memory-Dependent: The learning cycle relies on our ability to store, retrieve, and build upon past experiences to enhance our understanding over time.
(2) Observe: Involves gathering raw data directly from our surroundings through our sensory organs.
(3) Think & Understand: Entails processing raw data through methods like asking, searching, testing, etc., to develop an understanding of a subject.
(4) Knowledge: Processed raw data acquired from direct and/or indirect experience.
Types Of Knowledge
(1) Direct Knowledge (First-Hand Experience): Acquired through direct involvement in activities or events, either by performing actions or witnessing them.
(A) Practical Knowledge (Hands-On Experience): Gained through actively performing activities or experiments. Ex: A student conducts an experiment, records observations, and analyze results.
(B) Direct Observational Knowledge: Acquired through witnessing events, actions, or phenomena. Ex: A student stands in a lab watching their friend perform an experiment, closely observing the steps and results.
(2) Indirect Knowledge (Second-Hand Experience): Gained through external sources rather than direct involvement, either by studying structured explanations or analyzing accounts of real events.
(A) Theoretical Knowledge (Hands-Off Experience): Acquired through structured explanations of concepts and principles without direct observation (e.g., books, lectures, and models). Ex: A student reads about an experiment in a textbook or learns the process from a lecture.
(B) Indirect Observational Knowledge: Gained through analyzing real-world events through structured sources (e.g., documentaries and case studies) or unstructured sources (e.g., informal eyewitness stories and fragmented historical records). Ex: A student watches a video in which a scientist conducts an experiment, analyzes the observations, and examines the results.
Knowledge-Belief Relationship
(1) Relation: Belief is a subset of knowledge.
(2) JK (Justified Knowledge) Model: To believe in a particular thing, it is necessary for the knowledge about that thing to be justified.
Practical Example-1
(1) Case-1: A person shows us something that we've never seen before and have no knowledge about. We can't have a belief about that thing that we've never seen before and have no knowledge about. If we decide to know about that object, we can do so by asking, searching, testing, etc. When we gain knowledge about that thing, and if our knowledge is justified, then we can simply believe it.
(2) Case-2: Now if that person shows us that same thing again later, then we'd simply believe it, as we've already seen it before and have justified prior knowledge about it, which was gained by using those methods prior to believing it. We won't need to get the same knowledge about it unless we forget about it.
Practical Example-2
(1) Case-1: People believe in God because they do have some knowledge, like it created the universe, it's omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, etc. We don't have actual knowledge about it, but it's still theoretical knowledge about God. As they think that their knowledge of God's nature and abilities is justified, they believe in it.
(2) Case-2: People who've never heard of God can't believe in it because they don't have any knowledge about what it means in the first place.