Essay 1

Essay 1

1. “The knower’s perspective is essential in the pursuit of knowledge.” To what extent do you agree?

   • AOKs
     • History
       • Empirical evidence produced by the Historians
         • Reason
       • Deductive reasoning is a basic form of valid reasoning. Deductive reasoning, or deduction, starts out with a general statement, or hypothesis, and examines the possibilities to reach a specific, logical conclusion (University of California)
         • Reason
       • Confirmation bias (a tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions, leading to statistical errors) while at the same time ignoring or dismissing opinions - no matter how valid - that threaten our world view
         • Emotion
     • Mathematics
       • "Language of the universe"
         • Refering to universalise which could be argued that it could also mean that regardless of perspective knowledge can be gained from mathematics
       • How does the perspective of the world changes with mathematics?
   • Knowledge Question
     • To what extent does the knowledge gained in history and mathematics revolve around the perspective of the knower?
       • Claim 1 (history)
         • Due to personal bias the pursuit of knowledge will be focused on a predetermined perspective.
           • CounterClaim
             • Objectivity is important while gaining knowledge in History
           • Salem Witch Trials
           • 1950s Communist Scare in the US
       • Claim 2 (maths)
         • Gaining knowledge in maths is an objective process.
           • Little to no emotion (more reason and logic)
           • CounterClaim
             • Mathematics rely on the perspective of certain learners/mathematicians since their perspective will dictate what they do next.
               • Whether it is to disprove a theory or improve a theory