Ways of Knowing
Introduction
Why do you believe the things that you do? For instance, why do you believe that the earth goes around the sun? Have you really seen the earth go around the sun? Based on my own experience, it looks like the sun is circling the earth – at least from my point of view.
Think about it for a minute -- how do you and I really know that the earth obits the sun? Is it simply because that is what we've been told?
In this course, we are going to explore how knowledge is developed or created. In particular, we are going to focus on the development of knowledge about communication from social science perspective.
But, before we start talking about communication and social science research, it is perhaps useful to spend some time thinking about how you and I typically gain knowledge about the world around us. Exploring how lay people make sense of the world they live in will help you understand how social scientists try to develop knowledge about the communication.
Ways of knowing -- how people gain knowledge.
According to your text (Babbie, 1995), there are two fundamental way that we gain knowledge about the world around us.
I. Agreement. Things we learn from others. We believe things are true simply because other people seem to believe them.
Example: Do you believe that the most satisfied couples are those who truly understand each other? Do you believe that eating chocolate makes people break-out with acne? Why do you believe these things? Probably because everybody seems to believe they are true. However, these statements aren't true – yet many of us think they are – probably because everyone seems to be in agreement on these issues.
If you can come up with some other examples, please send them to me.
According to Babbie (1995), knowledge based on agreement can be broken down into two types. One is tradition.
A. Tradition. Culturally shared or widely held beliefs that people simply assume to be true. In other words, it refers to knowledge that is based on the premise that "that is just the way things are" or "that is just the way things work."
Examples: Can only have one serious romantic relationship at a time. Romantic involves should consist of two people, not three or four. You should not pick your nose (in public).
If you can come up with some other examples, please send them to me.
1. Advantages of knowledge based upon tradition.
a. Very economical. Don’t have to spend time and energy trying to discover the truth -- you already know it.
b. Provides a common ground. Allows you to interact and relate to others efficiently. Provides a common framework for structuring our lives, relationships, and society. If we all agree on a set of beliefs, then those beliefs serve as the foundation for building relationships, families, jobs, etc.,
2. Disadvantages of knowledge based upon tradition.
a. Could be wrong. Often not investigated because it is assumed to be true. The truth is obvious, why bother questioning it.
b. Very difficult to change. If not correct, very difficult to change.
The second way that we gain knowledge through agreement is through Authority.
B. Authority. Knowledge believed simply because of the source behind the claim being made. In other words, knowledge assumed to be true because someone in authority or an expert says its true.
Examples: Almost everything you read in your text books or learn from your teachers.
If you can come up with some other examples, please send them to me.
1. Advantages of knowledge based upon authority.
a. Very economical. Very little effort involved. Simply listen to what other people say.
2. Disadvantages of knowledge based upon authority.
a. Could be wrong. Just because an expert says it’s true, does not mean that it is really true.
The second general way we typically gain knowledge about the world is through direct experience.
II. Experience. This is knowledge that we learn through direct experience or observation -- "things we know first hand" -- the "been there, done that" sort of knowledge.
Examples: If you stick you hand on a hot stove, it hurts. If you study really hard, you’ll get good grades.
If you can come up with some other examples, please send them to me.
A. Advantages of gaining knowledge through direct experience.
1. Gain knowledge about YOUR world. Learn things that are important to you.
· You learn who to trust, who to avoid.
· How to get money out of your parents.
· How to get your romantic partner to do things for you.
· All of the shortcuts to your favorite places.Probably won’t gain this type of knowledge through tradition or authority – but rather it is typically gained through your own experiences.
B. Disadvantages of gaining knowledge through direct experience.
1. You could be wrong. Process by which we gain knowledge through experience is full of errors.
Summary: People tend to gain
knowledge about the world through agreement or experience. Many
of the things we know, we simply believe because everyone around
us believes in them or we have some sort of direct experience
with the topic at hand. However, as we will soon see, the ways we
typically gain knowledge about the world is riddled with errors.