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Food for Thought |
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Previous Editorials Nanotechnology
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About Knowledge and Learning: Is all our knowledge Scientific?
by: Mario Solari, Techlearner Editor Date: August 30, 2003
We acquire knowledge through the learning process. Some of this knowledge consists of scientific kind of knowledge which human beings have developed from the very early times. The scientific method is already a well accepted method for explaining the different physical (tangible or not) phenomena in nature. It consists of experimentation and theorization. A theory is developed to explain the physical phenomena that are observed and at the same time the experiments from which we measure physical entities about the subject matter help confirm that theory. If new phenomena about the same subject matter are observed which do not fit in the current theory, this has to be modified or a new theory must be developed to encompass the new behavior encountered. This has been the mode of science since its early beginnings, since Galileo and Newton helped among other scientists to define the Scientific Method. However, there are other kinds of knowledge. We learn about History from books or from what people tell us about the past. We learn about other aspects of human life such as language, religion, music, carpentry and so on also from books, the Internet and from other people and also to a large extent from our own experiences. Knowledge itself can be intellectual or practical. We may know about a certain subject, but we may not know its practical aspects, as for instance we may know geometry but not how to draw geometrical figures. Another aspect of knowledge is that we will never be able to know enough, it is unlimited and for sure the main reason why technology and science keep always redefining themselves. Even if we know much about a specific subject, we will never be able to attain complete understanding and hence complete knowledge of the matter at hand. The senses play an integral part in the attainment of all forms of knowledge. It is through them that we observe the world around us and learn about it. Without observation there would not be any experimentation and hence no science and no guide for us to deal with the world. It is true that some physical phenomena lie beyond our perception and therefore we need special tools to be able to measure and define those phenomena, but our senses always constitute the starting point to guide our observation of reality. Once the senses bring us to observing and experiencing life in all its dimensions, we must be guided by reason so as to interpret correctly these observations and so complete the learning process. Sometimes and to some extent this learning process will be complemented by actively doing something which presupposes that we have acquired knowledge about the subject. A simple example would be that we learn by observing that wood can cause fire, and then we actually take some pieces of wood and make fire ourselves. As stated before there are some kinds of knowledge that may go beyond simple observation. Life teaches human beings many lessons in different aspects such as religion, relationships, philosophy, values and so on and we are formed by these experiences such that no two of us are equal to each other regarding all of them. This aspect of knowledge comes from the fact that we are more than just a conglomerate of particles arranged in a particular way; we are indeed living, breathing, free, reasoning persons. In conclusion, knowledge encompasses many different aspects and is not just restrained to Scientific Knowledge, although this kind of knowledge accounts for teaching us the realities of the physical-measurable world. The other remaining kinds of knowledge are also as important since they constitute part of our revelation as human beings.
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