Knowledge Justification
From Internet: Knowledge and Community
- HOYLE HODGES
- INTERNET: Knowledge and Community
- Response for 23 Oct 2010
Acquisition of Knowledge in an Ethical Way
“It is the cause of knowledge and truth; and so, while you may think of it as an object of knowledge, you will do well to regard it as something beyond truth and knowledge, and, precious as both are, of still higher worth. (Plato quoted in Midgley pg 14) The author touches on some very fundamental questions about knowledge. There are opinions and critiques of the value of knowledge, the ethics of knowledge and how knowledge can form both your personal and social identity. This is tied into the role of science and scientists in obtaining knowledge in its pure form vs. a practical form. The role of scientists and knowledge as it relates to self and societal identity and the struggle between them as Midgley sees it. Wow, this was a very hard reading for me; it seemed that Midgley often referenced others without really informing us of the context, in other words I should know a lot more about this subject before trying to accomplish this reading. I agree with Midgley on most of her points but not all of them. As an example I do think that knowledge needs to be justified, too often we hear of large grants be given for research into non-productive areas. The example of the “penguin egg” is still very relevant today as the Digital Age makes more and more information available until we are almost overwhelmed by it and nobody knows how to handle all of the “penguin eggs” that we are constantly bombarded with.
