Essay On Consensus And Consensus

1164 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What constitutes knowledge

Being crucial for the progresses of humanity, knowledge has been widely discussed for centuries but has never been clearly defined. One of the most popular definitions by Plato states that knowledge is “a justified true belief” which means that the term knowledge is synonymous with robust knowledge. In light of this definition we can further assume that any knowledge which is tested by disagreement and emerges with consensus becomes robust. Basically I do agree with the claim that a robust knowledge requires both consensus and disagreement. However, depending on the particular areas of knowledge and its conception of the ultimate and universal truth, the role of consensus and disagreement in the process of knowledge acquisition can be perceived differently; either as a means to an end or an end in itself. I am going to illustrate my reservations on the examples of natural science and ethics. Natural science uses reason and sense perception as ways of knowing. A verified hypothesis becomes a theory and in even longer run turns into a law, which can be only dismissed once proven wrong by a scientific method. In ethics we …show more content…

It is all about disagreement which should consequently lead into consensus. The importance of disagreement in scientific research cannot be overestimated. Looking from a historical perspective we can list a number of hypothesis, theories or laws which were questioned and ultimately changed due to doubt or disagreement. Physics for example has dealt with a number of controversies, including: the cold fusion theory built upon a fake experiment and only proved wrong by inability to replicate it, or Newton’s Law of Gravity contested and eventually replaced after 300 years by Einstein in his Theory of General

Show More
Related

  • Kuhn's Theory of Theories

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    Without theories, scientists’ experiments would yield no significance to the world. Theories are the core of the scientific community; therefore figuring out how to determine which theory prevails amongst the rest is an imperative matter. Kuhn was one of the many bold scientists to attempt to bring forth an explanation for why one theory is accepted over another, as well as the process of how this occurs, known as the Scientific Revolution. Kuhn chooses to refer to a theory as a ‘paradigm’, which encompasses a wide range of definitions such as “a way of doing science in a specific field”, “claims about the world”, “methods of fathering/analyzing data”, “habits of scientific thought and action”, and “a way of seeing the world and interacting with it” (Smith, pg.76). However in this case, we’ll narrow paradigm to have a similar definition to that of a ‘theory’, which is a system of ideas used to explain something; it can also be deemed a model for the scientific community to follow. Kuhn’s explanation of a Scientific Revolution brings to light one major problem—the problem of incommensurability.

    Read More

  • Inaccessief Theory: Plato's Concept Of Knowledge

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    Life without knowledge would be worthless. Talking about knowledge what i mean is knowledge about something. The description of the state of some object is knowledge. The object may be either abstract or physical. Some examples of abstract things include memory, feelings and time. But how we obtain knowledge? Many philosophers tried to find an adequate answer to this question. They came up with so many theories summarizing the process of knowledge. But none of them all was able to state a clear definition of pure knowledge. One of those philosophers is Plato. In this essay I am going to discuss the concept of knowledge according to Plato’s philosophic conception of knowledge. I will clarify what knowledge is not perception. And from this I will move to explain the justified true belief theory. Then I will show the lack in this theory by referring to counterexamples: the Gettier cases. To end up with a conclusion that states what is my understanding of the process of knowledge.

    Read More

  • Linda Zagzebski: A Virtue Based Definition of Knowledge

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    How we approach the question of knowledge is pivotal. If the definition of knowledge is a necessary truth, then we should aim for a real definition for theoretical and practical knowledge. Methodology examines the purpose for the definition and how we arrived to it. The reader is now aware of the various ways to dissect what knowledge is. This entails the possibility of knowledge being a set of truths; from which it follows that one cannot possibly give a single definition. The definition given must therefore satisfy certain desiderata , while being strong enough to demonstrate clarity without losing the reader. If we base our definition on every counter-example that disproves our original definition then it becomes ad hoc. This is the case for our current defini...

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Knowledge: Austin, Descartes And Stroud

    2081 Words  | 5 Pages

    This paper will be covering what knowledge essentially is, the opinions and theories of J.L. Austin, Descartes, and Stroud, and how each compare to one another. Figuring out what knowledge is and how to assess it has been a discussion philosophers have been scratching their heads about for as long as philosophy has been around. These three philosophers try and describe and persuade others to look at knowledge in a different light; that light might be how a statement claiming knowledge is phrased, whether we know anything at all for we may be dreaming, or maybe you’re just a brain in a vat and don’t know anything about what you perceive the external world to be.

    Read More

  • Edmund Gettier Problem Essay

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    Knowledge, its source and truthfulness have been under question for a long time. People have always wondered what exactly constitutes facts and if there are any defining laws that can be attributed to all knowledge or information available in the world. Many philosophers speculated on how information can be interpreted according to its falsity or truthfulness, but have not come to definite conclusions. Edmund Gettier has provided one of the key pieces in understanding and trying to figure out what knowledge really is.

    Read More

  • Relative or Objective?

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is knowledge? Knowledge, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. Knowledge is also known to be “true, justified belief; certain understanding, as opposed to opinion”. Knowledge can be objective, but can also be relative. Knowledge can be objective meaning it is free of any bias or prejudice caused by personal feelings or beliefs. Knowledge can be relative meaning that a term, thing, or concept that is dependent on something else. But then again, which is correct; this argument came up in Protagoras’ claim. Protagoras claimed that man is the measure of all things. In this paper I will argue that Protagoras’ claim is true.

    Read More

  • Criticism of the Verification Principle in A.J. Ayer's Book Language, Truth and Logic

    4592 Words  | 10 Pages

    I shall also expound Ayer's theory of knowledge, as related in his book. I will show this theory to contain logical errors, making his modified version of the principle flawed from a second angle.

    Read More

  • Theory Of Truth

    1306 Words  | 3 Pages

    The various areas of knowledge do not necessarily compete for each theory of truth. The standard segregation of truth theories into competing camps proceeds under the assumption, or pretense, that they are intended for primary truth bearers.

    Read More

  • paradigms

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    everyone since teh beginning fo time has had their own views and standards for the way that everything around them should be. these views are seemingly set in stone and unchangeable. there are many examples in the past of terrible consequences for expressing views other than the norm at the time. more recently this apprehension to change was described by Thomas Kuhn in his book, The Structure of Scientific Revoulutions.

    Read More

  • Robust Knowledge: The Bastness Of Knowledge And Scientific Knowledge

    1904 Words  | 4 Pages

    Without agreement in the first place, we would not be able refer to the common foundation and basic facts that should be established before any further discussion of justification. Natural science includes models that may contradict with real life, and may not be applicable to our world. However, models are important in the natural sciences, even though those models may not necessarily be the most accurate representation of the specific physical phenomena. These models are continuously refined when more is discovered about the current phenomena, and these models are then updated in the light of new evidence. This then raises the question of whether models that we know may be inaccurate are considered as a part of robust knowledge. Models are simplified versions of our common reality in order to understand fundamental ideas on the most basic level and to make better sense of the world surrounds us. Models are nonetheless useful for us, because it allows us to picture complicated physical phenomena and use a much simpler model to depict our observation through sense perception. For example, the Newton´s first law states that an object will stay in motion unless there is an opposing force acting upon it. We know that this theory, only work when there is not friction or air resistance. However, when using models we sacrifice accuracy for the sake of simplicity. In

    Read More

  • Scientific Controversies

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    Facts and reasons cannot in most circumstances settle scientific controversies. The main issue is a matter of interpretation. One person can interpret data and observations differently from another person. This is where the problem lies. Pride and scientific interpretation can keep a controversy going even when facts and reasons may seem to prove one side false. Also, if there is more than model and those models each have some kind of positive evidence, then they each have a point to argue from. So what in the end will prove one more true over the others? In some cases it is social belief's that will bring an end to a controversy. Other times it will end because other scientists will drop their model and give up on trying to convince that theirs is the correct model.

    Read More

  • Question No Knowledge Can Be Produced By A Single Way Of Knowing

    1695 Words  | 4 Pages

    Question No. 5 “No knowledge can be produced by a single way of knowing.” Discuss.

    Read More

  • Four Conditions for Knowledge

    2463 Words  | 5 Pages

    In this paper, I offer a solution to the Gettier problem by adding a fourth condition to the justified true belief analysis of knowledge. First though, a brief review. Traditionally, knowledge had been accounted for with the justified true belief analysis. To know something, three conditions had to be met: first, you had to have a belief; second, the belief had to be justified; third, this justified belief had to be true. So a justified true belief counts as knowledge. Gettier however showed this analysis to be inadequate as one can have a justified true belief that no one would want to count as knowledge.

    Read More

  • Ethics and Scientific Research

    1422 Words  | 3 Pages

    Natural sciences are sciences whose methodology is based on the observation of the physical world. Unlike ethics it is a highly empirical discipline. The basic and perhaps only way used to produce knowledge in the scientific world is through inductive reasoning, as the methodology that is usually followed by scientists involves conducting several experiments and making observations, based on which they make logical conclusions. Ethical judgements hinder the methods of acquiring knowledge through scientific development. Several methods require the interaction with animals, which could end up being harmful for them. Moral codes and values oppose to such situations and therefore encourage us to raise concerns every time there is a potential for scientific research involving animal experimentation. As I learned in my IB Biology course, Xenotransplantation, the transplantation of organs from animals,...

    Read More

  • What Is Science Essay

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    The major strength of science is that it has uncertainty and skepticism. Science never claims to be hundred percent accurate. There is always some degree of ambiguity and probability in science. The Heisenberg’s uncertainty in quantum mechanics is a good example of this. According to the Heisenberg’s uncertainty, we can never be sure of the position of the quantum particles. There is always a degree of fuzziness in nature and a fundamental limit to what we can understand about these particles and their behavior. We can only calculate the probability of the nature of the particle and ho...

    Read More

More about Essay On Consensus And Consensus

Open Document