“Different cultures have different truths.” “A truth is that which can be accepted universally.”
What are the implications for knowledge of agreeing with these opposing statements?

Different cultures have different truths which are not necessarily accepted universally. There are opposing truths which might not be agreed upon because they are different. In everyday life there are choices that need to be made. Nothing can really be agreed upon for there are too many opinions to bring together. No specific ideas or statement is wrong or right; but they are based on the individual’s opinion. It depends on their surroundings and knowledge. They have different knowledge that another might not have and therefore they make their statement on what they know. On a regular basis we choose among contradictory statements. For a person that needs to decide on a side, it may be somewhat difficult. The different thoughts develop from the different knowledge possessed and the different points of view.
Cultural “truths” are values that are developed from various inputs. The knower’s personal point of view is like a filter that is a benefit in obtaining knowledge. The filters that filter our knowledge are different in every individual according to our surroundings. These filters can change. The filters are a particular mind set, different in every person, which is carved out by many factors. These factors can include but are not limited to culture, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and many others. These are factors that are different within everyone. The facts that a person has a religious believe, or not one at all, has a vast difference between others. Filters are what help us perceive knowledge, but knowledge is not always what we think it is. Parents, society, and even past cultures are the most important kind of filters that can have an input as to the development of the cultural truths. Society has intended to develop a set of truths for everyone to follow. In the past there were communities with morals that must be followed. Morality was an important part of life and some acts were intolerable among society. Most of the time, if a person disagreed they could do little to change the situation, but if a person rebelled against society they were segregated. The people felt obligated to follow. It seems like society can have the power to set cultural values as a whole but not as specific for an individual because not everyone will agree. Groups of people may be classified in a certain culture because they share some of the same moral values, points of view, and the way they think. Cultures may clash and think of certain aspects as irrelevant. They clash because people don’t understand the others person’s culture and are unwilling to be open minded to find out what the other culture’s beliefs or traditions are or even unwilling to try to understand their thoughts on why they do certain things. Other cultures may influence people to build up on their values which are then passed down from generation to generation. They can get certain values from different cultures to make a new one. Such as American culture which is composed of various other cultures. These are some of the fundamental elements that make up the moral principles.
Not only do these factors make up our knowledge of the right things, but we are put under pressure of doing the right thing by the people that judge us from the actions we take. This may lead to rapid decisions of whether agreeing with some opposing statements. People in society that are close to you judge you all the time. They have nothing better to do than to see what truths they have. They pressure to be the same as they are because people automatically think that a person is weird because they don’t have the same beliefs. For instance, when the white people first settled into what is now known as America they thought that Indians were savage people but in fact they knew nothing about them. They bestow “rules that must be followed” and when other cultures don’t follow these “rules” then they are considered “savage”.

On a daily bases choices are being made among contradictory statements. In the areas of knowledge opinions are brought up about a subject constantly. For instance, history is currently being made. History is said to be written by the winners, for they record what is most convenient for them. In different parts of the world history is viewed and has affected in different ways. Technology seems to be grasping every bit of information of the events occurring. Today technology is being used frequently to record events, but it is also a medium to find more information about our world. Although science has progressed, there are moral issues involved in some of the sciences practiced. There are issues about whether to continue stem cell research. There are questions asked like is it wrong to destroy an embryo in order to obtain the stem cells? At what stage is it considered to be existing? The contradictory statement and the benefits and disadvantages need to be considered to choose among the contradictory statements or come to an agreement.
To decide between contradicting ideas many factors need to be considered, yet they are vague for both contradicting factors have valid points to be correct. Truths are subjective to each individual and each culture. A variety of people may choose from opposing statements for convenience. It is also important to think about the benefit of other people as well. Beliefs are relevant that encourage the viewpoint of others to be considered as true or false. Even though there is no right or wrong way that is how ideas are categorized in each person’s mind, according to specific criteria created in every individual. Most of the time people are not open minded to other’s opinions. We choose not to take in account someone else’s ideas because we often believe our way is the only way. It deprives us from acquiring more knowledge. Having one’s ideas co-exist with someone else’s is something the majority of the people are just not open to. Because different people have different values, the moral values are not always agreed upon. All of these factors shape and mold the “truths” of each culture.

“This rubber tree won’t yield latex—the biologist blames the sapling, the geologist blames the soil, the contractor blames the unskilled laborer and the owner says it is fighting back at being controlled.” (Amitav Ghosh) If different Ways of Knowing or Areas of Knowledge yield contradictory statements about the world, on what basis do we choose among them? `

In everyday life there are choices that need to be made. Nothing can really be agreed upon for there are too many opinions to bring together. Just like the biologist, geologist, the contractor, and the owner all had their opinions about the rubber tree, so do the different areas of knowledge about the world. None of the ideas or statements are wrong or right; but are based on the individuals opinion. It depends on their surroundings and knowledge. The geologist thinks differently from the biologist and the contractor and the owner. They have different knowledge that another might not have and therefore they make their statement on what they know. On a regular basis we choose among contradictory statements. For example, the causes of global warming. Some say that its humans who caused it and others might say that it’s not. For a person that needs to decide on a side may be somewhat difficult. Different articles that are read about global-warming can be biased and really any article can be biased. If you watch a news report on TV, certain information can be left out. The different thoughts develop from the different knowledge possessed.
The knowledge gained is chosen, from the variety of knowledge exposed to, by filters. Filters are used to sort out different substances from others like the filters that are used to purify water. The filters construct the different thought and ways people think. They categorize the ideas of knowledge into two categories; true or false. The knowledge of what is true and what is false can be called beliefs. There are many filters within each individual that vary from person to person. The filters develop from many factors and include but are not limited to; gender, age, culture, religion, experience, race sexual orientation, and many others. Religion is the greatest factor. It can also imply not having a religion at all. It for binds in the thoughts expressed of certain topics and greatly when it comes to how morality is seen. The morale is often a huge issue in religions. A group of people, may judge a person’s actions based on what they believe are right. Gender and/or sexual orientation are another greatly affecting factor in the way a person thinks or reacts. For most females, they tend to respond in a very defensive manner compared to men who react in a more aggressive manner. The sexual orientation allows for a wider range of view in the emotional aspects considered of the opposite gender, unless you’re straight which can limit that point of view. Experience also has an input to the way someone views the world. Experience not only refers to just what you “have” experienced, but also to what you “might” experience, for say if you were in someone else’s shoes. Experience can be reflected upon for future experiences with a similar issue. They are there to learn from them especially from others. People who care about others try to help others by giving advice from their own previous experiences. Throughout life many experiences occur in which more knowledge is gained to be able to judge what the right decision in a particular situation.
On a daily bases choices are being made among contradictory statements. In the areas of knowledge opinions are brought up about a subject constantly. For instance, history is currently being made. History is said to be written by the winners, for they record what is most convenient for them. In different parts of the world history is viewed and has affected in different ways. Technology seems to be grasping every bit of information of the events occurring. Today technology is being used frequently to record events, but it is also a medium to find more information about our world. Although science has progressed, there are moral issues involved in some of the sciences practiced. There are issues about whether to continue stem cell research. There are questions asked like is it wrong to destroy an embryo in order to obtain the stem cells? At what stage is it considered to be existing? The contradictory statement and the benefits and disadvantages need to be considered to choose among the contradictory statements or come to an agreement.
To decide between contradicting ideas many factors need to be considered. One of the factors is, what is the others persons point of view and what influences their ideas/ thoughts? The opinion given is based like I said earlier on many factors that influence the thoughts all the time. What are the disadvantages or benefits? A variety of people may choose from opposing statements for convenience. It is also important to think about the benefit of other people as well. Can I trust what either side is saying? Based on my beliefs what do I think is true, (but remember all opinions are relative)? Beliefs are relevant that encourage the viewpoint of others to be considered as true or false. Even though there is no right or wrong way that is how ideas are categorized in each person’s mind, according to specific criteria created in every individual. Most of the time people are not open minded to other’s opinions. We choose not to take in account someone else’s ideas because we often believe our way is the only way. It deprives us from acquiring more knowledge. Having one’s ideas co-exist with someone else’s is something the majority of the people are just not open to.

Our senses tell us that a table, for example, is a solid object; science tells us that the table is
mostly empty space. Thus two sources of knowledge generate conflicting results. Can we
reconcile such conflicts?


Think about when you have sat down in a chair. Your senses tell you that it is a solid object. Nonetheless science tells us that it is mostly empty space. This creates a feeling of cognitive dissonance. It is a feeling where you know something is true but instead you want to believe the other. It is similar with these two conflicts, you know science can be right but you choose to believe your senses. The fact that empty space is sitting (you) on empty space is difficult to believe. As humans one doesn’t like to think of one’s self as nothing, merely empty space, non-existing. People deny the truth and choose to create their own realty. It could be that we are only empty space but people will prefer to live in the world they know. These two conflicting ideas may not be possible to be brought together for it depends on an individual’s opinion.
Our senses allow us to perceive objects. We can use the five senses sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch; however, these are the traditional senses. Science cannot really define sense therefore there can be many other senses. For instance, the feeling you know something is going to happen or the feeling someone is watching you. These senses do not have an explanation for how they function. Our senses are not trust worthy. Our sight can play tricks on us. Our sight perceives objects in different ways based on how we look at an object. For example, optical illusions are images visually perceived. The way we see things can be based on how we categorize and the depth of how we perceive it. A peculiar shade can look different when put in contrast with other diverse shades. Take a look at the Kanizsa triangle, the objects are arranged in a way that it creates the illusion of a triangle. This shows that our brain uses the information our sight has perceived in order to make sense out of it. Therefore maybe the chair or other object doesn’t really exist it could just be an image that our mind is creating before us. Touch is another important sense when determining the reality of an object or it seems that way. We rely on all five senses to determine reality. Perception is used to make automatic images from the information gained from our senses. In our dreams we are able to perceive smell, taste hearing, touch, and sight just like in reality. What we experience in a dream is not very different than reality so who is to say that we really aren’t all in the same dream. Therefore, what we perceive from our senses as a solid may not actually be real.
Science has constantly found out many new discoveries throughout the years. It has tried to discover what the mechanics of the world are and has developed theories on how some aspects function. We now know that objects are made of matter. If you now use your sense of touch to determine the object is there you can know that it’s solid because your hand doesn’t go through it.
At the physic level this may be true, but it may not be accounted for at the quantum level. A table, or other solid object, is matter and they are made up of atoms. Matter has been commonly defined to be anything that has mass and takes up volume. This definition doesn’t quite fit with quantum physics and many revisions have been made to the definition. Matter consists of properties interacting with each other. It consists of atoms which are made up of electrons, protons, and neutrons. The view on what an atom was had been different based on the reason of the various individuals. An example from Embracing Mind states different statements describing the atom and asks which is right. Statements like; a nucleus made of protons and neutrons with electrons orbiting it like planets, a fuzzy cloudlike nucleus, and the smallest component of the universe’ material, unbreakable particles God created to be the universe’s building blocks. The book explained that none of the statements are right or wrong because they fit the cultural, religious, and philosophical background of their times. The Greeks, the early scientists along with many other all had their own opinion on what the atom was. Now an opinion of the atom is that it’s mostly empty space therefore objects are empty space and they don’t exist. Theories that have been developed about the atom can be correct according to the laws that have been discovered. Because those laws have not been disproven yet cannot be assured they might not be some day in the future. There is many information of our world regarding science and the opinions change constantly as the information acquired changes as well.
The idea that the object is perceived by our senses and the idea that science says its mostly empty space cannot be brought together. One of the two ideas can be accepted, but they can’t both be accepted. They are both different from each other and contradict one another. The feeling that something else could be the truth besides what is known is frightening and thus is chosen not to be believed by the majority. People will deny what may be frightening to keep themselves contempt. What seems to be the reality, the object being perceived by the senses, can result being a dream. The knowledge that atoms are mostly empty space is used to come to the conclusion that therefore it doesn’t exist. It could be that we are only empty space but people will prefer to live in the world they know. Others might accept the reasoning that was made. These two conflicting ideas may not be possible to be brought together for it depends on an individual’s opinion.

“Doing the right things starts with knowing the right things.” In what ways does responsible action depend on sound, critical thinking?

People are always seeking to do the right things. “Doing the right things starts with knowing the right things.” Integrity is looked upon by most people. Integrity is being honest even if no one could have found out you did it. To do responsible actions one must first learn what is right which depends on several factors.
Moral principles are values that tell us right from wrong. Parents, society, and culture can all have an input as to the development of our moral values. Society has intended to develop a set of values for everyone to follow. In the past there were communities with morals that must be followed. Morality was an important part of life and some acts were intolerable among society. Most of the time, if a person disagreed they could do little to change the situation, but if a person rebelled against society they were segregated. The people felt obligated to follow. Society can’t set the moral values for an individual because not everyone will agree. Groups of people usually from the same race have cultures that also determine some of the moral principles. Cultures may clash and think of certain aspects as irrelevant. The cultures influence people to build up on their values which are then passed down from generation to generation. Our parents are often the ones that teach us moral values based on their own. As we grow up they set rules to teach us manners. If we behave rudely, then consequences are applied to correct the conduct. These are some of the fundamental elements that make up the moral principles.
Not only do these factors make up our knowledge of the right things, but we are put under pressure of doing the right thing by the people that judge us from the actions we take. People in society that are close to you judge you all the time. They have nothing better to do than to see what wrong moral actions your taking. They pressure to do the right thing in order to escape the judgments of immorality. Religion also puts this type of pressure. There are rules bestowed in religions of morality, which according to that religion must be followed to “go to heaven”. If a person doesn’t follow these rules they are considered to be sinners. Pressure is placed so the moral actions are taken.
Experience has a major role in the decisions of ethic choices. There are many instances when irresponsible actions have taken place. The errors that have been made can improve one’s future choices. Experiences are there to be reflected upon to learn from them. The reflection of experiences can have different perspectives. These perspectives can either assist or undermine the discovery of knowledge from an experience. A person may choose to be take disregard their experiences therefore making the same irresponsible mistakes. They may also choose to heed the experience to learn to make sensible decisions in the future. Experiences are used to realize the mistakes in order to take wiser and responsible actions.
Reason and emotions influence the moral choices made. Responsible actions depend on reason. Reason is a form of critical thinking. I define critical thinking as analyzing the information given and the surroundings to make a decision. Plato’s quote about reason and emotions being like chariots pulling in opposite directions describes this situation. Reason and emotions are like an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Instead of reasoning about the right action that should be taken most often people are guided into doing irresponsible and immoral actions. Emotions can be the guidance of wrong decisions for it causes people to act without thinking about what they are doing. People fall in temptations even though they may know what’s right.
Even though a person might know the difference between the right and wrong actions, it doesn’t mean they will take the right decisions. The conscious is wrestles when a wrong action is committed. A person feels so guilty that there becomes a need to confess. The guilty feeling surges from shame of doing an immoral act. Nonetheless after doing something unethical several times the guilt fades away, slowly the heart becomes cold. A heart can be so cold it no more responds to the wicked actions.
Because different people have different values, the moral values are not always agreed upon. All of these factors shape and mold our knowledge of the right things. Doing the right thing begins with a good thinker that uses critical thinking.

Evaluate the ways in which emotion might enhance and/or undermine reasoning as a Way of knowing?

Emotions affect our reasoning either to enhance or undermine it as a mean of knowing. Emotions often influence most of the actions and decisions we make. We get knowledge through several ways, but reasoning is the most commonly used along with the emotions that influence it.
Reason is a logical form of thinking to discover new knowledge. Reasoning is when there are two or more pieces of information that are true used to imply another statement and therefore conclude it is also true. For instance, a friend had been coughing and sneezing quite a few times in the past few days. Now she has been absent for two days. These two statements are both correct and now we might infer she is ill. Another illustration can be I had a chocolate bar on my desk. When I came home, it was gone. The only person that was left alone in the house was my brother; therefore he must have eaten it. It also includes using our minds as drawing boards to make connections between events. We may use our senses to get a piece of information and then imagine what happened. An example may be a person was in their front yard and saw smoke from a house not too far away. At the same moment a firefighter rushed by. Our brain serves as a drawing board where we have put two pieces of information that we perceived from our senses to imagine what happened. Reason is also thinking about what is best in certain circumstances to make the right decisions. It is using our common sense to judge what the best action to take in the situation we’re in. These decisions are often contradicted and influenced by emotions.
Emotions are a major component of human’s lives. They are how we express our feelings towards others and certain subjects. We express our emotions to others through our actions. Our actions are influenced by our feelings. If we’re depressed we don’t talk to anyone or if we love someone we show our affection by giving them a hug. Furthermore, emotions come from feelings. When someone feels sweaty that feeling may cause disgust, or before lunch the feeling of hunger can create the emotion of anxiety. There are many levels of emotions. They can be categorized in many ways and can be a complex mixture of other emotions. There are basic emotions like happy, sad, content, love, fear, anger, jealousy, and anxiety. Complex emotions can be developed by a mixture of other emotions. Nervous, for example, can be a mixture of fear and anxiety. Love is the most complex emotion for there are many kinds of love. There can be friendships, companions, romance, and motherly love. However, these emotions are constantly changing because of certain circumstances that may cause emotional imbalance. A person may be in constant depression because they lack another emotion like love. The things going on in their lives may cause them to feel depressed or unsuccessful. It can become very serious if they begin to commit suicide. Psychological intervention may be required in order to solve the emotional imbalance. Emotions are a component of the affects on reasoning.
Emotions enhance or undermine reasoning as a way of knowing. We may feel we want to do something because it is what we feel like doing but our head says no because it’s wrong. Instead of doing my homework I feel like sleeping or watching TV. I know I have to complete it so I decide to leave my emotions aside. At times we listen to our emotions instead of reasoning. There was a woman that woke up one morning and reason told her she needed to go to work like always, but a feeling told her she had to stay home .She decided to listen to her feeling and stay home. Later she found out the roof of the building where she worked at caved in. We can’t control our emotions it’s like an instinct to feel a certain way in what we consider at a reasonable moment. We tend to have emotions about the things we know but also from the ones we don’t know. We have fear or terror of the unknown but we have that fear because we have never experienced it. Fear is an emotion that can prevent us from knowing and having experience. The fear of rollercoasters will prevent us from getting on thus never knowing what it really feels like. We can feel dizzy after a very twisty rollercoaster because now we know what it’s like. It is reasonable to have our emotions assist us in getting knowledge.
There are several emotions and different ways of reasoning that improve and diminish our way of knowing.