Whole Point Of Knowledge Essay

As individuals that are highly dependent on knowledge, can we frankly say that the only influence knowledge has is on our personal lives? Are we not considering knowledge as a simple, trivial aspect of our lives then? “The whole point of knowledge is to produce both meaning and purpose in our personal lives”. This quote is one that contradicts itself, stating that knowledge is what lies within the roots of our lives, yet failing to realize that it’s not doing this only through our limited personal knowledge, but also through humankind’s profoundly deep pool of shared knowledge. Perhaps one should attempt to interpret personal and shared knowledge to enhance one’s understanding of the quote given. Knowledge in our personal lives, as given in

One of the reasons why I believe this quote is built of contradicting ideas is that it fails to realize the links between shared and personal knowledge and their interdependence. Furthermore, I interpret “meaning” as what we understand from our lives. We seek meaning in almost every aspect of our lives, and “purpose” in this case, is why we pursue what we are seeking, what we expect to find in our lives. Considering personal knowledge as the only thing that is lying within the roots of our lives would only lead to problems, as seen in the fundamental philosophy of empiricism, natural sciences, and various religious knowledge systems. Personal knowledge, although being very significant, is not all there is. Personal knowledge serves as a foundation but knowledge is not limited to personal experiences, it consists of what is known as shared knowledge; thus the influences of knowledge are not limited to those in our personal lives, they also shape communities, cultures, and

Empiricism considers what is gained only or primarily from sensory experience, in other words our perception, as knowledge. One who is using the fundamental theory of empiricism, considering personal knowledge, as the only type of knowledge to be acquired, limits one’s ability to reason. Sensory qualities in perception, even if assumed that they could be realized instantly, do not justify matters of fact outside sensory qualities. Therefore the intention behind personal knowledge to reduce down what’s beyond our understanding to what we can experience creates limitations. In fact, I have experienced a good example of this limitation in the WOK of sense perception recently: I bumped my elbow’s “funny bone” on the corner of a table. Unconsciously, the familiar flow of pain and numbness went up my arm, and consequently caused my pinky and ring fingers to tingle for around four-five minutes. Afterward I naturally rubbed my tingling fingers because my mind was under the false impression that something about my hand was making them tingle. There was no difference about my fingers that was making them tingle. Instead, it was the nerve impulse passing through my elbow that got bumped which was the problem. However, my brain had no way of knowing the difference between what was really happening to my fingers and what I was feeling because of what was happening in my nervous system. There