Tis True There Are No Truths and Absolutely No Absolutes: A Scholarly Report

What does man know? For years beyond count the scholarly elite and plebeians alike have toiled over the issues berthed in human minds as a result of the theory of knowledge. What is knowledge? Is it relative or is it objective? Can a belief be justified as a truth? Can people truly know anything at all? The diversity among the philosophical viewpoints of history’s most prominent academians does nothing, but add to the obscurity of the subject matter, making a firm grasp around a solid answer to the questions presented seem unattainable. Figures, like Rene Descartes, will argue, under the position of the rationalist, that knowledge is possible with the use of reason (Felder 126). Other philosophers, such as George Berkeley and John Locke, who both hold empiricist views, will also argue that knowledge can be gained. Their positions will hold that an application of logical reasoning combined with observation from the normal senses is the way to acquire knowledge (Felder 119). When attempting to tackle such a daunting subject intellectual perception must be conditioned to see and understand that there is no black and white; that a vast mass of gray areas exist and must be accounted for to validate any argument. Since efforts to prove or disprove that human beings can have truths are oriented on the basis of assumptions about the valid practices of creating knowledge (Hall 330) it can be sagaciously postulated that an acquisition of knowledge is, indeed, possible. Moreover, there is knowledge that is objective as well as knowledge that is relative.

When building an argument it is important to first erect a foundation. So, in order to build a foundation fitting the proposed argument it is necessary to get some sort of clutch on what knowledge is. To David Hume, “the devastating skeptic… knowledge of any sort is an illusion” (Letwin 134). This viewpoint, however is flawed. For all intents, constructions, and purposes let the term knowledge be defined as an awareness and a familiarity with factual information and or principles. When such a simple definition can be manufactured why is the task of determining whether or not people can have knowledge met with so much difficulty? This is because a great number of philosophers, though brilliant, are quite stubborn and choose not to acknowledge the idea that there is more than one type of knowledge. Therefore, to visit the issue of the possibility to gain knowledge responsibly, one can not ignore the actuality of tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge refers to the knowledge that is rooted in individual experience with respect to beliefs, perspectives, and values while explicit knowledge refers to recorded or formal knowledge (Polanyi 12). When considering the existence of both tacit and explicit knowledge, the flaws in the position of Hume become exposed. When pitted against explicit knowledge Hume’s “illusion” theory is defeated, for knowledge can not be an illusion when things that people know are manifest in reality. For instance, it is known that if a fuel injected motor vehicle runs out of gas the engine will not start until more fuel is deposited into the gas tank. If Hume’s analysis were true the result of running out of gas would merely be an illusion and the vehicle would still run. While his notion may work against many tacit knowledge situations it crumbles against cases that involve explicit knowledge. Consequently, this verifies that Hume’s illusion ideology is erroneous. Furthermore, it reinforces the argument that human beings can obtain and maintain knowledge.

Explorers of the world of epistemology can divide it into three broad areas of inquiry based upon the following three questions: What are the limits of human knowledge? What are the sources of human knowledge? What is the nature of human knowledge (Muis 317)? It does not take a very in depth analysis to realize that these questions will yield answers that have situational variance. A holistic approach to human epistemology is inadequate as all people have incalculable differences. It thus becomes necessary to relegate experimentation and study to the realm of personal epistemology, creating case studies that garner data about individuals rather than groups. Scholars who choose to ignore the aforementioned gray areas might make the case that knowledge depends on the individual or contend that knowledge is completely independent of the individual. In opposition, the sensible disputant who recognizes the legitimacy of the gray areas will present, with greater success, the argument that truth rests between these two extremes. First of all, there is no possible way that the procurement of knowledge can rest solely on an individual. Why not? Well, in order for an individual to gain knowledge the individual must first be created. Individuals do not, can not, and will not ever create themselves. Others are responsible for the birth of an individual whether the child is conceived as a result of the practice of sexual intercourse by a man and a woman or by artificial insemination with participation from a woman, a sperm donor, and a doctor. Therefore, by default, those persons responsible for an individual’s introduction into the world share in the responsibility for any knowledge that individual acquires in his or her lifetime. Secondly, to say that knowledge is completely independent of the individual is a mindless claim to make. A conceptualization that makes use of tangible objects can quickly and easily render this argument null and void. If a young woman has, in her grasp, an encyclopedia is it independent of her? No. So how then can knowledge be independent of its holder? It can not be.

The idea that human beings can not know anything is absurd. While many philosophers who argue that people are unable to know anything do present meritorious positions they are too easily refuted. Even if it is true that humans truly can not know anything, the truth of the argument alone would nullify it. If a philosopher knows that people can not know anything that philosopher knows something. How can such a philosopher rationalize this? The truth is that the statement is irrational, so there is no rational defense. So, in closing I hold these two truths to be self-evident: that human beings can and do have knowledge.

Felder, David W. Yes We Can: Philosophy for Change. Tallahassee: Wellington P, 2008. 118-133.

Hall, John R. "Epistemology and Sociohistorical Inquiry." Annual Review of Sociology 16 (1990): 329-351.

Letwin, Shirley R. "Hume: Inventor of a New Task for Philosophy." Political Theory 3.2 (1975): 134-158.

Muis, Krista R. "Personal Epistemology and Mathematics: a Critical Review and Synthesis of Research." Review of Educational Research 64.3 (2004): 317-377.

Polanyi, Michael. The Tacit Dimension. Garden City: Anchor Books, 1967. 10-13.

Brand Bands Together: Bridging the Gap Between Cliquey Music Scenes - by Julian Demers-Mader

I read this today and felt compelled to post it here... Enjoy

--

Artists sometimes have trouble making friends with regular people. Especially if they’re eccentric artists. This can hurt their potential success, given that a large fan base consists mostly of regular type people. The good news is, artists can usually do well at befriending other artists–of greater or lesser eccentricity. When artists become friends with each other and start forming communities, scenes, etc., their momentum often leads to artistic movements. What began as local movements ultimately end up influencing global trends and styles in music, fashion, film, and the list goes on.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The British Invasion was an early example of this in music. Every key British Invasion artist benefited greatly from their peers’ success in the music industry. Collectively, the British Invasion created a cultural explosion throughout Europe and the US. It was, however, an example of several different music scenes from the UK ultimately banding together to form a cultural shockwave. Up-and-comers these days need to think smaller scale.

The Punk scene exploded in the 80s and then the Grunge scene in the 90s. These ended up having just as much effect globally as did the British Invasion. The punk scene was borne of Washington DC area hardcore bands espousing an original do-it-yourself ethic. When one band got famous, so did others. Same thing happened in Grunge a decade later, but this time in Seattle. If we can learn anything from this, it’s that once a scene grows to encompass enough original talent, that scene turns into a movement which then affects trends nationally and so on.

It’s so important to recognize that all you need for a scene to evolve into a movement is artists willing to reach out to one another. This means regardless of scene; irrespective of genre; whether or not you live uptown or downtown, all you have to do is connect enough bubbling talent in your city or region and *boom*. Cultural explosion. This is where I get the term ‘brand bands together’. Don’t focus on just branding yourself like the major labels do for Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. Those kinds of scenes are manufactured and thus usually die out as quickly as they come up. A lasting movement and, indeed, moment, in art culture happens when dedicated, original talent connects with like-minded people in the formation of an unstoppable cultural front.

I’m sure that in every city, there are more and more people realizing that if only each music scene quit being so cliquey, they could collectively become a much more potent cultural force. That doesn’t mean metal needs to stop being so metally and hip-hop so hippy-hoppy. It just means a couple innovators from each scene need to come together and cross-genre boundaries and single-handedly forge the next era of music. It is happening. Slowly. But we need to encourage the connecting of key players in every scene to speed it along. We also need to discourage it from getting caught up in the old industry mentality. That will just breed a new era of Limp Bizkits and Linkin Parks, this time targeting even younger audiences.

Blog Roll - People Watching

From what I have gathered, the growth of social media as a, seemingly, integral part of life is because people have a grown ever-fascinated with... well... people. We watch in stressful anticipation the course case that has captured a nation. We stand awestruck as foreign royalty touches down our land... this land that was made for you and me. We collect tears as an idle of talk takes her show off the air. People watching people. People talking about people. In that spirit and in the interest of improving your literacy, I would like to introduce you to some people that you may not know... people who share many of the same thoughts as you, but are probably much different than you [think] you are. You may never meet them, but thanks to social media, you can certainly read them.

Star Status Thoughts - the weird, quiet, exciting, curious, emotionally unstable, cool girl that you probably choose to ignore in public.

Mermaiding The Globe - journalist, activist, christian, lesbian, cook, animal lover, runner, yogi, foodie.

Sam’s Journal - the latest events, news, sports, arts, music & entertainment within the walls of the city beautiful Orlando, Florida. From Sam’s point of view.

Diversity in the world is a basic characteristic of human society, and also the key condition for a lively and dynamic world as we see today.

- Jinato Hu

Oh, Precious Child

I was just sitting on my balcony watching you (in a completely non-pedophilistic manner) and I could only ask: what happened? What happened to the grown man, imprisoned on rape charges, that once played as innocently as you? Years from now, you or some child like you will become the unsuspecting victim of drug addiction. You or some child like you will mercilessly devalue your wife through your words and careless actions. You or some child like you will gaze stoically into the eyes of the Judge as he announces your sentence: “I hereby sentence you to life... with no chance for parole.” What was the defining moment, the catalyst to your change from child to monster? Kudos to the child who grows into adulthood and contributes to the Universe love, compassion, and goodwill. Your efforts are appreciated. A prayer for you, child, who day by day grows into the disgrace of a human being that you never thought you'd be.

While, I am unable to prescribe the ultimate fix, I will lend a suggestion. Let us get to the children before the streets do. I know, I know... responsible adults are sooooooo not cool. They can't connect with the kids. Were we not all children? Have we really lost all contact with that inner child? If you know a kid, take thirty minutes to let the child show you a video game. Take the next thirty minutes to explain to the child how much better the original NES is (show them if you're able). Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros. 1 – 3, Excitebike, Double Dragon... c'mon somebody! I don't have to be the daddy to set a good example. Neither do you.

“Now that's game. I be try'na teach the young boys, but they don't wanna listen to the young boy.”

-Seazon All

News Media

LET me say this before I even get started... BOOO TO THE NEWS MEDIA!!! To be honest with you I hate the news. I like knowing what's going on in the world, but I hate how the news makes my people, black people, look like crap. I used to always think it was hype when I'd hear black people talking about how the news media portrayed us. Eventually, I started to observe for myself and it's so true. As far as crime goes, the news media loves to show all the crimes committed by black people and in the black community, but black people aren't the only people committing crimes. Nearly, every news anchor is white and the black ones are all light skinned... I won't get into this, but there are certainly implications. I'm not going to rant any longer, but I will say this. The news is supposed to chronicle the good, the bad, and the ugly of all four corners of our world; North East West South. So, until the news starts airing the successes of every community I'm not watching. Until the news starts addressing the needs of every community I'm not watching. Cover it all or don't cover anything at all. Furthermore, this infatuation with the struggles and bubbles of celebrities is ridiculous. Katie Holmes' new haircut is not nearly as important as the need for loving families to adopt children. The breakdown of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and others is nothing to smile, laugh, and joke about. Whether you like the chicks or not, they are still human and we should wish them the best and pray that they can find some type of healing. Okay... I'm done.

"Journalism is popular, but it is popular mainly as fiction. Life is one world, and life seen in the newspapers is another."
-G.K. Chesterton

Spending Habits

SPENDING habits in the United States today are outrageous. Americans, myself included, spend money on some of the most outrageous things. I, however am not as guilty as most people, but this is simply because I don't really have any money to spend. It is amazing to see the things that people spend money on; hundreds and thousands of dollars on shoes, clothes, purses, and the like. I am like that little kid who's money burns a hole in his pocket. As soon as I come across some cash I'm ready to spend it. The majority of the money I spend though, I consider an investment. A majority of my money goes into my music for studio sessions, promotion, etc. I do this because I believe that my investment will pay off. I do get sick of being broke though... so I'm looking forward to my money-filled future. As far as the national spending habits are concerned, I believe that if you want it you should get it, but you should also get it responsibly. Don't buy something knowing that getting it will prevent you from paying your rent.

"Money talks...but all mine ever says is good-bye."
-Anonymous

Video Games

VIDEO games are becoming more and more real everyday. They are also becoming more and more violent. With the push of a few buttons and the maneuvering of a couple joysticks anyone can become a hit man and slit the throat of a government official. Children are joyfully taking the controls as car thieves joyriding through cities and brutally murdering anyone who gets in their ways, but it's all just for fun! Different organizations, many of them parental groups, are started to fight video game makers citing the argument that their games are too violent and dangerous to the healthy development of children across the globe. Scientific studies have even gathered data linking video violence to "angry activity" in children and grown folks alike. As far as the grown folks are concerned, just control your anger people. YOU ARE GROWN! If you see that your actions are becoming for volatile and you're a chronic gamer... put the sticks down homie, and that's all I've got to say about that. Now, as it pertains to children, we all know that children will try to imitate what they see. Parents need to take responsibility and monitor what games the children are playing. Of course a child can always go to a friend's house and play a game that perhaps isn't allowed in his/her own home, but that's not really an excuse. Parents need to instill a firm understanding of what is wrong in what is right. If your child doesn't know through your teachings that stealing a car and shooting someone in the head for 1,000 points is wrong, then you need to reconsider before giving birth again.

"If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time."
-Chinese Proverb