Understanding Knowledge

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Dear Student,
Here is your solution. I took the liberty of combining postmodern philosophical arguments with my idea of social sciences as the sensory experiences you describe point to a form of socialization. Attached is the word version. The knowledge debate has been raging on for centuries and there are various explanations that we can use however, what I provided I reckon is most practical & applicable to your case. I suggest for you to expand your knowledge by reading on further the references I used. Good luck & thank you for using brainmass. Attached is the word version of the solution below.

OTA 105878

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Constructing Knowledge

There are various ways by which I can answer you question and since you are coming from a philosophical viewpoint I shall follow the lead of Richard Rorty. What is knowledge? Knowledge is seen as acquired skills, expertise upon a particular subject matter gained via experience or education. Knowledge also refers to a total understanding of a particular object or subject matter, even if it is an abstract explanation. An awareness & familiarity towards a subject could be deemed as one's 'Knowledge' of it or as Plato would like to say, Knowledge is that 'justified true belief' a person has or a group of people or a culture has on a particular topic, event, situation, object in the past or the present or the future.
Richard Rorty like Foucault and Derrida see knowledge & reality intertwined. Knowledge construction had long been debated in the halls of the academia. During the Medieval Ages, even unto the early Age of Exploration & Discovery, valid & acceptable knowledge has been according to the dictates of faith & the monarchy. What is truth is dictated by the power of the 'Ruling Leader' & his faithful 'Cardinals & Bishops'. For example, truth held back then that the King had Divine Right to rule & to lead and no one else can question that. But then slowly and most assuredly reason became the centre of the circuit of knowledge instead of the divine. The early scientists began to try & unravel the mysteries of their time using objective inquiries and science and of its methods of gaining knowledge were born. As science became the increasingly more accurate arena that answers inquiries of nature & unexplained phenomenon (why the sun rises, what the shape of the globe is, why things fall down, etc.), the manner by which man sees the social world also changed. John Locke came to a conclusion that all men are born similar, created equal. Machiavelli saw politics as a necessity in holding a state but condones the abuses of rulers who cannot think, who at times turn to ...