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Humans as a race have sought knowledge for as long as history has been recorded. Many people seek to understand the world around them, or simply to add to the body of knowledge, but what is knowledge? ...
Knowledge based on reason, such as mathematical truths (e. ... The source of rational knowledge is independent of experience, as these truths remain equally true whether an individual is aware of them or not.
However, we know that we do learn by experience, and as such experience is another source of knowledge. ...
These, then are our two sources of knowledge: rationalism and empiricism, but which is the stronger source for knowledge? ... In addition, there is relatively little that we can know based upon pure reason alone. As a source of knowledge the strength of rational statements lies in reliability and predictability, but not in breadth or applicability. ... However, whilst experience has great utility, it does not seem to adequately explain the scale of human knowledge compared to other beings that experience the world, for example animals.
How then, do humans gain knowledge? ... The key is the interaction between the two sources of knowledge. ... Their rational knowledge will provide the structure, their empirical knowledge the content. ...
In this way it is possible to use empirical knowledge and predict what other experiences might be like. Although we are using empirical knowledge, we are performing a rational operation on it. ... This allows us to perform logical operations on our empirical knowledge and in doing so arrive at potentially new knowledge. ...
This shows us that by applying rational and logical methods to experience we can accelerate the acquisition of empirical knowledge.
Approximate Word count = 1348
Approximate Pages = 5.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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