Is Seeing Believing?

Some of our knowledge is gained through sense perception, when we ask the question 'is seeing believing,' we have to look at the question of how reliable are our perceptions? People believe that what they have seen is what is true, however, this is not always true. As human beings, we tend to 'fill in the gaps', therefore we might think we have seen something but other factors may have influenced it which does not make it necessarily 'real', it might be true to you but in reality it is not. Sometimes when we are so desperate to see something, we will convince ourselves that that is in fact true. Our perceptions are not always 100% reliable as what we perceive is affected by our environment and who we are. 

Language

Reflection on Language

Language has many roles in our lives, we use it to express ourselves, interact, give information and much more. People have different connotations of words, one word might not mean the same thing to another person as it does to you. The type of language used can depend on your choice of words, these convey what you are trying to say and shows the emotions that are being expressed. Language doesn't always have to be verbal, it can be symbolic as well. Symbols refer to certain ideas and we associate them with certain things, some are very clear like when we see a picture of a man or a woman on a bathroom door we know where to go, but others can be more complex. Some people say that we are born without the capacity for language and instead learn it later through imitation and response whereas others think we already possess the ability. Overall, language is a tool for communicating and knowing. 

1984

Why is the ruthless totalitarian regime, described in Orwell’s novel purging Oldspeak and imposing Newspeak? What assumptions are being made about the relationship between language and thought?

They are imposing Newspeak because the aim of Newspeak is to narrow the whole range of thought. They are cutting down words and cutting down the language in Newspeak. Instead of having so many words for 'good' and 'bad', in Newspeak, they will be covered in just 6 words. They want to  control people's thoughts and by imposing Newspeak, this will be easier to achieve as people's thoughts will be more clear and definitive. 

They are assuming that by narrowing the language, this will also narrow people's thoughts. They think that by making the language smaller, every concept in people's minds will be expressed by just one word. This implies that language is directly related to thought and by narrowing someone's language, it will also narrow their thoughts. 

Real Life Situations

Knowledge Claim: America is responsible for the Syria Crisis.

Topic: Crisis in Syria

Poor Knowledge Question: How do we know that america is responsible for the crisis in Syria and it is not the fault of the syrians?

Good Knowledge Question: How can we use reason as a knowledge tool to help us establish what is the cause of wars? 

Ladder Of Abstraction:

Knowledge Claim: Fruits are getting riper due to global warming.

Topic: Global Warming

Poor Knowledge Question: Are fruits getting riper due to global warming?

Intermediate knowledge question: Is there a link between climate changes and the ripening of fruit?

Good Knowledge Question: How could we establish that global warming is the cause of the ripening of fruits without any others factors being involved? 

My Subjects

My Subjects

This is a list of my subjects in order of importance:

1. Maths- I feel that maths is the most important subject as it is used in everyday activities and maths is everywhere. Also, it helps with problem solving skills and maths is an essential part in all the other subjects such as physics, economics, chemistry, etc. Moreover, whenever you apply for a job they always ask for your maths grade or make you take a test. Therefore, maths is very important.
2. Biology- Biology is also important as it helps you understand living organisms. It plays a big role in medicine as you need to understand your anatomy better in order to have the correct medicines. It helps with new discoveries, research and cures for diseases. Biology gives us a better understanding with theories such as Evolution.
3. Economics- This shows us how the economy works and helps us predict how the economy will be like in the future and how we can better our country. It shows us the patterns of supply and demand in markets which will help us understand price changes. Also, economics gives us a better understanding of recessions and what we need to do in the future.
4. Business and Management- It helps us understand how organisations work and the workforce. However, I feel like it is not as important as Economics as Business is more internal and economics is more external which I think is more useful.
5. French- Languages are important as it helps us to get jobs as employers prefer people who speak more than one language. However, I feel as if the other subjects are more important and also other languages are more useful in today's world such as mandarin since it is the most spoken language these days.
6. Literature- I feel that literature is the least important subject as it is not as useful as the others. The other subjects are more useful in today's world, Literature is still quite important but I feel it is not as important as the others.