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Ways of Knowing (WOKs)
- Sense Perception (Your Human Senses)
- Memory
- Emotion
- Reason
- Intuition
- Faith
- Language
- Imagination
Area of Knowledge (AOKs)
- Natural Science (Physics, Chem, Bio) [Engeneering]
- Human Science (Psych, Econ, Political Sci) [Law]
- History
- Ethics
- Math
- Arts
- Indigenous Knowledge Systems
- Religions Knowledge Systems
Personal Knowledge
The knowledge that a particular individual has of the world. This consists of two main overlapping components:
- Experiential knowledge (knowledge gained through experience)
- Second-hand knowledge (knowledge acquired second-hand culture, school, internet, news media)
Some obstacles to personal knowledge
- Ignorance: The real danger is “the ignorance of our ignorance.” Ignorance can lead to overconfidence and the belief we know more than we do.
- Apathy: Once we have formed an opinion about something, we are reluctant to change our minds.
- Fantasy: wanting something to be true to believe it is true (wishful thinking…)
- Bias: being inclined to think is something due to your past.
- Peer pressure: most people would rather be liked than be right, and they tend to adjust their beliefs to the norms of those around them.
Shared Knowledge
The complete knowledge which we can communicate to one another (academic knowledge, informal knowledge, and that part of practical know-how that we can communicate verbally or nonverbally).
While shared knowledge can, in theory, be shared by everyone, in practice it is often shared only by groups, for example:
- Friends
- Subject specialists
- Cultures
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