How Convincing Is the View That Sense Experience Is the...

How convincing is the view that sense experience is the source of all knowledge? (30mark) The view that sense experience is the source of all knowledge is an Empiricist one. Rationalism and Empiricism are the two ways in which one can approach questions regarding the obtaining of knowledge. Empiricism would argue that knowledge from reason is trivial, as it doesn’t tell us anything substantial about the world, and the only way we can do that is through experiencing it. Locke was an empiricist who believed all knowledge was gained through sense experience. He referred to the mind at birth as a ‘tabula rasa’, ‘clean slate’, thus demonstrating that we are born without any knowledge, and the only way to gain knowledge is through our†¦show more content†¦However, God is good, thus he wouldn’t do that, therefore it must be the work of a ‘demon’. Therefore according to rationalist Descartes, a deceiving demon could be making us believe every time that two plus two equals four, when it in fact doesn’t, yet we would never be able to prove this through sense experience. When Descartes came to his final conclusion, he stated that there was only one thing he could ever be certain of, the fact that ‘I am, I exist, is necessarily true each time it is expressed by me, or conceived in my mind.’ Thus also demonstrating the existence of synthetic a priori knowledge, knowledge gained without s ense experience. However, and empiricist called Hume also believed all knowledge came from sense experienced, and divided all true propositions into two categories. Hume defined knowledge as true propositions, and that these were either relations of ideas, such as mathematics and logical truths, or matters of fact, such as claims about the world, and a posteriori knowledge. Hume therefore argued that firstly, relations of ideas, although important, are restricted by mathematical and logical principle thus they do not actually add to our knowledge of the world, which is the most important knowledge to us. Secondly, he stated that if we find a claim which falls into neither category, it is to be â€Å"committed to the flames† as is can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion, thus it is meaningless toShow MoreRelated Abortion934 Words   |  4 PagesAbortion In the following article we will argue wheatear abortion should be practice or should not be practice. It is a subject that concerns all of us; especially women since are the ones expose to this harsh procedure. The argument Electoral Politics and Abortion was published in fall of 2003, by Laurie Shrage. During the year of the Publications Argument, many controversies arouse from this delicate subject, creating new groups like pro- choice and pro-life. 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This phenomenon, known as the mirror stage, signifies the separation of one from the rest of the world, allowing for further maturation and development to occur (Lacan)Read MoreReflection Paper About Media Culture1439 Words   |  6 Pagesthese days are behind me. I want to say I understand how everything I ve learned so far comes together. But the truth is I still don t have a clear picture. I haven t had any significant paradigm shifts or Aha! moments. So I can only speak on behalf of my limited perspective. And it s possible that I ll look back several years from now with a different outlook. In the meantime, think of this essay as a snapshot. For it will capture all my beliefs, goals, questions and viewpoints about communication