Beyond Feelings - Vincent Ruggiero.original_ [13]
Mabel: I can't believe I'm hearing such slop from a science major.
Alphonse: What you fail to understand is that astrology is science, one of the most ancient sciences at that.
Jake: What did you think of the chapter "What is Truth?"
Rocky: It's stupid.
Jake: What do you mean?
Rocky: It contradicts Chapter 1.
Jake: I didn't get that impression. Where's the contradiction?
Rocky: In Chapter 1 the author says that "I'm OK, you're OK" is a mature attitude and that we should strive to be individuals and think for ourselves. Now he says that his idea about truth is OK and ours isn't and that we should follow his. That's a contradiction.
Group discussion exercise: How many times have you been certain something was true, only to find out later that it was not? Discuss those experiences with two or three of your classmates. Be prepared to share the most dramatic and interesting experiences with the rest of the class.
1 Time, August 14, 1972, p.52.
2 "Chaplin Film Is Discovered," Binghamton Press, September 8, 1982, p.7A.
3 "Town's Terror Frozen in Time," New York Times, November 21, 1982, Sec. 4, p.7.
4 "A Tenth Planet?" Time, May 8, 1972, p.46.
5 Herrman L. Blumgart, "The Medical Framework for Viewing the Problem of Human Experimentation," Daedalus, Spring 1969, p.254.
6 "Back to School," New York Times, March 11, 1973, pp.57ff.
7 "The Murky Time," Time, January 1, 1973, pp. 57ff.
P1-C03-6
CHAPTER FOUR
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO KNOW?
Sally looks up from her composition and asks her roommates, "How do you spell embarrass?"
Nancy says, "I'm not sure. I think it has a double r and a double s. oh, I really don't know."
Marie smiles her nasty-cute smile. "I guess spelling isn't your cup of tea, Nancy. The correct spelling is e-m-b-a-s-s. Only one r."
By this time Sally has already opened her dictionary. "Might as well check to be sure," she says. "Let's see, embargo, embark… here it is, embarrass. Double r and double s. You were right, Nancy."
Let's consider what happened more closely. Marie knew the answer, but she was wrong. Nancy didn't know, but she was right. Confusing. What kind of thing can this "knowing" be? When you're doing it, you're not doing it. And when you aren't you are.
Fortunately it only appears to be that way. The confusion arises because the feelings that accompany knowing can be present when we don't know. Marie had those feelings. She no longer wondered or experienced any confusion. She was sure of the answer. Yet she was mistaken.
REQUIREMENTS OF KNOWING
Nancy was in a better position than Marie because she answered correctly. Yet she didn't know either, for knowing involves more than having the right answer. It also involves the realization that you have it.
The answer, of course, may not always be as simple as the spelling of a word. It may require understanding of numerous details or complex principles or steps in a process. (it may also involve a skill – knowing how to do something. But that is a slightly different use of the word than concerns us here.)
Knowing usually implies something else, too – the ability to express what is known and how we came to know it. This, however, is not always so. We may not be able to express our knowledge in words. The best we may be able to say is "I just know, that's all" or "I know because I know." Yet these replies are feeble and hardly satisfy those who wish to verify our knowledge or share it.
ASSUMING, GUESSING, SPECULATING
Three mental processes that are sometimes confused with knowing are assuming, guessing, and speculating. Yet they are quite different. Assuming is taking something for granted – that is, unconsciously holding an idea about something without ever trying to verify it, sometimes being unaware we have the idea.
Many people, for example, never give much thought to the daily life of fish. They may have their curiosity aroused as they walk through a discount store, stop at the pet section, and stare for a few minutes at the