Prompt 3 Philosophy can be divided into Metaphysics and epistemology. Metaphysics is concerned with what is to be? While epistemology is concerned with concrete knowledge and with “what is knowledge”? In other words, what can be known, how it came to be known, and the source of knowledge is epistemology. Empiricism and rationalism both deal with the epistemology branch of philosophy. Even more specifically, rationalism and empiricism are concerned with how knowledge is gained. Rationalism argues that knowledge is innate and harbored in the human mind before birth, in a sort of pre-existence. An example of this would be when Plato tried to illustrate innate knowledge by showing that a boy constructed a square of twice the size of a …show more content…
Empiricism makes more sense to me, but maybe that is because I was brought up in a world always obsessing over the materialistic and hard concrete data or statistics. The idea that sensory perception and experiences contribute to knowledge in the fullest makes the most logical sense to me because that is how anyone has ever mastered a certain field or area. No one had the innate knowledge of surgeon or a carpenter, for example. Some things are innate but it would be complicated to classify what is for certain. Another problem with rationalism is where this hidden innate knowledge originated from. This sort of knowledge is not tangible and it would prove very difficult to provide an answer to the source of a pre-existing knowledge. We are born not knowing. Think of anyone who has learned a serious profession; this profession or skill was not drawn out of them due to it being innate but was rather incorporated into their minds where it settled and stuck into the long term memory of the brain. I can think of philosophy as an example. I know for a certainty that the teachings of the Socrates Plato and Aristotle was never an innate knowledge within me. It could have been possible I thought of the same questions these men asked and came up with a somewhat similar answer, but I never came up or drew out the exact philosophy or exact ways of thinking
Kant credited both empiricism and rationalism movements. He believes that they both contributed to human’s knowledge and should not reject neither one of them. So, he keeps some parts of those principles and defines empiricism a posteriori knowledge and rationalism as a priori knowledge. His goal is to explain and then justify the possibility of scientific knowledge.
Rationalism is the theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than religious belief or emotional, while empiricism is the theory that knowledge is derived from senses-experience which stimulated the rise of experimental science. The philosophers Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume all have different views on the existence and nature of external objects. Some see it as the view on objects as everything is sense related other see it that it is all from thought but the object is not existent.
The pursuit of truth: Epistemology provides understanding for the reader to gain insight to the way that humans process and react to truth. Epistemology is the pursuit of intellectual virtue. It wants to provide an evidentiary basis for belief, rather than one of just opinion. Entwistle then brings up another important topic which is Metaphysics. Metaphysics can be defined as the philosophical investigation of the nature, constitution and stature of reality. Philosophical anthropology attempts to validate assumptions made by theologians and psychologists about human nature and behavior (Entwistle, pp119).
The four main branches of philosophy are epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and logic. I will explore epistemology, the study of knowledge. The study of epistemology tries to define knowledge; identify the source of knowledge; the process of acquiring knowledge, and measures the limits of knowledge. Epistemology has intrigued philosophers since the Pre-Socratic era. In the 17th century, a fresh revolutionary outlook known as the Age of Enlightenment many new theories of epistemology began to emerge.
When people think about empiricists, they usually discuss views of great philosophers such as George Berkeley and David Hume. Empiricists believe that all knowledge comes from the senses. Rationalists, on the other hand, believe that we can gain knowledge through the inspection of innate ideas. Although Berkeley and Hume are both empiricists, they still have different opinions about the existence of God. Berkeley's philosophy uses God as the central figure in his metaphysical system. However, Hume uses scientific observation to postulate his theories and he does not rely on God to support his arguments. I will argue that Hume's Philosophy is stronger then Berkeley's
The next two, rationalism and empiricism are the combination of knowledge via science. Knowledge via rationalism involves logical reasoning. It is the combination of stating precise ideas (often in the form of syllogism), applying logical rules, and making logical conclusions based on the ideas. The problem is when the syllogism’s content or either premises is false. The knowledge is not based on the content, but on the logical manner it is presented. Knowledge via empiricism involves gaining knowledge through objective observation and the experiences of one’s senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching (collection of facts), and views knowledge, as “I’ll believe when I see it”.
Empiricism, an approach to knowledge that requires our senses and can be observed though evidence. As well as the reasoning to scientific method, thus think rationally. Empiricism signifies the seed of knowledge, to enumerate empiricism is to have imagination. To clarify empiricism, it is to have an understanding of everyday life experiences. In fact, empiricism can go back to Enlightenment because it’s the understanding of social life and the basics of human nature though logic and reason. For instance, when researching it is based on evidence and facts, especially when using our senses: observing, touching or even smelling. Which concludes to Empiricism is based on observation and our senses.
We are all shaped by life’s experiences whether it is through the actions of our own or by simple observations, these make up how you interact with the world around you. Therefore, based off all my life experiences the two ethical theories that are most influential in my life are rationality by St. Thomas Aquinas and utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill. Moreover, the ethical principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, and beneficence can all be associated with the ethical theories presented by St. Thomas Aquinas and John Stuart Mill in regards to the healthcare setting. My life’s journey began in Germany on a military base, so the idea of utilitarianism and rationality began at a young age for me.
The concept of ‘rationality’ has been talked through the centuries. According to Grey (2013), rationality is a big question because of this proposition which has the meaning and difficulties seem to be defining of a whole set of issues which have resonated through both organisation theory and practice ever since. And rationality is the basis of a decision, rational decision makers are objective and logical, they reach the goal that maximises the value. Not only rationality is important to organisations, and also it can be identified in various kinds of management theories. This essay will introduce the different aspects of the concept of ‘rationality’ and make explanations that how these are recognised in different management theories.
To begin with the question of rationalism versus empiricism, it is important to understand, first, what it is that rationalists argue. This school of thought infers that all knowledge comes from within, an innate source that
Rationalism – knowledge acquired using reasoning, using intuition and deduction to analyse how the person concluded and how they validate the argument or concepts presented.
Rationalism and empiricism can be related. The two methods only conflict when covering the same subject. Philosophers can be either a rationalist or empiricist but
In Plato's Theaetetus, he says, "Any one forms the true opinion of anything without rational explanation, you may say that his mind is truly exercised, but has no knowledge." This is quite true that when one can state a true opinion supported by a rational explanation, one's opinion constitutes knowledge, since perceptions of senses are excluding in this case. Moreover, a rational explanation does not contain any subjectivity, it is an objective entity for humans to understand true knowledge. For this reason, I fall with rationalism and believe it is a superior philosophical viewpoint about the nature of knowledge.
They are the result of generalizing experiences. Rationalism believes that the ideas of empiricism cannot be dependable without considering future claims that can be proven. Such factor as the laws of nature or cause and effect on an event, cause and effect, where one event causes the effect of the other event, stem from rationalism are inherently
Similar to critical thinking, the method of rational thinking interprets how we think rationally. Logic plays a specialized role in rational thinking. Rational thinking