Here is my fifth post in a series of brief personal philosophical statements stemming from my graduate course final. This is my first writing dealing with epistemology (What is knowledge? What does it mean to know?).
Philosophy Position #5: To know requires time.
Acquiring knowledge is earned. I don’t believe that I can just hear something and then know it. Instead, I’ve got to wrestle with it, turn it around in my head, experiment with the truth of it, talk about it, and reflect on it. Studying and reading are great; however, how often do we get things right the first time? How often do we hear a statement, get excited about its “truth,” share it with someone else as if it’s gospel, then forget all about it in a matter of days? No, knowledge must be handled and battled against in order to discover its strength. If the knowledge acquired isn’t tested, it is a weak, fleeting knowledge.
My knowledge about God continues to be something I wrestle with and seek to refine. Classroom practices are another example, as I don’t really know the quality of a strategy until I’ve tried it, usually multiple times. Good literature must be reread, questioned, and discussed in order to be “known.” People especially fall into this category. My best friends are the ones I’ve experienced life with. I earned knowledge about them by putting the time in and discovering more and more through experience. Those experiences are a kind of knowledge, perhaps even the best kind.
Philosophy Position #5: To know requires time.
Acquiring knowledge is earned. I don’t believe that I can just hear something and then know it. Instead, I’ve got to wrestle with it, turn it around in my head, experiment with the truth of it, talk about it, and reflect on it. Studying and reading are great; however, how often do we get things right the first time? How often do we hear a statement, get excited about its “truth,” share it with someone else as if it’s gospel, then forget all about it in a matter of days? No, knowledge must be handled and battled against in order to discover its strength. If the knowledge acquired isn’t tested, it is a weak, fleeting knowledge.
My knowledge about God continues to be something I wrestle with and seek to refine. Classroom practices are another example, as I don’t really know the quality of a strategy until I’ve tried it, usually multiple times. Good literature must be reread, questioned, and discussed in order to be “known.” People especially fall into this category. My best friends are the ones I’ve experienced life with. I earned knowledge about them by putting the time in and discovering more and more through experience. Those experiences are a kind of knowledge, perhaps even the best kind.
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