Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Role of the Knower: An Exercise in Contrast

For Friday, please reflect on the text below.  Your writing should include—though not be limited to—answers to the four questions that follow the excerpt.  Check back Friday afternoon for a second text on which to write, including as always your take on others’ thoughts from the first round.

“If when we learn new things we can see the world differently, then as we learn new things we react to it differently.  We are then living in a different world, a world with different possibilities, different impossibilities.  Which world is the right one, the real one?  Is it the new world or the old?  What do we mean by this question?  And, ultimately the question, if this is true, what new things should we try to learn so as to live in a different world?” (Lawrence LeShan, Alternate Realities: The Search for the Whole Human Being. New York: Ballantine Books, 1987, 8.)


1. What happens to us when we learn?
2. What happens to the world when we learn?
3. Do human beings, living in the same society, live in different worlds because of what they know?             
4. How does the following quote, from Emerson's Self-Reliance, affect your thinking on the previous question? “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius."

Friday Update:
Please continue your conversation in the context of the following ideas and questions.

"Fact and truth really don't have much to do with each other"
-William Faulkner


"Every knowledge system is shaped by the characteristics of the society that produced it.  We are accustomed to considering the flow in the opposite direction, seeing how scientific and technological advances have shaped modern society.  But it is of critical importance to recognize both flows.  We have the kind of society we have in part because of the fruits of science and technology.  But the converse is also true: we have the kind of science we have in part because of the particular nature of the society in which it was developed."  (Willis Harman, Global Mind Change: The Promise of the Last Years of the Twentieth Century.  Indianapolis: Knowledge Systems, Inc., 1988, 27.)


1.  How has your knowledge system been shaped by your society?  For example, how has science been shaped by your society?
2.  Can different societies have different sciences, histories, etc.?

And speaking of decoding, check this out.

24 comments:

  1. The first thing that appeared in my mind when I read this text was what T.O said in class, that the meaning of faith is to believe in many possibilities. This quote is very in depth. It really allowed me to take in the words, and how the ways of learning changes both my external and internal surroundings. When we learn something new, be it in class or in conversation at the dinner table, our minds first begin to process what is being taught. We try to understand the topic, and in order for us to remember, many people try to relate it to something in their lives- or, at least I do.

    The quote talks about the how our earth can be a new world or an old world. The author also asks which world is the RIGHT one? Personally, I think that there is no way the world will ever be more right, or more real than another. The word "right", can have many different meanings depending on who the person is. When we learn, we are taking in new knowledge; new information. We are becoming more exposed to a different subject, and the information could alter our perception or opinion of the world and the society we live in.

    This is how the world can change when we learn. For example, if we learned that a priest tried to hijack a plane (see the New York Times- it wasn't actually a priest, just a killer disguised as a priest), some would be surprised that a priest would try to hijack a plane, but others would not be too surprised because they know that some priests have been convicted for doing bad things before. Depending on one's view of the world, new information could either make them think of the world as a better place, a worse place, or they could feel indifferent.

    This is how human beings, living in the same society, don't necessarily live in different worlds because of what they know, but they may live different lives. For example,a child growing up in an extremely sheltered environment in the countryside may not have such a bad view on the world and the members of society, as opposed to the city child who has grown up in the projects and have seen numerous attacks throughout his lifetime. That city kid, being forced to be more street smart, may not think of the world as such a happy place after what he has witnessed.

    The quote "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius", is significant because it tells the readers that the smartest thing that they can do for themselves in stay true to their own beliefs and thoughts. This affects my thinking in the previous question because it shows that different influences, interactions and environments can shape a person's idea of the world. Therefore, it is inevitable for one to come up with their own thoughts on the world without getting knowledge of it or hearing other opinions. However, it is possible to gain the knowledge and hear both sides of a story, thus allowing the person to come up with their own opinion and thoughts about whatever it is they are learning. One of the most important things a person could do for themselves is stay true to their beliefs. In the Awakening, Edna, the protagonist, confides to a friend that she would give up money and her life for her children, but never give up herself. This is what the author of the quote would consider genius, because Edna is giving up the unessential, but would not be willing to give up the essential: herself. When she is talking about "herself", she means her innermost thoughts and morals that she bases her life upon. Believing in what is true for yourself shows self reliance- something that will always be there for you, when nobody else will be.

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  2. When we learn, we are opening more and more doors of possibility and discovering new things. We start to wonder and decide what we will choose to believe and retain as knowledge.

    When we learn, the world changes for the better and the worse. Someone learned the power of electricity, which is why lots of people are blessed with light in their homes. Someone learned about weaponry and chemical warfare, and they can take it and develop something that they will use to kill thousands of people.

    Humans definitely live in different worlds due to what they know. If we have someone who knows the word "outside" as a place where they can be killed just by walking down the wrong street versus a person who knows"outside" as just another place to be, their worlds are completely different.

    Given the quote from Emerson's Self Reliance, If the two people and their definition of "outside" present to one another, it equals to realization. The people recognize that they are actually living in the same world, but their personal outcome is going to be different.

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  3. When we learn our minds are opened to new situations and events. From that, we develop a bigger picture, which can make the world seem like either a bigger or smaller place depending on what you learned. For example, if you learn that your best friend from pre-school that you’ve known all your life is friends with your college roommate that would make the world seem much smaller. Traveling on the other hand, when you visit other places and get a firsthand account of the culture there would make the world a lot bigger. Humans who live in the same society do live in different worlds because they may not see the world as I do. I haven’t learned everything that is needed to know in this world, and others might not know what I know, so our views are different. Our worlds are different. The quote is saying that when you believe in your own thought everyone believes in their own thought as well, and it is true for everyone.

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  4. When we learn, we become more aware of a situation, topic, or anything that is worth knowing about. Also when we learn, we now know more than we used to and become more knowledgeable in many different areas of our brain, and sometimes it is not always knowledge that stays in our brain but in our muscle. Our brain and muscles get stronger with all the things that get taught to us each day. I feel like every new idea or fact that gets put into someones head makes their own knowledge a lot stronger.

    When the world realizes that we are learning more, they get scared, or they should be scared because most people have different ideas, thoughts, and opinions. Not that this should be scary, but the world sees all this power as a threat, when really it is good that everyone can share their ideas and learn more from others. When the new ideas formulate, the world can potentially become a better place if everyone listens.

    People living in the same society live in different worlds because of what they know and how they know it. It's not necessarily that they don't know the same things, it's that they have learned it differently and in a different setting or environment. The quote goes along with my idea because I was trying to get to the idea that many people are more opinionated and passionate than others.

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  5. Each and everyone of us on Earth have a different mind, a different body, and a different soul. Therefore each of us lives in the world the way we see it. We each react differently when it comes to learning. Every country within this Earth has a different opinion when it comes to knowledge. A child brought up in the United States might learn something about the World Wars. Yet another child in England might be taught the same subject, but with entirely different approaches and opinions. Because of these differences, each and every one of us see the world differently. It is impossible to truly know which world is the real or right one. In fact the truth has been lost in time.

    When we learn, we grow. Our minds absorb each new thing, and this knowledge will hopefully be used again in the future. When we learn, our minds are stimulated. We are either intrigued, uninterested, or emotionally struck. Of course we all learn from different teachers, and the same subject will always be taught in a different way. For example, in history class today, we learned about German submarines in WWI. I had already known about the bombing of the luxury cruise liner, the "Lusitania." This was an unarmed boat carrying innocent civilians to England. I learned previously that the Germans believed that munitions were being carried to help the British and French. So they bombed the ship, killing hundreds of innocent civilians. The average American student is led to believe that there was no munitions. But through the international perspective of the IB program, I learned that Irish researchers uncovered a massive number of rounds beneath the ocean. I would never have learned this if I hadn't read an international textbook. We really do see the world differently.

    When we learn, we become a more prominent citizen of the Earth. We are broadening our gaze, and also creating our own world. The world as we believe it should be viewed.

    Human beings, living in the same society, still live in different world because of what they know. Some people may have learned some of the same things in the past, but not everything we know is going to be exactly the same as another. Each of us react differently to certain things, and gain different opinions as a result. Therefore we live in different worlds within the same society.

    Emerson's quote strengthens my opinion on the fact that human beings living in the same society, live in different worlds. When you believe in what is right, and feel something so profound in your heart when it comes to knowing, you have developed your own world. The world that each of us live in is filled with our thoughts, desires, and pleasures.

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  6. When we learn, we do many things and many things happen to us. First off, we absorb what is being taught to us and then we form an opinion of that thing. Depending on the magnitude of the information, it changes us. If the information is extremely important, it will have a stronger effect on someone than if the information had little to no significance. Sometimes, while finding the significance of information, one may have to cope with what they learn or figure out how to deal with the way it affects them.
    Sometimes when we learn, especially things about the world, the world can become less vast. The more we learn, the less intimidating things may seem. For example, if someone knew nothing about soccer but was then taught everything there is to know about the sport, it may not seem as scary or intimating as it did originally.
    Yes, but only to a certain extent. People like senators or in higher positions live a very different lifestyle than say someone that works in a fast food chain. They my live in the same community but their views and ways of life may be completely different putting them “a world away” from each other.
    Similar to what LolaTOK said, the quote only enforces for me what I said. Though there are similarities, and there always will be similarities, two people can live in very different world. Everyone here contributing to this blog comes from a “different world” than the others. We all share a common desire and objective using this blog but there are many aspects that make us extremely different and put us worlds apart.

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  7. I like to see the world as an enormous amalgamation and collection of thoughts, information, opinions, and ideas. Each human can only imagine, know, or contain a fraction of this amassed potential thought. Nobody can see the world as a whole; one cannot know all the perspectives or information to be known. (Of course, as Mary said, often details are lost or forgotten.) Oftentimes, also, opinions are formed before one has examined all possible perspectives; rather, one makes an opinion, then uses some arguments to strengthen it and dismisses all others. (We are only human.)
    Nevertheless, many of us - lifelong learners! - dedicate our lives to gathering as much information as our minds can hold, creating opinions, judging, debating and learning. As Sara said quite insightfully - I've been subconsciously thinking around this for weeks - because of our limited capacity for information and understanding, we can understand best when we relate what we learn to our own lives, experience, and previous knowledge. This is, I think, what is meant by "different worlds". In fact, we all live in a place that is bigger than any of us (and bigger than all of us), and we have it in common. This is our world. Our own lives are much more fathomable and understandable to us, and because we all walk surprisingly different paths the whole way, it seems to us oftentimes that we live in different worlds - but it is not truly a different world, just a different lens, a different background.
    The world [of knowledge] does not change when we learn. The world changes when we invent, have original thought, and bring into being (and, also, as time goes by). We learn in order to be able to add to the world of thought and information accessible to human thought.
    To address the Emerson quotation, I think it can be interpreted in various ways (and I suppose each of us will decode it differently according to our respective backgrounds!). It can sound a bit egomaniacal and unrealistic: is one to think that one's own private thoughts are the only correct ones to be had, and that they apply to everyone? then which human can have these thoughts which should be thought by everyone?
    Read differently, this quotation can be read thus:
    to believe in your own capacity for private thought, and to believe that all men have this individuality of mind, this is genius. (Whether or not I would call it genius is one question, but I could agree with this interpretation.)

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  9. Learning makes us grow,when everybody is learning the world is being different and creat innovation.the world is creat by the people, therefore, the opnion and thoughts from humans are the elements formed the world that we knew, depends on people, if the idea is different, then the world is different.to believe yourself is what you support your thoughts and ideas in which the world you creat can get stronger instead of falling apart.

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  10. SASKIA writes: This quote by Lawrence makes the reader reflect completely on the different things one learns and how it affects their actions and how they decide to live their lives.
    As one learns new concepts and topics, they begin to see the world in a different light or in a different way. For example, when I learn of war or death I begin to reflect on my own personal life and how life is too short. I tell myself that i need to try new things and that I should not spend my life a "safe" zone and instead expand my horizons.
    Once we learn, we impact the world in different ways. An example of this could be how hard LolaTOK and i try and conserve paper. Once we learned of the extreme shortage of paper around the world and how quickly our forests are disappearing, we decided to actively fight against it. A difference in the world in which we live in occurs through every attempt in change that we make. We learned of the poor state of the planet, and now we are trying to make a difference.
    I believe that unless one knows something, they will not see the world in a new way. A child that knows nothing about the environment and hasn't learned about the problems that the world faces cannot possible be expected to fight to save the planet. This child live in a different world than my own, i live in a place where everything needs to be conserved and the use of materials needs to be paid attention to. On the other hand, though, this child lives in a world where they do not need to worry about consumption of paper or the affect of cars on the environment.
    In the quote "to believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius," Emerson is stating that if you know or believe in something and trust that every other person around you or in the world believes the exact same thing, then you are a genius. This goes against what i talked about in my previous statement. I said that since others don't always know everything that you are aware of, they are not prepared to make decisions on that topic. On the other hand, Emerson is saying that you have to believe that all those around you are just as aware of their environment as you are. This makes me look at the contrast of the child and I and how we may not have the same view on the same topic, but we both may be aware of it in different ways. I know that there is a problem in our environment and i am aware of all the theories involved with this, but on the other hand, the child will see different aspects of this as they grow older. They will witness certain shortages and problems around the world, even before they learn of the entire subject.

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  11. AMI writes: When one learns something new they get a new perspective on the world they live in. This reminds me of the short story the 10th Honors English class, The Lesson. In the lesson a little girl living in a poor neighborhood learns that there are people out in the world that live better than she does and then she gets mad about it. She does not necessarily understand her feelings but she now knows that there is another world that she can work to live in, which gives her a new perspective of life.



    The world after we learn something does not change but the meaning of the world does change. I also believe that people living in the same society can live in different worlds because of what they know. Revering back to The Lesson, the girl obviously lives in the same society with the rich people but does not know anything about being rich so therefore her life is based on how she was raised, which will give her a different way of responding to situations which will therefore create another life.



    Emerson's quote only makes my thought on people living in same society but having different worlds, only stronger. He is basically saying that once someone has lived a life where their thoughts and believes are crucial to them, it cannot be changed or the same as to someone being raised a different way.

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  12. When we learn, we grow not only as a person, but also as a society. We become more forgiving, events like war and other events caused by ignorance (conflicts,hostility, arms races) can be avoided because we become more knowledgeable. With age, we acquire knowledge and wisdom, the world is very old but we will never in a million years will human beings reach the point of total knowledge. It is something that is infinite or limitless i would say. With knowledge, comes development of a society and with development comes even more development. So if one is striving to be knowledgeable, he is striving to excellence.

    We live in the same world, but have different views. As Emerson's quote implies. I think its because we have different amount of wealth, we were raised in different background, we have different personalities and mindsets. Our world might be the complete opposite, but at the end of the day we are the same people. This can be connected to learning, one and others differences and similarities. By being aware of that, we can improve our society

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  13. Depending on the society that the knowledge system if for will effect how it is shaped. The knowledge system is based off of the needs of a society. People have knowledge of the symptoms and treatments of the common cold because we tend to get them. Also, how advanced or modernized society is will affect the knowledge system. If a society relies greatly on technology, the people will be able to adequately use the technology and properly.
    Yes, different societies can have sciences, histories, etc. Again, a society will study what it needs. A hot climate may need to study ways to keep cool instead of ways to keep warms. Histories of everywhere in the world are different. Most histories of nations or societies can be similar- outlined with war and a struggle for independence at one point or another. They all vary though by whom they went to war with and who the gained independence from.

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  14. "Every knowledge system is shaped by the characteristics of the society that produced it. We are accustomed to considering the flow in the opposite direction, seeing how scientific and technological advances have shaped modern society. But it is of critical importance to recognize both flows. We have the kind of society we have in part because of the fruits of science and technology. But the converse is also true: we have the kind of science we have in part because of the particular nature of the society in which it was developed." (Willis Harman, Global Mind Change: The Promise of the Last Years of the Twentieth Century. Indianapolis: Knowledge Systems, Inc., 1988, 27. Both this quote and the one by William Faulkner shown above reinstate my belief that knowledge can be shaped by society, and that this is possible because each society has its' own personal history. For example, in the field of science, the United States has strived to make innovations and discoveries that are lifesaving and were for the purpose of altering the world. While we, in the United States, have access to these new technological and medical innovations, those in third world countries do not. This is how our world of knowledge can be different from another person's. Kate's first sentence above me proves exactly this. One thing that I would like to add is that knowledge can be different within a society based on the availability and access a society has to knowledge. My society has shaped me to believe that America is the land of freedom, and that it is the best and most beneficial country to live in. Of course, I believe this, but then again- why wouldn't I? America is the only country that I have lived in, and I have not ever experienced living in another country. From what I see on television, to what I learn in school and stating the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning at public school, the message is clear: America is the best. Somebody like SaskiaTOK might disagree with me, because she has been exposed to many different societies, lifestyles, and types of knowledge, and therefore has less room to be biased on which country is the best. This is because her knowledge system has been shaped differently than my own.
    Different societies can have different histories. Each society has a different story on how it came to be, and why it is how it is today. No society chooses to be "worse off" than the rest, or to have a lesser knowledge system, but it is it's past that has gotten that group of peoples where it is today.

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  15. To begin, I would like to comment on the quote about fact and truth. Indeed not all facts we are given are complete truth. In History last year we read a book called "Lies my teacher Told Me." This book explained profusely about the lack of truth in American textbooks. Sometimes incorrect facts are purposely composed to spread national pride, or rage against something. I believe that everyone has a right to the truth, but that is not the case in many of our resources.

    To answer the question, "How has our knowledge system been shaped by society?" is the following: Again I say that in certain societies facts are shaped to spread certain propaganda. America might learn something completely different about World War 1 than a country in Europe. Even science has been shaped by society. Some countries with a strong religious background limit the amount of science that contradicts the whole purpose of faith. There has been a long battle between religion and science, when in fact it is possible for them to exist as one.
    So different societies have different sciences, histories, etc. Each country has its own set of opinions and beliefs, and they seep into the knowledge of its inhabitants.

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  16. I would also want to comment on the first quote. I always thought that fact and truth went hand in hand, that they were almost synonyms or that they basically meant the same thing. So i decided to look up the word fact, and from the new oxford american dictionary it said "a thing that is indisputably the case" and truth was "A fact or belief that is accepted as true" so that makes is very different from a fact because, the truth does not have to be a fact in order to believe it. If one says "I believe in the tooth reincarnation" "I believe in God" these statements are true to them but they are arguable facts. So basically,I the conclusion, that a fact does not always have to be true. As Mary gave the example of "Lies my teacher told me" but on the other hand the truth is how much you want to believe a fact, and accept it as the truth.

    In the society we live in today science has pretty much shaped our understanding and knowledge of everything. As we advance in time, science will keep shaping of how we understand things and our knowledge on those things. When one is still young, he or she does not know much about science and the knowledge level is pretty low. For example, when I was a kid I used to think movie stars where behind my TV and thought that they really existed. But with the knowledge acquired form the society around me and from science learned, I came to know that a there was no one behind or in the TV. Our minds change and the way we see things also changes, so does the society we live in today. People back in the past thought the earth was flat, that is because if is looks flat then naturally the mind thinks is flat. But with the advancement of technology society was able to decode that the earth was indeed a sphere. So this becomes a conflict as of what our minds think is real and what is actually real (or what society think is real)

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  17. Knowledge is what you learn from around you. My knowledge system has been shaped by my society because what I see around me is what I learn. For example, if I saw two parent households everywhere I would learn that it was the norm, or if I was surrounded by something specific in my culture that was norm but not in other cultures that would affect my knowledge. Of course different societies can have different sciences and histories because not every society is the same. Like people, who come with their own life story, problems and DNA, societies are also unique. They may have more similarities than people do but they’re not all the same.

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  18. Now that I think about this question whether or not society has shaped my knowledge, I think that it has in many different ways. From little facts you learn everyday, it makes a difference. For example, last week SaskiaTOK was telling me and LolaTOK about how the sky is not really blue, I never knew that but thanks to SaskiaTOK I do now, and you never know that could be the winning answer if I ever go on a game show. Besides the fact, all the little random bits of information that you just hear walking in the hallway or talking in the dining hall expand your bubble of knowledge. If we are talking about science by means of technology, it has shaped our society (the United States) greatly! It has enabled us to have access to resources at ease, for example this blog. We are sharing thoughts without even talking face to face; it’s amazing but also very strange. Many different countries can have different sciences because they many not have the same access to the sciences that we have been exposed to for quite a long time. But that’s not that country’s fault, it’s just the way that it has been shaped. And the most important difference between societies is the history. The most interesting thing to look at is view points, and to see if there may or may not be a bias depending on what side wrote the history down.

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  19. Firstly, let me speak about the quote by William Faulkner, "fact and truth really don't have anything to do with each other." Depending on how you look at this, you could have different thoughts about it. I feel that this quote is true, in part because often fact is an un-bias view on a certain topic. On the other hand, truth is the view you have on that subject. Fact has no emotion within it and speaks solely of the statistics and happenings. When you think about a certain topic you almost always have your own personal view on it, meaning that you don't only look at the fact but you also think about what is true to you.

    I agree with Emilie and her statement about arguable fact and what is true to you. She uses a topic that is still a world-wide debate, "God." Due to the fact that this is such a close subject to most people, they tend to have an extremely bias view on the subject. Unless the belief in a higher power is true to you, it is not a fact. For someone who believes 100% in god, his existence is fact, but for someone that is unsure, his existence is debatable.

    My knowledge system has been largely shaped by society, and those that surround me. The home in which i grew up was largely based on science, and the need for proof in order to believe in a matter. This means that i always grew up thinking that if you can't see it, feel it, or be involved in it, (to a certain extent of course) then its existence is debatable and arguable. Also, the society of my time has always insisted upon education and knowledge, even independence. This means that my learning and mind frame has also been shaped within class rooms, and not only through the people i am surrounded with.

    Different societies might have the same outcomes in certain topics, but different views upon those outcomes. For example, on a small scale, if two people argue and one of those two wins the argument by declaration of a third party then both are aware of who won but might not agree on the reason. The one who wins is content and tells the story from his point of view, but the one who loses might come up with many reasons as to why he lost, or insist that the third party was bias and the other person won by default. Each of their stories is different, and the people who hear each of their stories will also have opposing views, it all depends on who tells it, and if bias plays a role.

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  20. Short comment: I agree with Faulkner.

    Knowledge is shaped by society insofar as one society can think as a whole, have thought processes, opinions, assumed truths and agreements. Certainly we as individuals can have a hard time realizing how many these differences are, particularly moving in blind Western circles as I know I do. For example, all of science is theoretical, and much of what we hold to be truth is merely assumed. (After all, we only know what we perceive in our individual minds - everything anyone knows is only within his or her own head.) However, as I said before, to the extent that a society can have a common system of knowledge, these are often based upon these assumptions and theories and ways of thought foreign to other societies. Societies based on faith or belief are a strong example: animistic, secular, and monotheistic cultures all view the world, its fate and its members' fates very differently from each other, which causes them to see nearly everything through differing lenses. Basic thought processes influence how people think. Believing, for example, that the human race is atop the environmental pyramid, that we are put here to be stewards of the Earth and that we exist for a specific reason and to carry out and live by certain guidelines is an example of a basic assumption many hold to be true, which governs ways of thinking and knowing. The very characteristics and basic assumptions Western society makes make our scientific analyses and discoveries possible, and they cause us to believe them.

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  21. I would also like to agree emphatically with Emilie's first paragraph, although I have nothing to add.

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  22. I love the point that Mary about the truth and facts situation. "Lies my Teacher Told Me" is a prime example of the difference. I also would like to add to her thought by saying, if people who have been receiving
    the lies of the history book were told about another situation, a.k.a the truth, it often becomes hard for them to believe that the second perspective is right. Thus, they stick with what they have been taught for so long.

    The society that I am living in is the United States of America. Living here for 16 years has shaped my knowledge enough to never allow me to just look at the surface, but rather a lot of possibilities. There are too many people out there who are suffering in hope of possibilities, mostly because the possibilities that they have access to are not ideal. The U.S.A has made me push the History book to the side, use my microscope instead.

    Different societies can have different histories. We have India who has been taught British history instead of their own country's history because of Britain's strong presence. Here, we learn that during the American Revolution, the colonies wanted independence, and the start of a triumphant country. For all we know, the British students are focusing more on that fact that we went to war for a few raised taxes. It is a possibility.

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  23. AMI writes: I somewhat agree with Faulkner. I guess I always thought that a fact would be something proven and that everyone would agree to it. So I would not consider the thought that God is real fact, though I believe in God. The truth shares a factor with a fact because, if a fact is something that is proven real, then it must be true. However the truth could be an opinion. One can say "this shirt is very fashionable," this statement could be true to the person saying it but not everyone would agree to it so it would not be a fact.



    What I know would be a reflection of the society I live but not completely. Most of my knowledge is shaped by how society is constructed. For example, I live in NYC and have always been a city girl until now. The rules I go by everyday are what I like to call "city rules," where smiling at a random person when walking would be an offense, where as in the country it would be a normal thing to do. My knowledge of the city shapes how I think.



    Living in the city, where there are a lot of people, I’m exposed to all types of sciences, and histories. I'm almost always exposed to technology and you would not see that most of the time in the country. People from all over the world live in a small community, so one learns about different cultures easily which would help with one's knowledge of the world. Basically the people who make up the society influences one's knowledge and thoughts of the world.

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  24. In my old school back in Taiwan, or i could say in Asia, the way we LEARN in a class is entirly different from HERE. We have written down what we shold learn and what we should be answer. An example is, our exams are all based on multiple choice and one essay for Chinese, which doesn not have enough space or place to let the students to express what is Their VALUE insted or choosing one out of 4 option that already printed on the paper. so when i first day in the class i was completely don't know what to ask and what to study, because it is more "self thinking" than what i have study for 12 years.

    2. Can different societies have different sciences, histories, etc.?
    Absolutely Yes, even different individual have different ways to do things or to understand things.

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