Delaney Holbrook-Burke
IB TOK/ DR
28 September 2003
Word Count: 651
What is the most and least trustworthy source of knowledge?
Abel’s book, Man Is The Measure, discusses nine different sources of knowledge. These are: sense perception, logic, intuition, self awareness, memory, authority, consensus gentium, revelation and faith. However not all of these sources of knowledge can be trusted, but some can. I plan to show that out of these nine different sources of knowledge intuition is the most trustworthy and self awareness is the least.
Intuition is the most trustworthy source of knowledge. Abel defines intuition as the “knowledge of right and wrong [which] is often based on such inner convictions of certainty.” (p. 25) For example, you know it is wrong to cheat on a test, but it is right to either not cheat or to confess to cheating. I believe that intuition is best source of knowledge because you are born with it, and the other sources rely on either learning about it or is based on your perception of what is and has happened. For example, a new born of any mammalian species knows by intuition to suck on its mother’s teat for milk. The mother does not show the new born how to suckle, and usually newborns do not have a great sense of the world to know what to do. Intuition is also described as your gut reaction. Like when you are in danger you know you have to get out (getting out is not intuition, only the sense of danger is). However, with anything in life there is a downside. Intuition is what you hold as morally correct, but another person could believe that what their different intuition is correct. For example, person A believes that it is right to persecute anyone different from him while person B believes it is wrong to persecute any living being. The different intuitions between persons A and B could lead to conflict, and then who knows what. Even though intuition has its downfalls I still believe it is the most trustworthy source of knowledge.
