Knowledge can be divided into two sub categories, the first one being factual and the second one can be obtained from personal experience. Our judgment of what is right or wrong mainly depends on the experiences that we have been through over the years. From the age of two to seventeen we are brought up with different moral values and ethics which may not necessarily be conventionally correct but projects a part of who we are as a person. This is where parents and society at large play a key role regarding who we turn out to become; they are the ones that partially help shape our characters and personalities. If Jacob for example, has grown to live in a violent and tyrant-like society he would be more prone to interpreting a person holding a cutter in a class as a threat, even though this person was using it for his design technology project. What differentiates us from chimpanzees is our ability to comprehend and use our minds as well as personal experiences to influence our decisions. What we see is often biased by what we believe of things and what we are like. People who have a very optimistic view of most things in life will in effect be optimistic in their ultimate judgment. Our emotions play an essential role in the way we see and understand things. Our mood and general attitude toward life allows us to be optimistic or pessimistic depending on what we are feeling. Canadian researchers have found out that in actual fact, when people are in a good mood they have the tendency of having a much broader outlook on the current situation. On the other hand people who have a tendency to be pessimistic will be inclined to have a more narrow view of things.
The perception of life and where we stand in relation to others is usually ruled by our sole judgment. As a child you tend to think that you are the centre of the world; but as we grow up, and mature into adults we develop a way of thinking and perceiving the exterior and different situations that is unique. Indeed we do understand things not as they are but as we are.
Moreover, the idea that cultural beliefs can either limit or enhance the claim needs to be explored. The Amish for example, have a reluctant view of technological enhancements. Whereas it is common belief that technology has allowed
Is what we see really what we are experiencing. Could Bob, my class mate be seeing a totally different thing when shown a red apple? What shape our everyday lives are mainly our moral values. What defines us is ultimately who we are.
Two areas of knowledge that closely relate to this claim are history and mathematics. History is an area of knowledge that deals a lot with subjectivity, as the accuracy and accounts of global events throughout the centuries are never the same according to different communities; historical opinions on war differ or happenings differ. For example, different countries have different interpretations of when World War Two officially started. Most historians agree that the commonly accepted date is either September 1st or 3rd of 1939. However, according to the Germans, the date is 1st September 1939 because that is when they invaded Poland. On July the 7th 1939 The Japanese invaded China and n the 3rd September of the same year France and Britain declared war on Germany. This goes to show how in History we ultimately see and understand things not as they are but as we are, seeing as every community has a different version of world events. Children living in China will see and understand things differently to children who are form Germany. (Discuss about divergence of opinion in wars/ give examples)
