"That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow." Consider some of the knowledge issues raised by this statement in two areas of knowledge

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"That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow." Consider some of the knowledge issues raised by this statement in two areas of knowledge. 

A few years ago, when my grandfather was diagnosed of Diabetes, his endocrinologists recommended that he take artificial sweeteners, and stop all sugar intakes. The sweetener, “Splenda”, helped him control his sugar levels to a vast extent. But recently my grandfather has started suffering from illnesses such as nausea, headache, dizziness and a slight loss of memory. Epidemiological evidence points to a link between a variety of negative health and the consumption of high-intensity artificial sweeteners. This example set me thinking and therefore raised a knowledge issues before me as to “what are the grounds upon which we give up the accepted knowledge, and adapt ourselves to the new knowledge?” and “to what extent does the role of authority impact what is accepted as knowledge?”  

To me, knowledge is an entity that is an amalgamation of information and facts that is attained by an individual via education, observation and exposure.  My grandfather exhibited belief in his doctor’s prognoses. When I asked him why, he claimed not only that he trusted his doctor to give him the right advice but also was of the belief that his doctor was his source of knowledge as the advice of the doctor satisfied his reason and perception. The language of the television ads for Splenda further propelled his emotions to adapt himself to new knowledge. But today I feel that knowledge is an issue that needs more than meets the eye. More than the ways of conventional knowing it requires experience, observations and imagination. There should be certain grounds, which we must consider before discarding knowledge in favour of a new knowledge claim. As a knower, I want to answer this question in the areas of knowledge human sciences and natural sciences and explore the issues that are instrumental in discarding an accepted knowledge claim.

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In the area of Knowledge, the human Sciences, anthropologists study the past and present of humans, and apply knowledge to seek solutions to human problems. One of the big issues that I confronted while studying anthropology is the Sati practice observed in India in the 17th century. According to this practice a widow, who was shunned by the Orthodox Hindu society, was considered a pure and chaste woman if she immolated herself on the pyre of her dead husband. This knowledge was deeply rooted in the minds of many sections of Hindu society to such an extent that even their emotional ...

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