As we have to discuss the fact that we have objective knowledge with or without relying on experience and culture, these bring up two points of view, which is the impossibility and possibility of it. Start with impossible perspective, in which it has to be related with our own experience and culture; it passes along by communication from one generation to the next one. For example: Christmas celebration, where it’s now a tradition every year, where it has influenced by basic family or culture value, the whole families are together. It is traditional celebration, where young children believe that Santa cause is exist, but because of parents and teachers told them the story as it passes along to their generation. Therefore, children believe what parents or teachers say because of they are experienced. Nevertheless, the example of the Vietnam War, If we have to predict the situation in the Vietnam War, where these are based on the information that we have studied in the class or it could be the story from generation to generation, or culture to culture. Due to those stories and information, we could possibly predict about the situation, how it’s happen? how bad it could be?, how is it end? And predict the consequence of it, such as homeless people, many people died, etc. Base on your predictions, it is based on your experience and opinion, where you have learnt the history of the war, in which you think others, would agree about it too. Furthermore, about Muslim can’t eat pork because they believe that pork is an unclean animal, which make people approach to the disease easily. If they think like that, how about the chicken meat? Chicken eats worms too, it can bring disease. Why don’t they just be vegetarian to avoid the fact of health? The truth is, their belief make them to follow the regulation of their culture, based on their opinion and understanding.
Despite the fact that history and tradition etc. are happened before we were born, sometime you might think it does not really exist. However, because of our belief and arguments which appear to show that the history and tradition are functional and true, based on culture and knowledge, made us to understand the situation or the fact easily.
However, it is also possible to have objective knowledge without relying on our experience and culture. As objective knowledge is to perceive, discover, or learn direct to an object with no division or distinction (e.g. experience and culture). Basically, we’re talking about the instance of Math and Science. Especially, scientific claim…Is the earth flat or round? There were a lot of discussions on this topic. However, we know that the earth is flat because someone drew the attention (discover) to this and proof it so. Potentially, without relying on their culture and experience, they have objective knowledge.
As well as the prime number theory, the number which have no factor except itself and one, which we didn’t use much in our life time or even in Math class. Even though, it is just a set of number to me. But, mathematician who created a theory in which that mathematician didn’t use any of his division in experience or culture to create it, some people use prime number theory to generate code for encryption. Presumably, we can say that 317 is a prime number, and it is not because we assume it so, but because the mathematics built it so. In the fact of the mathematician who created this theory haven’t been taught about it before or some understanding that he could illustrated with, he came up with his own theory, prove the limited of knowledge of himself indeed.
Evidently, from the scientific claim and prime number theory, both are the perspectives of the possibility to have objective knowledge in which it didn’t use or related with experience and culture, but discover or invention the object. Therefore, there is no rejection to say that it is possible to have objective knowledge, without relying on culture and own experience. They have an advantage if themselves for someone who has objective knowledge.
Lastly, from the discussion and examples above that I have supported my thesis, which is the influence of experience and culture, and the possibility to have objective knowledge. My answer to this question will be… it is possible to have objective knowledge without relying on culture and experience. Since my assumptions behind my thesis are base on the scientific claim about is the earth flat or round? Where there is someone who has discovered the fact that the earth is flat without any other knowledge distinction, but focus on their object. Although, culture and experience are related and needed most of the time to understanding something, which objective knowledge is something that does not get influenced by your culture and/or experience. It’s about being realistic to an object and how it’ll be exists to our life, it is something logic. Even though sometimes it is unsatisfied that we have more and more undeserving innovation or useless theory that have to be use or believe in our life. But, it keeps us learning as much as we could in our life time. Thus, our life is able to have different types of knowledge but it depends on how do we gain it or achieve it on our level of understanding. Where scientists and mathematicians are the perfect example of the objective knowledge as we have discussed, those people have proved all the formulas and the realistic or reality of used, where at first it doesn’t exist at all but it is because of their proof method and invention, which make it valuables.
Also, we can say that they discover something that is not based on any experience or culture. Therefore, it is objective knowledge, which it is realistic as an example of a prime number theory, which mathematicians have created it this way, where it appears to be nothing special but numbers. But nowadays, they are used to generate code on the internet to keep the message secret or protect it and for scientific, where it is always an interest to prove and discover new thing in our world. Hence, empiricism and rationalism may affect the roots to objective knowledge, where senses and reason of some people and animals are different.
Bibliography
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Prime number - The Prime Pages by The University of Tennessee at Martin, accessed on 12 Dec 08.
1. http://primes.utm.edu/
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Objective knowledge – Popper’s theory, Clarendon Press, accessed on 21st Oct 08.
http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/at/popper.htm