Commack Schools



Ways of KnowingThere are eight specific ways of knowing (WOKs). They are:304800060960languagesense perceptionemotionreasonimaginationfaithintuitionmemoryThe purpose of the WOKs is to (1) help us to answer the question "how do we know?" and (2) to help us answer the question "how do I know?"LanguageLanguage can refer to the mental means which allows people to learn and use complex communication systems. It consists of a system of signs (letters, symbols, sounds, gestures, images, and objects) with agreed meanings combined with a set of rules for the purpose of communication, formulating ideas, storing knowledge, or a medium of thought. Some experts believe that language doesn't just describe our experiences of the world but actually structures those experiences. This is called linguistic determinism. Sense PerceptionSense perception is the process by which we can gain knowledge about the outside world. Traditional thought says that there are five senses: sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing. However, many now argue that there are others such as a sense of heat, sense of pain, sense of movement, sense of balance, and a sense of hunger. Sense perception is an active process of interpreting the world according to prior expectations, conceptual frameworks and theories.EmotionEmotions are the products of natural processes, with physiological causes and effects. However, there are also culturally bound emotions. Social constructionists argue that emotions depend on a social consciousness and have no natural basis at all. Emotion has sometimes been regarded as an unreliable way of knowing because they might distort our picture of reality. Others believe that emotions help make sense of social and cultural experiences and behaviors and also are the source of social, ethical and political knowledge by helping us form an understanding of the world around us.ReasonReason allows us to go beyond the immediate experience of our senses. it is closely linked to logic (the deducing of valid conclusions from given starting points or premises). Inductive reasoning is the process of supporting general statements by a series of particular ones- the reverse of deductive reasoning which tends to proceed from the general to the particular. Statements involving the word "all" are often not provable given the difficulties in making observations of an infinite set of particulars.ImaginationImagination is the capacity to form a mental representation of something without the stimulus of sense experience. Imagination is associated with making a mental image of something but recently some say it also relates to propositional imagining ("imagining that..."). Imagination is sometimes viewed as being associated with creativity, problem-solving and originality. It allows for connections to be made to solve problems. Imagination is also sometimes distrusted because it is regarded as something that is derived in the mind of the individual and therefore subjective. Imagination is also associated with possibility. Only things that can be imagined can be possible. The imagination is seen by some to provide evidence of what is and is not possible. FaithFaith is usually associated with religion but it can also be used in a secular sense as a synonym for trust. Faith can be religious without being theistic (Buddhism). It can also be seen as a commitment to a particular interpretation of experience and reality which is not necessarily religious at all (humanism). The evidence on which faith is based is often controversial. Critics argue that faith is irrational and incoherent. Others argue that faith should be seen as a way of going beyond reason rather than being purely irrational. Many people regard faith and reason as interdependent. The debate behind faith also focuses on the idea that faith is an act of trust and is an example of knowledge which is not evidence based. However, some traditions belief that is not based on evidence is seen as superior to belief that is based on evidence.IntuitionIntuition is described as immediate cognition, or knowledge which is immediately evident without prior inference, evidence or justification. It is often contrasted with reason, as it is regarded as knowing without the use of rational processes. Intuition is sometimes associated with the concepts of instinct and innate knowledge. Intuition is discussed in the field of ethics in terms of whether we have moral intuition, or a kind of innate sense of right and wrong. To know something by intuition is to know something through introspection or an immediate awareness.MemoryMost of the knowledge that individuals have is in the form of memory and therefore how we retain information and how past events are reconstructed is an important aspect of how personal knowledge is formed. Memory is linked to procedural knowledge and remembering how to perform actions. Memory refers to things which are not currently happening. New knowledge is dependent on and influenced by memory. ................
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