Tok Blog

Is it oversimplification to claim that some areas of knowledge give facts while others provide interpretations?

                At school, we study different areas such as science, history, art, math and languages. People tend to argue about how much we can rely on each one. Most people believe that math and science are the most certain. They can provide us with pure facts (mainly math, science not so much) about the world and that we must accept them because they are true and have been tested. On the other hand, we have arts and languages. These two are considered to provide us with only interpretations. Why would we place such descriptions on these subjects? Can we really be sure it works this way? I believe these concepts are oversimplified. No subject can give us pure facts but there are cases in which pure interpretation is involved. History for example is part facts and part interpretation. All we know from the past has been extracted from various sources, such as other people’s memoirs, letters, official documents and photographs. Since its beginning, history has not always been recorded. There is the possibility of an event of great importance that we never get to know of because its official documents disappear or nothing was ever recorded about it. As we can see, history is not always certain. New documents are constantly found and therefore the history of the world is re-written. We are never completely certain of the reliability of what we are taught in the various subjects.

                Science, therefore, seems to be the most certain source of facts. In reality, it is not. It is true that science may provide evidence and test it. Even though this possibility is available, it cannot be applied always. Many times science has had to change its perspectives and arguments. These developments and advancements were thanks to technology’s constant increase. As technology developed and improved so did science. In other cases, there has been the case of abstract ideas in order to explain an aspect of the world. For example, atoms have not been seen. Even though there are no official photographs of atoms, scientists make assumptions throughout inducted experimentation. With this example, we can see how theories and principles may be developed through experiments that involve the subject in question directly. In other words, the atomic theory is believed by most as a fact, when in reality it is nothing more than an abstract idea.

                Then we have art, which is considered by most people as pure interpretation when in reality it is not. An artist needs to know how to mix colors. For an artist it is common knowledge that blue and red make purple. Therefore, if people say that art is only subjective and involves pure interpretation then is the knowledge of the artist about color a fact or an interpretation? Most people will agree that mixing blue and red and getting purple is a fact. If this is a fact then why do we say art is all about interpretation?  Art can provide us with facts not only teach us how to critique works of art (which is always done at a subjective level).

As a whole, saying that some areas of knowledge provide us with facts and others do not, is an oversimplification. We cannot see every subject with just a small glance. There are various aspects that we must take into consideration before stating if subject “X” may provide us with facts or just allow us to interpret what it shows us.

Faith or science?

Is faith a reliable source of knowledge? It seems this is a tough question to answer; well it is! In my opinion, I believe faith is not a reliable source up to a certain extent. Some people believe in it completely and they give their souls entirely to it. As for me, I prefer to guide my knowledge toward science and facts rather than faith.

Through faith, people may be able to learn to appreciate their lives and what their god has given to them. Faith allows humans to feel attached to something and to rely on someone during their most difficult situations. Having faith in a god or any other supernatural force gives strength to those who needed it in order to overcome certain situations. Even though this might seem good, it may be troublesome too. For example, religious people are attached to a god. They believe that god will help them if they have an injury or if they are feeling sick, and therefore they do not visit a hospital in order to get help. This can often be seen in small rural areas of various countries in which the people pray for help instead of going to a hospital and getting it. They leave their lives in god’s hands; he is the only one who will be able to cure them. Therefore, some of the followers die waiting on their god to help them. Their lives are controlled by god’s will. Of course, this is general talk. There are people who follow a religion but at the same time re conscious of the reality. When I say reality I mean they are aware of the fact that their injuries won’t heal alone and that they have to look for help. Also, another aspect about religiousness is fanaticism. Some people might go insane over their religious traditions; they may go way to far from what some may consider civilized. For example, in Japan there is a tradition in which the bad luck of the entire nation must be absorbed by a single man. This tradition involves alcohol, insane men and a naked man. The naked man is known as the “holy man, his job is to run from one side of the temple to the other while hundreds of other men (who happen to be drunk from celebrating) try to touch him and get rid of their bad luck. This is how the holy man absorbs all the bad luck and if he reaches his final objective, he is able to cleanse the whole nation for a year. For the Japanese, this tradition involves honor and respect since being chosen as the holy man is not a punishment but an honor and courageous act instead. On the other hand, other people may consider this tradition as evil or ridiculous.  Why would hundreds of men get drunk in order to try to touch a naked man? These types of religious activities can be greatly questioned by people who are not from Japan and I have to admit that I had the same question on my mind as I learned about the tradition.

Then, on the other hand there is science (authority). The so called “objective world” Logic is involved in this source of knowledge. Opinions are shadowed and facts are brought to the light. It is difficult to question such sources since they can be tested over and over in order to show the overwhelming evidence pointing towards something. Why do I consider science over faith as a source of knowledge? I really don’t know a concrete answer to such question, but there is a lot of influence with my family. I come from a family that does not practice religion very often. We do believe in God, celebrate Christmas and Easter, but we do not attend church or pray every week. We do, however, read the Bible as we believe that in order to decide whether one believes in religion (in the case of most Costa Ricans, Roman Catholic) or in God one must be informed and what better way of doing it that reading the Bible.  I was taught to have faith on God but to use my brain as well. Due to the facts that I feel the need to have evidence I lean towards the sciences and facts rather than faith and hope.  Knowing that there is overwhelming evidence that something has, will or is happening and texts are able to provide such information, makes me feel comfortable and secure. On the other hand, if there is no explanation to the events that are taking place or a specific phenomenon I feel scared. How can I believe in something I don’t see? How can I believe in miracles and stories found in the Bible if nowadays such things do not happen? If such things are not possible, then how can we tell God exists? If God is there watching over us, when how can he allow things such as rape, famine, plagues, genocide to continue in the world? Why doesn’t he do something?

                Can you see what I mean? As I grew up and became more conscious about the world that surrounds me, I began to make more questions. The More we learn the less we know about the world we live in.

Can anything be considered art? Are there limits to what is acceptable in art? Who decides?

                For one of these final TOK journals I decided to re-approach the topic of my first presentation and reflect on how my ideas in both subjects (art and TOK) have evolved or changed.

As most of us know, art is a medium of expression. The word art itself comes from the Latin root art- which means “skill”. Art is defined very broadly, so I will be focusing on the visual arts for this journal. Likewise, visual arts include: drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and filmmaking, among others; therefore I will focus on paintings for this journal entry.

Art, throughout history, has always had a meaning. It was not until recently when that perspective started to change. In the past, art had been used for spiritual and religious purposes and examples can be found in cave art designs and ancient civilizations. These religious themes were also included within their architecture of civilizations like the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas. Similarly, religious themes were used in ancient Asian civilizations and elsewhere around the world. One of the most enigmatic signs left by ancient civilizations is the Nazca lines in Peru. These lines extend for various kilometers in the Nazca Desert in Peru and one sees nothing unusual when walking through them. However, from the sky these lines change and create geoglyphs in various shapes. There are hundreds of individual figures, ranging in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks or orcas, llamas, and lizards. It is still unknown why these lines are there and for what purpose but in any case there must be an answer. Or maybe there isn’t one? Could it be possible that these lines were made just to make the area appear beautiful and organized? Were they considered a form of art, or better yet, was the word art even in the vocabulary of their people?

During the medieval ages, many painting were done which depicted scenes from the Bible and of Jesus Christ; these were not considered art.  These paintings were done for the sake of the church and served as a way of telling the people what was written in the Bible. The people who worked on these paintings or murals were wither controlled by the church or worked on the pieces for the nobles.

It was not until the Renaissance that the actual meaning of the word art appeared. The paintings moved away from religious themes to the humanistic ideals. Now, the artists reflected common people enjoying everyday activities or simply posing for the artist. The main theme at this time was the human being and his importance in the world. During this time period, artists such as Botticelli, Da Vinci, and Michael Angelo appeared. These three artists share a common characteristic since they showed importance of the human body. Their paintings had to be proportional and realistic. In addition, they employed the newly added concept of perspective. As a result, if Da Vinci had painted a yellow elephant flying through the sky, then that would not be considered art. Why? Who said that if a painting is not realistic it cannot be considered as a work of art?

 I think that these limits were settled due to the limited mind of the people. During the middle ages, the people had been limited to the control of the church and of the king. However, as the Renaissance took place, they were able to enjoy life and at the same time believe in God and practice their religion. Little by little, the people were beginning to open their minds to greater perspectives and new ideas. As the time passed, the world continued to develop. There were revolutions in various places, for example the French Revolution, which created new sources for artistic ideas. As more developments took place, so did new art movements. One of the art movements that brought many conflicts in the artistic world was impressionism. The paintings created by impressionists consist of strokes of various colors that together make up an image. For instance, one can see Van Gogh’s impressionist paintings. Many artists considered his pieces as mediocre and insignificant and in other words, they were not to be referred to as art. Today his paintings are displayed in various museums throughout the world. The paintings are greatly valued and have been examined and studied by many. I personally adore impressionistic techniques. But I have to wonder why at his time, was this technique unacceptable? Who said that art would not be constantly changing? And why would the general public accept these standards or limitations, instead of fighting against them?

Again, these questions are left hanging in the air. Is it what we are taught by others what makes us believe something is acceptable or not? I believe it is. Just like we are taught by our parents that stealing is wrong, the same happens with what can be considered art and what cannot. If you are taught that a painting of roses and tulips is art whereas a sculpture made with trash is not; then you will believe it. Picasso is another great example. He focused in a technique called cubism and was greatly criticized because of it. In contrast to Van Gogh, Picasso’s paintings were extremely abstract and no reality could be seen in them. Nowadays, they are considered fabulous works of art. Why does this happen?

Today, almost anything can be considered art. The best examples are found in the contemporary museums and their exhibitions. I have personally seen various art works that in earlier years would have been considered trash and would have never been displayed in major museums throughout the globe. Time brings progression, and progression develops the human mind. We now believe that the world is round, but many years ago, people thought of it as flat; just like they believed space was out of reach. The more we open our minds to the world that surrounds us, the more we are able to accept other perspectives. Art is mainly subjective and in reality, nobody can really tell us what art is and what it is not. Everyone, individually, decides what they want to classify as art since what I consider acceptable might be unacceptable for another person.  Anyway, I believe that not having a broad perspective of the world is what makes us set limits. Probably no one decides for us what is and what is not, but we create limits based on our own knowledge.

Superstition

I personally do not believe in superstitions even though other people do. I believe that it is pure coincidence that an event happens in a person’s life. Also, I don’t believe that anything that has happened throughout my life has been a consequence of doing something that brings bad luck. For example, nothing bad has ever happened to me for spilling salt or by seeing a black cat crossing my path. I believe that most of the superstitions have elements that are somewhat random. For instance, they say that if one cuts an apple in half and counts the number of seeds inside the apple, one will know the number of children one will have. I just don’t see the connection between apple seeds and children born in the future. There are also Old wives’ tales which I believe are generalizations turned into some kind of warning. For example, they say that hair that has been shaven will grow back darker or thicker. It in fact does not. If it did, bald people would be able to shave their heads and get hair to grow back.

Some people are greatly influenced by superstitions, especially the most popular ones. Old wives’ tales are some of the most common superstitions referred back to. These refer to everyday aspects of life and do not necessarily classify events as good luck or bad luck. For instance, there is an old wives’ tale that chewing gum takes seven years to be digested by the human stomach. Parents use tales like this one to scare their children from doing something that has no particular benefit for them.  Another very famous Old wives’ tale that we have all probably been told of is that one cannot go swimming right after eating. At least an hour has to pass by so that one does not get cramps and potentially drown. It is true that one could get what is called a “stomach cramp” however it is unlikely that something like this would lead a person to drown. Most likely they will experience the typical cramp pain, just as they would do when running or performing a rigorous exercise routine. This is one superstition that has been around for ages and that people, without knowing whether it is true or not, regard as a rule.

In my opinion, those who believe in superstitions and Old Wives’ tales should look for other explanations for what happens. I am not saying it is wrong for them to truly believe that chewing gum will be stuck in the stomach for seven years, but they should probably inform themselves better since many of these tales have scientific explanations that might change their mind.

Art, Music and Emotion

                For this journal entry I will like to reflect on the emotions that art and music evoke within me.  Both art and music are essential aspects of my life. You may be wondering why I feel so passionate about both of these art forms. The reason is that they both are able to lead me into a world of creativity; a world that I craft on my own and that helps me express not only what I feel but what I like and what surrounds me.

                Art is something that has been present in my life since I was very young. Some of the best memories of my childhood are the moments I spent with my mother and grandparents drawing and coloring. Colored Pencils were ESSENTIAL, everyday tools during my childhood as I would sit down and doodle and color for hours. Both my grandma and my grandpa really liked drawing and coloring and it was their love for art what led me to enjoy drawing. I never took any type of art class outside the regular art classes in school; however I loved drawing and learned many things by daily practice. For me, art provides a unique world filled with endless possibilities. It is within this world that I express my fears, likes, dislikes, feelings and what I see.  Art is my outlet! If I am frustrated, I usually grab a piece of paper or an old art workbook (and my iPod) and lock myself up in that “personal world”. Usually, my best designs, sketches or pieces have been the result of a strong emotion or something that has strongly influenced me. Sometimes, I mix in some of the poetry I write into my pieces and use both methods to express everything I feel. I have been told by many that when I combine my poems and drawings, the final result becomes extremely deep since it is expressed both visually and textually.  A drawing represents for me a moment in time. There was a specific moment in my life in which I felt this way and it is represented by means of this piece. It provides closure and allows me to express everything I feel, and simply move on with life. Another aspect that people like about my pieces, and something I particularly love about art, is that any element I use for my piece has a deep meaning. Nothing in my work is ever “just there” but it all serves to represent something meaningful to the theme of the piece. If one is able to understand the meaning of each element, then the piece becomes extremely powerful. This leads me to one characteristic of art that in my opinion makes it ideal. Each person is able to look at a given piece and interpret the elements that create it, in his/her own way. The interpretation can also change as one learns more things in life. For example, a piece I did for IB Art, has three cartoon animals with weird proportions and an unusual background. My little cousin Andres, who is 6 years old, saw the canvas in my room and told me he thought it was cool and that he liked the animals I chose to portray. My 8 year old cousin Stefan gave me a different, and more insightful, interpretation by asking me why the sky was pink, the sand purple and there were leaves around the animal’s necks. Finally, my 14 year old cousin Alejandro questioned completely the elements of the painting. He asked about the background, the proportions, the idea behind it, as well as some details. Other people might say that, having an art piece represent so many things is one aspect of art they do not like. I learned from them that our interpretation of certain elements evolves as we mature. For me, art is able to provide an array of opportunities for self-expression, reflection and entertainment.

                When I talk about music it will kind of relate to what I discussed in my previous journal entry about the five senses. In my case music, just like art, is able to provide me with a world of my own. In this world I am able to express what I am feeling, what worries me and more. Contrasting to art, with music I do not create the pieces but I use premade songs to create my mood and therefore the atmosphere of my world. If I choose to listen to a certain genre at that moment, my world turns into that. For example, if I listen to danceable music like dancehall (which I happen to be listening to right now) salsa, merengue, cumbia, or so then I will be expressing my happy, relaxed mood and create an atmosphere of happiness around me. On the contrary, if I listen to metal, punk rock or some types of rock, you will most likely know that I am angry and the atmosphere around me will be hostile. It is funny to see how the music I am listening to is able to tell my friends, family and my boyfriend what type of mood I am in. For example, before a basketball game, when I need to be all pumped up and competitive, I listen to something strong like metal since it will set the mood for my game. Also, they have learned to leave me alone when I am listening to music and really concentrated. They know by now that I am in another world.  Something I have tried, with no success yet, is to write my own songs. I find this quite amusing since I am able to write really deep, insightful poetry yet I am unable to turn this into a song. On the other hand, I do know people who write their own songs. My boyfriend is one of those people and his songs and his art pieces, just like my poems and artworks, reflect deeply on our lives. He uses his songs to tell how he feels in the same way in which I use my poetry to express my emotions. An interesting thing to point out is that there will always be people who read his lyrics or my poems and notice the emotional connection the piece has with our lives. Others, maybe because they are unable to draw the connection, disregard our pieces and call them trash. If there is one thing I am certain of is that for him and me and any other artist, the feelings expressed in a piece are only important to us; they are meaningful pieces of our lives represented by text that are all about expressing how we feel. As you can see, music is a crucial element of my life that helps me express myself in many ways.

                Music and art represent an opportunity of self-expression, reflection and entertainment at least for me. Other people might not feel such a strong connection with art, or music, but might feel it towards community service or sports or some kind of activity they are involved in. From this reflection I have realized that probably there is an outlet for every person. One that leads them into a world of their own and that allows them to reflect on their lives and express what they truly feel.

Senses!

Again, with this journal I would like to go back to another topic we discussed earlier on and elaborate more on it. This time, I will be talking about our senses and add some new ideas and thoughts I came up with after learning new things.

                As human beings, we have five senses (sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing) that allow us to learn many things about our surroundings. Each one works in a different way and requires different parts of our body. Alone, each sense is able to provide us with information but together they provide more accurate depictions of our environment.

                It is by means of our eyes that we can see the world that surrounds us. However, does this mean that what we see is always real? Perhaps, it is not. I think that we cannot rely on our sight completely since it can easily be tricked by things such as optical illusions.  For some time now, I have believed that what we see is not necessarily or entirely what is actually there. Since the only other animal with which we can communicate clearly is another human being, we all have a similar visual perspective of the world that surrounds us. For instance, the sky is blue and the leaves of the most trees (during the spring) are green. If we were able to get an insight of the visual perspective of other animals, our reality and what is really there could greatly change.  For instance, I was studying color perception for art class two years ago and came across some interesting facts about animals. Humans are considered trichromat, which means they have three structures that perceive colors. One receives blue, one red and the last one green; all other colors can be formed out of these. Bees are also trichromats but they have only two cones -the structures to perceive color- that receive human visible wavelengths and one which is sensitive to colors in the ultraviolet range. Humans are unable to see ultraviolet colors so if we could have a bee’s perspective on the world, we would probably come up with things we did not know before. Parrots are also worth mentioning since they are tetrachromats (4 cones) and there is a hypothesis that some women (2-3%) could also be tetrachromats, which can help them in color differentiation. So what do these examples tell us? The way we see the world could be influenced if we were presented with different perspectives showing that what we see might not be the only reality.

                Smell is another interesting sense that humans have. All humans are born (hopefully) with a nose. Most of us were taught that roses have a pleasant smell and old, sweaty clothes give off a disgusting smell.  As I mentioned, these are things that I believe are taught to us. For example, associating roses as a good smell and dirty as a bad smell is something we are taught based on our culture; in other cultures, the smell of sweat can be seen as pleasant since it represents masculinity. Nonetheless, I think there is also an innate ability that each person has to distinguish what they consider as pleasant or unpleasant whether this goes with what they were taught or not. One could also say that humans are mistaken seeing as they are simply creating a personal opinion about a simple gaseous molecule that is released by a certain object or organism. For instance, my cousins often misidentify different types of scents. They believe that some of my perfumes smell bad, even though the scents used to create it are ones they would usually find attracting on their own. I own a key-lime coconut body splash which to me smells magnificently. My cousins say they do not like the smell of it although they like the smell of both coconut and key-lime. I believe it is the mix what leads them to say they do not enjoy the scent.  My cousins are also picky about the smell of certain foods while they are being cooked. I can be in the kitchen creating a wonderful meal that I am sure will love, and they will come into the kitchen and whine about the awful smell. The concept they have about a smell is in many ways different to mine. I wonder if a person’s capacity for smell affects the concept that person has for smell. Also, I have met some people that have an amazingly keen sense of smell and are able to detect what remains of smells.

                Hearing is probably my favorite out of the five senses. My life is based on music and I really don’t know what I would do if I was unable to hear others when they talked to me. As I mentioned, music plays an important role in my life. It provides me entertainment, comfort, relaxation, advice, among others. You may wonder how music is able to provide me with all of these. Well the answer is fairly simple. By listening to the different beats of the music I am able to completely change my current mood which makes music one of my passions in life. If I am extremely frustrated or angry and I listen to beats used metal or punk rock I slowly calm down. I guess that the feeling of something being much more energetic and powerful than me slowly leads me to calm down. It is hard to express in writing. Anyways, the same happens for other moods, if I am feeling down and sad and I listen to happy, cheerful melodies, I will most likely lighten up and cheer up. Besides the mood changes, music provides infinite (well, as long as there is power in my house or my iPod has battery) hours of entertainment and I tend to listen to music every spare moment I have throughout the day. As for comfort and advice, the lyrics used in songs often describe situations that people face. For instance, there are both happy and sad breakup songs since it depends on how you ended your relationship how you will feel. I am able to find songs that directly link to events I am experiencing in my life and to learn from the advice given in the lyrics. I am in no way saying that all lyrics are good and that all advice given by songs should always be followed, but I am simply saying that the solutions presented by the artists could be helpful and make things better.  What people like to hear and what they do not, whether it is music or nature or city sounds, can differ greatly. For instance, I am the type of person who listens to almost any type of music out there. I have met people that prefer to stay in one genre and think any other is terrible.  One last thing I want to point out about hearing is that just like with sight, humans are presented with very few different perspectives and if we were able to hear what a dog, elephant or whale listens to, our perspective on sounds might drastically change.

                Our tongue plays an extremely important role in our lives. I love sweet and savory foods, which leads me to consume these more often than bitter or salty foods. Taste is one sense that I feel is extremely subjective. I say this because even if twins were brought up together and fed the same things throughout their lives, one will see that they will not like and dislike the same types of food.  Everyone who has a tongue will have the same flavor receptors (taste buds) that will sense the flavor in anything that comes in contact with our tongue. Nonetheless, every person develops a different set of likes and dislikes based on the stimuli they receive from their tongues.  A great example for the different perspectives of taste is an experiment we did in biology about a week ago. The experiment was trying to test for different hereditary traits such as tongue rolling, widow’s peak and so on. One trait was the perception of a chemical on a piece of special paper. First we were given a piece of the special paper with no chemical as a control for the experiment, and later we were given a piece with the substance. As soon as the paper hit my classmate’s tongues I saw them squirm and look in disgust as they spit out the paper. On the other hand, when I performed the experiment, I was able to detect the chemical as a bitter substance, but the taste did not bother me at all. Different tastes can lead people to prefer certain foods over others which would be an interesting topic to research for my future career in Culinary Arts.

                Finally, there is touch; another of my favorite senses that humans possess. The reason why I like touch is because of the amount of details that one can figure out about an object or organism by simply touching it. Many people would associate this sense with the hands mainly, but in fact, the whole body is able to feel and touch and determine what feels good and what does not. For instance, when I went to my mom’s office a few months ago, I sat on this lovely chair she had in her office. Roughly ten minutes later I had to stand up, stretch and sit on the floor for a while since the chair I used gave me a huge backache. To my hands, the texture of the fabric was amazing and with my sight I noticed how pretty the chair looked, yet the rest of my body was able to tell me that the chair did not feel comfortable. Touch is another sense in which I feel subjectivity is predominant. Not everyone likes to feel the same things and not everyone likes to be touched in the same way. By this I mean that some people really like hugging other and a lot of physical contact while others might prefer a personal space or “bubble” around them.

                Senses are primordial elements of our everyday life. It is through them that we learn and discover the world. As you can see, there are some senses that I enjoy having more than others but nonetheless I regard all senses as indispensible and necessary in order to fully learn about the world.

For this journal entry I want to go back to the Ways of Knowing, which we studied at the beginning of the school year, and comment a little bit more on them as well as add some new thoughts on the subject.

There are various Ways of Knowing which include: logic, memory, faith, introspection, empathy, moral beliefs, practice, instinct and acquaintance.

All living organisms, including unicellular organism, have instincts that predetermine how they react when facing certain situations. By definition, an instinct is a strong impulse that feels natural rather than reasoned; and it is instinct that prevails under life-or-death situations. Animals relay primarily on instinct since their basic survival depends on it. For example, last summer vacation I spent with my dad’s family at the beach, my aunt brought along her to Dachshunds Cookie and Caramelo. As we went out for a swim at a nearby pond, I was extremely surprised when both Cookie and Caramelo jumped into the water and started slimming happily.  I remember asking my aunt about it and she said that ever since she was a puppy, Cookie loves going to the beach and swimming at the pond. No one taught the dog how to swim, yet she instinctively knew what she had to do. But, is it the same for human beings? It can be debated whether human beings truly have instincts or whether they are simply reactions to stimuli that surround us. Many see sucking as the only true instinct that humans are born with, and regard things such as sex, hunger, motherhood are all responses to a stimulus created by something. For example, children do not know what the purpose of their genitals is until much later they discover it is by means of them that babies are created. If sex was truly and instinct as opposed to a reaction, children would know what they’re genitals are used for. Another good example is hunger. Hunger is merely a stimulus produced by the body that expects a response; eating. However, hunger would be classified as instinctive if humans knew what would kill them if they ate it, and what would not. Humans can be considered sociological animals since they depend largely on a group to provide them with experience and knowledge. There needs to be someone to teach them how to make fire, build shelter and find potable water. I do not know if I completely agree with those who say we have no instincts. However it does seem convincing that if they were really instincts, we would know exactly what to do and what would keep us alive. People also have the advantage that they are able to learn using other Ways of Knowing.

As a human being, I have used all the Ways of Knowing in order to acquire knowledge. Nevertheless, I use some methods more often than others.  I like to think of myself as an agnostic because of the set of beliefs I have come to see as “true” for myself.  In view of this, faith is a WoK that I do not use frequently and that does not offer support or justification for any claim someone else makes. In order for me to believe in something, I require some kind of proof. For instance, claiming that if one does not follow the ten commandments (my family is Catholic) one will go to hell means nothing to me since I have seen no proof that the commandments come from a superior force of God or that there is such thing as hell. Again, this is my personal opinion seeing as faith can be a reliable source of knowledge for someone who is a devoted Christian, Muslim, Jew, etc. For them, what is said in the sacred scriptures, whether it is the Bible, the Torah, the Qur’an or any other text, comes from God and provides the answers to how their lives should be lived.

On the contrary, a WoK I use a lot is logic. Out of all the WoKs, I believe logic is the most commonly used since it started back in prehistoric times. A caveman probably used his logic, along with practice, to establish eating patterns we still use today. Ever wondered why people are more inclined towards eating red, yellow, green and orange foods? The reasons behind this date back to prehistoric times when the cavemen started to gather fruits, vegetables and others in order to eat. They noticed that the green and yellow items did not produce unwanted effects, ailed them or killed them and starting consuming those the most. Likewise, they noticed that some red and orange products were harmful and some were not and out of logic consumed the edible ones. Finally, they used colors such as blue, purple, and black in order to know if the food was poisonous or spoiled therefore consuming fewer products of these colors. As mentioned before, they used practice as a way to learn as well as logical associations between the effects and the item consumed.  Just like the previous example, some practices we still have today date back to the cavemen and the logical arrangements they had. Furthermore, I have to add that I do not believe logic acts the same way for everyone. What might seem logical to me might seem extremely confusing for someone else.  I have always wondered why logic seems to work differently for each individual, however I have still not found an answer that satisfies me.  One subject that in my opinion is based purely on logic is mathematics. A good example is the basic formula that they taught us back in elementary school. If a = b, and b ≠ c therefore a-c = b-c. As you can see it is purely logical that if a and b are the same, subtracting c from either one will give the same result.

Another one I use often is conscience. This one comes into play when making decisions. For instance, last weekend was my mother’s birthday and although I knew I had a lot of homework for the weekend I chose to spend most of my time with her. Nonetheless, I felt like a cartoon character when they have a little angel on one shoulder and a little devil on the other and both sides try to tell you what to do. I felt stuck between celebrating with my mom or doing all the assignments I had to complete. Ultimately, I chose to do only the assignment I had due on Monday (study for a biology test and work on some art projects) and spend most of my weekend with my mom.  Another example that comes to mind of how one uses conscience is a drawing I made last year of a girl with her sweater’s hood covering her eyes. As you may have noticed, eyes are really important aspects to take into account when determining the mood or the emotional state of a person and when these cannot be seen, the viewer has a much harder time seeing the real emotions. That was the point I wanted to make with my drawing. The girl is shaded in a somewhat negative way but her face and mouth do not reveal if she is sad or upset or show any emotional state whatsoever. It is up to the viewer to interpret her emotions.

Although there are some other Ways of Knowing, I wanted to focus my journal on the ones I use the most and the ones that I believe allow me to learn more about the world.

How important is the study of literature, and of history, in an individual’s ethical development? In what ways?

                It is by means of literature that a person learns about was has happened in the past. It is our planet’s history and in a smaller scale, each nation’s own history. Events such as the Holocaust during World War 2 or the various massacres that have occurred in various nations through time are definitely influential in how ethical beliefs have changed through time. It is by means of literature that we learn our history and by means of history, that we discover the ethical conflicts that have given life to some of the most important events in the history of the Earth.

A person’s ethical development happens in various ways. Socially, the parents will teach their children what the society they live in has come to see as right, and what is wrong. This is where the person first develops they’re judgment of right and wrong. As the child grows older, he or she will understand more of why some actions are seen as correct and why others are seen as incorrect. In like manner, it is by means of historical events, and the study of literature, that the individual will be able to explore the ethical conflicts that have occurred throughout history and conclude whether what happened was “right” or “wrong.”

The different perspectives are often not presented to the reader. For instance there are probably a few books that agreed with Hitler and what he chose to do during World War 2, however these are rarely presented to the readers around the world. If the reader is able to get a book in which the different perspectives are shown, then he or she will be able to ask him or herself what perspective they support and for what reasons. It is this that leads individuals into a better and more complex ethical development.

*** the other questions can be found in either glori sojo’s blog or ana vic’s blog ***

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

“SAPIR-WHORF HYPOTHESIS: The notion that a person’s language shapes her or his perception and view of the world.”

Sapir Whorf Hypothesis is the best know declaration on linguistic determinism.  The Hopi language makes no difference between nouns and verbs.  The people who speak it describe the entire world as being constantly in process. English represents the world like a snapshot cameras, whereas the Hopi language represents a world more like a motion picture.  Some linguists maintain that German is a more precise language and is better suited to pursuits that require precision (like engineering for example).  Indeed, some hypothesize that a more precise language leads to more precise thinking.  French, on the other hand, is a “romance language” that is more suited to communicate complex emotions.

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis also takes environment and perception into account.  An often cited example is the idea that Eskimos have several words for snow while most cultures have few or none.[1]

First, I would like to analyze the implications of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in world peace. If the hypothesis is sustained by the information gathered, then world peace can be hanging from a thread. I mean this because as stated in the article, linguists believe that languages such as German are much more precise, while Hopi can lead to different (and perhaps) erroneous interpretations.  This can affect how problems are solved in a non-violent way since a simple word that is mistranslated or misunderstood can cause a third world war.  Additionally, like the article says, people such as the Eskimos have various words for one single term which are probably applied under different circumstances. This however was proven wrong after a bit of research since there is no such thing as Eskimo language. Eskimo is a term given to many groups of people with different languages. Likewise, they do not have many words for “snow” but instead their languages works similarly to German. They have a noun and they add adjectives or actions to that noun and create compound words. For example, “qinmiq” means “dog” and “qinmiarjuk” “young dog.”  This can cause the misconception that Eskimos have many words for the same thing.

Another point I would like to address is whether it is better to have one language, or many. Well, in my opinion the more languages you know, the easier it is to communicate what you know. For instance, I know English and Spanish, and speak, write and read very well in both. Also, I studied French for 3 years and I feel that I am able to communicate most of what I know and need, but sometimes I cannot find the exact term for what I want to say.  Last, but certainly not least, I studied German for a semester and learned the basic elements such as the colors, numbers, days of the week, months, and common phrases. My cousins speak German fluently and although I try my best to practice the little I know with them, most often it ends with them laughing at me because of my funny “spanglish-ized” accent.  Today, learning more than one language is a common practice throughout the world. This is because companies have become more competitive and seek for the best candidates for each position.  Therefore, people with better education or preparation, or people that are fluent in various languages, tend to occupy the best positions in mayor companies throughout the globe.

After explaining the advantages of multilingual people, one question came to mind. Would one language be better than other languages?  By this I mean that would it be particularly easier or helpful to use one language under certain circumstances and another language in other occasions? I would think so since as the extract from the website said, linguists find German much more precise than other languages while French is better to express feelings and emotions. In this is true, then German would be much better to use in areas such as the natural sciences and writing since the terms would be precise and descriptive. On the contrary, French would be better great for areas like the arts, ethics, since it would allow each person to express what they feel and why. This happens to me with English and Spanish. I find that if I want to express what I am feeling or my opinion English is much easier since its much simpler and shorter than Spanish. If I have to describe thoroughly what I see in a lab, or what we are studying in anthropology, I find Spanish to be much easier since its descriptiveness is greater.

Are all emotions equal?

People have always wondered what emotions are really like. Emotions are different from feelings since they are more complicated and many people express them in different ways.

For me, emotions alternate between being innate and being created. There are six basic emotions which are distress, joy, anger, fear, surprise and disgust. I believe that with these basic emotions, each person is able to live as a whole human being and are able to experience life to the fullest.  Although it seems pretty easy, there are other emotions that are harder to describe just by seeing the person, these are derived from the six basic emotions I talked about before.  Sometimes we experience a feeling in our body and mind which we cannot point out exactly.  Why would this be? Probably this is because the emotion we experience is not innate but triggered by our own perspective. For example, I would say that one of my predominant emotions this year is love. You may wonder how I can call love an emotion since it is shown in various ways. Although it is true that love is a really hard emotion to describe, I believe it combines parts of most of the basic emotions. When I’m with my boyfriend I am happy, when he brings me a present or sends me a cute message I am surprised. Those are some of the positive emotions that a relationship brings, but sometimes what we feel is negative. For instance, when he gets sick I experience fear or if we get in a fight we experience anger.  Other people might argue that determining what love feels like is impossible, since everyone experiences it differently. Also, how is it possible that a group of people can recognize it even if their perspectives are different?

                Complex emotions should not be taken lightly. We might all have different perspectives but we argue that situation X is love. There is a chance to find someone in the world who does not have any knowledge of love.  Is this possible and how?  I think it is possible and could be an influential factor in the life of that person. Maybe, people who have some type of mental disability are unaware of romantic love. By this I mean that they love their parent, siblings and people that take care of them, but do not experience any kind of romantic love towards others. Another example is that when I was a child, I was unaware of romantic love, and it was for me something that only grownups experienced.  Obviously, I saw the expressions of it, such as kisses and hugs between couples, but I did not know exactly what each person felt or how they could experience attraction towards a member of the opposite sex.  Now that I am experiencing it, I am beginning to understand more of how it works and what it feels like to be in love. Now, you may have noticed that I have been talking mostly about romantic love which in my opinion is when two people share passionate feelings for each other both physically and mentally.  If we were to ask people how they express love, we would receive a wide variety of answers. Likewise, if we were to ask if it is an innate emotion, we would probably come to the conclusion that it is, since it is something we show since we are young. Every child loves his/her parents as soon as they realize that these take care of him/her and provide everything necessary for their life. Also, from the first time a mother sees her newborn baby a special connection is made out of love, which can lead a mother to sacrifice all for the sake of her children.

                On the other hand, an emotion such as fear is much easier to understand. The cause of it might be different than its meaning for everyone. For me, fear is also an innate emotion that is much easily recognized by others. The difference between love and fear is that the way we express fear comes from our natural instincts and it can occur at any moment and can be triggered by many things.