The theme for this week was Theory of knowledge and theory of science and the assignment was to read Theaetetus by Plato and Critique of pure reason by Kant. I found it very hard to read and understand the texts. Unlike my previous courses on KTH, where most of them are based on theoretical facts, this theme was based on philosophy which I have never studied before. I think these kinds of texts require a new way of thinking compare to my previous courses and therefore it took me a while to really understand what they were all about. It helped a lot to talk about and discuss the texts with the other students because we helped each other with the difficult parts of the texts. The lecture and the seminar with Johan Eriksson were the last pieces of the puzzle that was needed to understand Plato and, especially, Kant’s theories.
For me, one of the most interesting part to think about and discuss this week was how we perceive the world and the fact that you can think about perception in many different ways. Kant talks about a priori and posteriori. I think many people, including myself, use the posteriori method to define and understand the world but just as Kant’s Copernican example shows, sometimes we need to look at things from another perspective in order to gain knowledge.
Socrates, however, argues that we use all of our senses together with our mind to perceive knowledge, which means that an experience can vary a lot among different people even though the people are watching the same picture or listens to the same song. One of the things my group discussed in the seminar was the question: Could you say that there are 7 billions worlds today since everyone on the planet might perceive the world differently? I think neither Kant nor Socrates would say that that is the case, because the world is in itself and there is not 7 billions of them. Still, I think the question has a good point in the interpretation and analysis of Socrates theory.
During this first week I have learned a lot, partly by forcing myself to think in different ways and trying to see things from different angles and perspective, and partly by discussing with and listen to my classmates and Johan Eriksson during the lectures. I enjoyed the first theme, even though it was a real challenge for me.
Hi,
SvaraRaderathe question about 7 billion worlds was quite tricky as there is the complex picture (one world that exists in space and time) but at the same time everyone sees and feels it in different way. This issue reminds me the cases in courts when two parties try to persuade judge that their stories are the only "truth".
I must admit that I also prefer "a posteriori" method dealing with the new information but at the same time, when it comes to the subjects which I cannot experience by myself (e.g. how astronauts feel in the gravity free environment) I can only imagine it "a priori" by reading books and watching documentaries.
I completely agree with you on this not being a challenging theme, especially if you haven't previously studies philosophy. I found the idea of there being "7 billions worlds today since everyone on the planet might perceive the world differently" quite interesting. I would argue, as you also point out, that the world is in itself and there's only one of the physical planet. However, it is interesting as everyone perceives the world differently, could you say that I live in a different world than someone from Korea or Kenya? We might share the same physical space, but we most likely have very different views of that space.
SvaraRaderaI am of the same mind that discussing and questioning this theme through seminars contributed to our understanding of the subject and main ideas. It was great to share our interpretations and check those theories talking about real examples like 7 billion different worlds. I do not agree completely to this thought, but I do think that maybe there are indeed 7 billion interpretations of this world. Thank you for your sharing your thoughts and experience so clearly!
SvaraRaderaI agree with you that it is hard to get started in this topics without philosophical background. I had the same issue, that all the theories I was faced with during the last years were different to access. I am not used to this philosophical kind of thinking either, but I agree with you that it was interesting to shift the own ways of thinking during the first week.
SvaraRaderaAfter having read some blog posts so far and listening to the group discussions, I think a lot of these went into the direction if everyone has their "own" world they live in based on own knowledge, received according to background (culture, language, etc.). To come back from this understanding to the world as it is (so "only" one world) might be difficult. There might still be a discrepancy between the world as it is and the world as we perceive it.
You summarised this week very well! The idea of 7 billion world is very interesting, I think you might could've written some of your own ideas of it as well. Although I don't necessarily agree that there are 7 billion worlds, I would say that there are 7 billions interpretations/versions of it, somewhat similar to each other (but some may differ completely).
SvaraRaderaI also found the texts rather hard to understand at times (or rather often), but I think they gave us a good idea of how to use our critical judgement and be aware of how our perceptions can affect our understanding in our studies.
It seems like you had a good discussion during the seminar and that you were well prepared. Your taught on the different ways we see the world makes me think of how according to Kant we all were glasses (metaphorically) while we perceive the world and how this affect our perception. I liked your example of how there are probably 7 billion worlds because we all perceive it in our own way.
SvaraRaderaIn the way you reflect on this theme it seems that your determination and the discussions helped, and that you understand this theme.
Describing planet Earth as 7 billion worlds is an interesting idea. Just like you write, there is a valid point in looking at individual perceptions of the world as constituting the world. Because after all, the only world that I know is the world that I perceive. Just like one of the previous commentators wrote, it is impossible to say that people with completely different backgrounds (and presents, too) perceive the same world. And since all is perception, it should also be impossible to say that they life in the same world.
SvaraRaderaThe analysis about the worlds was interesting. It is a big difference between 7 billion worlds and 7 billions perceptions of one world. And furthermore there is a difference between analytical and synthetic knowledge.
SvaraRaderaIn some areas of study we perceive it differently but there will only be one correct answer.
Although we can interpret the answer differently too. But the interpretation of the answer can also be right or wrong.
The question about the 7 billion worlds is a very interesting one indeed. Yes, there is only 1 physical world, but there might well be 7 billion perceptions and interpretations of it :) There are many other things that colour our perception and interpretation, not just our eyes, ears and the 12 categories. For instance, in the lecture and seminar on the second topic we talked about historically determined perception. This is just one example, but you get my point. Thanks for the interesting read!
SvaraRaderaIt was interesting to hear that in your seminar you discussed the chance of there being 7 billion different worlds. We cannot know how similar our senses work in perceiving the world and therefore how different our world views are. It is a good way of explaining the concept of us each having our own “lens” to interpret the world. I personally think that since so many of us have similar cultures and backgrounds, that many might be very similar, though still varying. It makes me wonder to the extent in which we can influence each other into having the same perceptions and if that leads us to experiencing things in the same way.
SvaraRaderaIt was interesting to hear that in your seminar you discussed the chance of there being 7 billion different worlds. We cannot know how similar our senses work in perceiving the world and therefore how different our world views are. It is a good way of explaining the concept of us each having our own “lens” to interpret the world. I personally think that since so many of us have similar cultures and backgrounds, that many might be very similar, though still varying. It makes me wonder to the extent in which we can influence each other into having the same perceptions and if that leads us to experiencing things in the same way.
SvaraRadera