Senses

addressing the question asked in class today about whether knowledge can be obtained through sources other than senses, i do not believe it can. The example given by ms. libby and mr. perkins were emotional ways of knowing or spiritual ways of knowing. Many people such as this would argue that based on how they feel towards a situation(their emotion) they can "know" something or have "knowledge" of something, however this is not necessarily true. The emotion of a situation is just a result of how one may interpret the senses they have used to obtain the knowledge. In other words, the emotions sparked from an event just clarify the knowledge already obtained from the senses. For example, if a child is playing a video game that involves crime and he goes around shooting everyone in the game because thats what he must do to win, and he feels no mercy for the people on the game. why? because he has no emotional connection, however if a man shot a real person in front of this child would the child then have mercy for the dead man? of coarse he would because he saw them die and heard them after being shot. The emotion the child feels is clarification that his senses are correct, that the man is dieing or dead. Therefore emotion is not a way of obtaining knowledge, but can legitimately be used to clarify it.

the other example given was faith. A person cannot know about a faith without acquiring some kind of knowledge from ear or sight beforehand. For example, many people go on mission trips to see what needs to be done in the world or to "connect" with god. It gives them a realization based from the senses they used to understand it. Then one might ask, how do people in isolated parts of the world "know" about religion, and it can be understood that they find their god or a Christian god through other aspects of life such as nature, and feelings they encounter with other people. How do these people acquire knowledge of these feelings that lead to faith? They sense them, they see the beauty god put on earth, they might hear stories, or feel something that man could not alone have made. The emotions people have from these senses or phenomena clarify their faith.

The basis for knowing is acquiring knowledge from the senses, then interpreting what these senses have given you, then clarifying that the interpretation is true. Is emotion a base for obtaining knowledge? no, it is just one aspect that derives from the basis of your senses.