Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

II. Perspectives
section explores the rich and varied role
This
perspective in the natural sciences. There are
of
perspectives about how science changes
different
time, and how it came to be what it is today.
over
how scientists manage disagreements, and
•
they tend to disagree about
what
how experts and non-experts engage in
•
controversies about science
public
critiques coming from perspectives on
•
that have a history of being excluded
science
knowledge has been instrumental
Scientific
enabling humanity, for better or worse,
in
dominate the planet. It has been said that
to
is power. But what kind of power
knowledge
it? To look more closely at this, we turn
is
the views of Francis Bacon, who is often
to
credited as having first said the words
wrongly
is power”. Although he did not
“knowledge
that word for word, it is likely he agreed
say
it. with
Bacon was an influential statesman and
Francis
in the 17th century who championed
scholar
use of experimentation as a way to gain
the
about the world. Specifically, he
knowledge
that scientific knowledge should
emphasized
gained through empirical observation of
be
in a systematic method that involved
nature,
scientists “exploring nature for
sceptical
truths”. Bacon was fond of metaphors
hidden
often described the natural world in
and
terms, portraying masculine
gendered
bravely venturing out and extracting
scientists
truths “locked in nature’s bosom”. These
the
have come under criticism from
writings
observers in recent years (see II.7 on
some
critiques of science). He also argued
feminist
called “armchair theorizing”—that had
be
widespread in Western scholarship since
been
time. His ideas are widely accepted
Aristotle’s
having contributed to the development
as
the scientific methodologies, and to the
of
of methodical systems of
development
7.1 Titl pag for Novum Organum Sintiarum, 1645, by
Figure
Baon (1561–1626)
Franis
metaphors indicated on the title page of his
The
Novum Organum Scientiarum are significant
work
7
I I . P E R S P E C T I V E S
Zooming in, this section looks at:
categorizing knowledge.
from the scientific practice and discourse.
II.1 Is knowledge power?
against the use of conjecture—what might
and revealing (Figure 7.1). The page shows the
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