KNOWLEDGE, REALITY AND EDUCATION (AN EPISTEMIC PERSPECTIVE)

GALİP VELİU

ABSTRACT

The attractiveness of knowledge is mainly constituted from our long time
consideration of it as the representation of the true picture of reality. This is what
compelled Plato to differ episteme from doxa, and the modern period, to discard
metaphysics from the list of sciences and, differentiate scientific knowledge from
other kinds of it. Is the concept scientific the right adjective in order to qualify
knowledge, as the best of its kind and as that which fits reality, or an obstacle
which has to be replaced by another more fruitful concept in this context. Is the
act of labeling true knowledge as scientific, a result of scientist’s good intention for
human approximation to reality, as it is usually proclaimed? Let us suppose that
this was the case for its first time users, which is nothing more than a presupposition
for, no one of us is sure of it, is it still retaining this purpose. This is the first issue
that we discuss in the paper and argue that, the concept “scientific knowledge”,
has become a canonic trick in the hands of scientists in order to, preserve their
already well established untouchable authority in the field and, require public’s
blind commitment to what they say. The second discussion topic of the paper is
the essential part of the first one, i.e., education. Are our educational system and
educational institutions, of any use in the context of preserving Aristotle’s right
purpose of knowledge for the sake of knowledge? In fact, the paper argues that,
they are just another wall which strengthens the first, already great obstacle, in
the way of youngster’s active participation in knowledge yielding procedure.