I.Ways of Knowing
• varies from person to person, think differently
Epistemology- the study of knowledge
Some “Truths”- How do you know?
Ex) Asked class: “Vegetables are good for you.”
• Know from leaning nutrition in school, taught by mom, personal experience
Asked class: “People who are similar to each other tend to like each other.”
• Observations, commonalities
Some “Everyday” Ways of Knowing & their Problems
• Method of tradition/ tenacity
o Passed down through generation, knowledge passed down
o Tenacity- persistence, person doesn’t go away
o Ex) Thanksgiving, law
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Method of authority
o Something we learned to be true is because someone who has authority told us
o Ex) Doctors (went to med school), Food pyramid (from gov), mom cares
o Problem: Might have personal bias
o Ex) mom can be / give false info
=> Problem with both: authorities and handed down truths can be WRONG
Method of observation
o Surface-level version: personal experience
▪ Have to find out
o More rigorous version: “Baconian empiricism” (rigorous observation)
▪ “Modern foundation”
▪ Induction used to create theory
o Problems:
▪ 1. Inaccurate observation
o Tired, can’t focus well, people have limitations in senses
o 2. Selective observation
o 3. Overgeneralization
Idealism:
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Method of intuition/ logic
o Ability to think it through
o Surface level version- common sense
o More rigorous version: “Platonic idealism”
▪ Logically reason to accurate conclusion
• Making inferences in head
• Theoretical
o Problems:
▪ 1. Incorrect premises
▪ 2. Illogical reasoning
• Ex) All fish swim, I swim, so I’m a fish. (NO)
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=>”Everyday ways of knowing” can even lead to conflicting ideas about the “truth”
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Comm Example: Long distance relationships
o “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” or “out of sight, out of mind”
▪ Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it
inflames the great.” -Bussy Rabutin
The Scientific Method
• Combines “platonic idealism” with “baconian empiricism” (rigorous observation)
o Logic intuition (related to “platonic idealism”) -> constructing theories
o Observation (related to “baconian empiricism”) -> gathering data
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Communication Science- Use empirical observations to test theories about comm
processes
Unique Characteristics of Science
(How is “science” different from the other “everyday” ways of knowing?”)
• Scientific research is public
o Published in peer-reviewed journals
o Opportunity to replicate studies
▪ Will have more confidence