Name Surya Pratap

Subject TOK
Type TOK Essay
Word Count 1471
Question Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of reason as a way of
knowing.

Fig 1.0
Knowledge means to build a perception through our own experiences. The
depth of knowledge cant be reached. I choose this topic because sometimes I felt in
my life that to know beyond a limit may create problems for us. Knowledge implies
belief, knowledge and belief are different, sometime we belief something but we are
not sure about the evolution of its truth. So it has been concluded by my own
experience that no knowledge can be gained without belief. Every concept of
knowledge cannot be considered as belief, the belief what we generated by our
observation and experience should be backed up by truth, that can be converted
into the knowledge. If any how belief is justified by truth it would be conceived as
knowledge. Knowledge can be gained by perception. The ideas and arguments
associated with knowledge work have a circle surrounding them.
Knowledge comes from perception. Just as perception knowledge both gives
us ways of knowing that it is raining, so emotion too can give us knowledge

sometimes so swiftly that we are unaware of the process. Like during rainy season,
thundering and lighting give us knowledge about its occurrence through our sense
perceptions. The emotional sensitivity makes us to understand that something is
going wrong with our known person when we see him in distress. So according to
the recent findings emotion is also the way of knowing.
Sometimes opposite to the emotion the reasoning also acts as the way of
knowing. Our past experience helps us to draw conclusions. When we see a child
playing with toys or burning crackers we let him aware that whatever he is doing, he
should use precautionary measures because we have a reason behind it that is our
reasoning. Reasoning is the natural way of knowing to draw out the conclusion.
Reasoning helps us to argue that our recommendations are valid and strong. The
language which we speak is a core of reasoning. We speak certain expressions in
certain language which help us to recognize that the meaning of the language our
experience and our natural perpetual tendency to group things together and
recognize the pattern help us to develop reasoning for certain arguments or beliefs.
As my father is also fond of luxury cars but he is having only basic knowledge
about the looks of the car. Regarding internal technological knowledge of car, it is
no doubt that my side is better than him. He used to travel long distances through
car for his Business issues and he kept complaining about the control system of car
in the hectic and haphazard traffic in the absence of driver. There is a well known
function known as Cruise Control which I was very well aware with. In this
function, you can set up the speed unit of the car and you neednt to have a control
over accelerator and this will avoid the inconvenience during the traffic rush hour.
When my dad came to know he felt amazed as well as proud. Here my knowledge
came as strength. I also have the interest in developing or testing out the technical
objects of the house. I have a strong intention of opening the cabinet of the CPU or
Television. The dangerous part of my developing the knowledge regarding
technology occurred when during the process of playing with these gadgets, I got
electric shock which is unforgettable for me. The weakness of knowledge led me
away from these things and I just cant have enough inner strength to operate again
these gadgets.
Family is the first school of child. And mother is the first teacher which
remains constant throughout the lifetime. Mother teaches her child not only with
strictness but also provides love, affection and adore to her child. Mother takes her
child as a disciple and show the way of life through her own experiences. She also
told me to follow the belief in God. I followed this and from the first day of learning I
was told to start every new thing with a prayer of God. Gradually, with passage of
time I developed the inner strength in God. The regular prayer provides me a great
sense of peace. But one day I found myself stuck in the phobia of exam. As per my
mothers belief I was told that whatever you want from the God, he will give you; he
is Almighty. I had a blind faith in God. As soon as I realized that I would be flunked,
the moment I started making prayers for times a day and asking God every time to
anyhow get me through the papers. Unbelievingly it was surprised for me also and I
know that the reader will also not believe these things. But I left my paper blank,
leaving everything in the hands of Almighty (God). Alas! The results are out and just
opposite to my expectations I was completely flunked in each and every subject.

From that day I started believing that to get anything good I have to pay for that by
taking pains, by sweating out, by burning midnight candles. My knowledge towards
existence and belief of God has changed completely.
The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
Bertrand Russell

Fig 2.0
The development of technology provide human being a wide spread
knowledge about various electronic equipments. With the development of human
society the thirst to rule among the different sections of society keep on developing
with the passage of time. The ideology of people changed. The development of
mankind has given birth to various religions which are based on certain beliefs.
Gradually the society started getting parted from each other. To prove ones knowing
one has started over powering other sections of society. This is the weakness of
knowledge which gives birth to ego, proud and stubbornness among the individual.
The worst waste of knowing the advancement of technology was seen in 1945 in
Japan, when in the first week of August America hit them with Atomic Bombs. This
kind of knowledge which is used for the destruction of mankind cannot be justified
as useful knowledge. Knowledge is to be developed for the service of mankind.
Knowledge always is a part which is to be shared with other persons. At the young
age child was taught how to walk, how to read, how to learn, how to speak, and
various other manners. This can be happened only when the parents should know it
better. If parents are well educated then this knowing can be spread more easily
among their children. The strength of knowledge can be seen in a speaker whose
words spread the knowing power among the mass. The priest and the motivators
have strong power of transferring the knowledge. As we see regularly in our life
that a lot of person get affected by the preaching of the priest. This is the power of
knowledge. Here one single priest is able to transfer his knowledge by his own
experience. He can share his experience among the different persons. So it is true
to say that knowledge develops through experience. For an example if a person is
unaware of the way of drinking tea then he will multiply this knowledge that the
drinking of tea is not a good habit, because if at his first instance a person who
started drinking tea may burn his tongue which developed a knowledge in him that
the drinking of tea is harmful.
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks
outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
Carl Jung
The strengths and weaknesses of reason of knowing is completely based on
ones experience, if experiences are good then the reasons will be authentic but if
there is a lack of experience then the reason of knowing is not authentic. In my
essay I described above that knowledge can be gained by two processes: firstly; if it

is being transferred by some experienced persons, or secondly; by getting himself

into the process. The way of reason of knowledge of doing something or not is
completely based on the above two facts. The better the experience, the better is
the knowledge. Reason can be explained as why? , why we sleep? , why we eat? ,
these all questions contain reasons. In my conclusion I just want to give one last
example which I experienced myself. I will never forget the day when I first time
visited the Lord Krishna temple with my father. It was told me that I have to stand
there in front of the image of the God and bow before it. As I am unaware of this
fact that why this process is being done. I asked my father and he explained me the
cause, which is nothing other than belief.
1471 WORDS
Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Classical-Definition-of-Kno.svg (Fig 1.0)
http://www.arrod.co.uk/ (Fig 2.0)
http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_knowledge.html (Quotes)