RELIGION AS AN AREA OF KNOWLEDGE 2

GOD MATTERS XS IB CLE 2011-2012 Full Name Kenneth Nacion 4G Section 2 LC#

Note: This is your digital worksheet. You will nd the instructions for todays module here. Perform the requested tasks using this Pages le. In other words, make it your own. Thank you!

Part One: YOUR Epistemological World Views Summarize here your ndings (even if tentative!) about your theories of knowledge. Domains Natural Science Social Science Art Morality Item #s 1, 5, 14 4, 8, 12 3, 7, 10 6, 9, 11 YOUR world view Evaluativist Evaluativist Evaluativist Absolutist Brief Reason + Remarks
One claim will be more complete than the other through the presentation of evidence. One claim will be more complete than the other through the presentation of evidence. Art should be subjected to standards to judge whether an artwork is good or not. There should be a standard which all ethics should be based on regardless of culture in this increasingly globalized world. This standard should not be dictated by some authority, but rather agreed upon by different people. There is an absolute truth in religion. Whether one religion has already made the right claims is another matter.

Religion

2, 13, 15

Absolutist

Part Two: Ways of Knowing How important are the different Ways of Knowing in the different domains? Rate them from 1 to 10 according to importance, with 10 as VERY IMPORTANT. If there are other ways of knowing/judging, use the last column and specify.
Domains Sense Perception 8 6 9 6 6 Reason Language Emotion Others?

Natural Science Social Science Art Morality Religion

10 9 3 9 4

5 5 6 3 2

2 5 9 8 10 Id consider Faith to be a part of Emotion.

Part Three: AUTHORITY and/or EVIDENCE When you justify claims, how much do you actually rely on External Authority and Direct Evidence for every domain? Assign a percentage to each one per domain (Just make an estimate, so NO decimal points--e.g., 25.2321%!). Make sure both total 100%.

Domains Natural Science

% AUTHORITY 25

% EVIDENCE 75 100%

Brief Reason + Remarks

N.S. is mostly dependent on evidence. However, authority is sought in some cases, like setting new standards. For example, astronomers and scientists just voted to have Pluto downgraded from being a planet to being merely a dwarf planet, which was a new concept they developed in that same conference they voted in. Like N.S., S.S. also relies heavily on evidence. However, there are more variables at work here, so research should be more trusted than simply the theories of the so-called experts in the eld. Evidence will ultimately prove a claim presented. Art has its own standards on what constitutes a good art work. In a sense, it acts as the authority in judging. Evidence would be compliance with these standards. To establish something as moral, it must be backed up with rational claims that will act as evidence. Authorities can only come in and dictate on certain issues that are widely accepted already, like how it is immoral to kill, steal, etc. However, even these widely accepted stances can still be debated by using evidence. Organized religion heavily depends on the authorities of a certain religion. Although evidence is important, it is not as important as what the authority in a certain religion dictates. This is a facet of religion that, for me, is very lacking. The dictations of the authorities in religions should still be open to challenges that are supported with substantial evidence.

Social Science

20

80

100%

Art

50

50

100%

Morality

10

90

100%

Religion

70

30

100%

Some learnings, comments, connections...

I learned that the epistemological world views of a person can vary from one AOK to another. Each AOK has also different degrees of dependencies on authority and evidence. Some questions still hound me, though. If one believes that there is an absolute truth to a certain question or issue, does that make him an absolutist (even if he doesnt subscribe to any specic claim/belief and regardless of whether the truth has been claimed already)?