Philosphy IP2

Knowledge and Belief

PHIL-IP2

Name

Class

Date

Professor

Knowledge and Belief

The following paper will discuss the difference between knowledge and belief. In order to understand the difference the paper will discuss personal experience of knowledge and belief of someone who loves them.

Knowledge and Belief

Knowledge is something that can be proven through the collection of data while a belief is a conviction. Understanding the difference between the two can sometimes be difficult because many people accept their beliefs as knowledge. Just because there is a belief does not make it a fact or vice versa. God is something that is believed in and everything learned from God is knowledge. The problem is not everyone believes in God so the knowledge people perceive to have of God could just be a part of their belief system. Knowledge and beliefs have been debated for centuries with philosophers trying to understand when a belief becomes knowledge but if a belief can be proven and repeated it is knowledge.

There are many people in my life I believe have loved me but no one as fiercely as my Mother. I have complete knowledge and belief my mother loves me and will go to any length for me to understand how much she loves me. When I was young the love I felt from my mother just was. It was never questioned and I knew with complete certainty that my Mother loved me. As an adult I have reflected more on this love especially after having my own children and through this reflection gained a certainty or complete knowledge of her love. There are many examples of her love which has been repeated in her actions in many different ways.

Categorization of Knowledge

· My Mother gave birth to me and cared for me every day for 18 years. She made sure I ate and I was warm. My Mother made sure I was always fed and hugged me several times a day. She read me stories and tucked me into bed every night when I was a child. every night she told me she loved me but she showed her love in both words and in her actions.

· Once I left high school and went to college my Mother helped me purchase everything I would need and helped me move into my college dorm. She helped me decorate the dorm and filled my fridge with food. Before she left she cried and hugged me tight telling me how much she loved me and how much she was going to miss me. Throughout my four years in college she came and filled my fridge with food both at my dorm and when I later moved into my own apartment.

· My mother has called me every day of my adult life to tell me she love me. If I have ever needed financial assistance or just someone to talk to she has always been there and unlike romantic partners and friends we have never been in an argument.

· I have complete and total knowledge my Mother loves me. After thirty years of showing me every day in her words and actions how much she loves me this has gone from a belief to knowledge. Knowledge is definitive and can be proven with fact (Greco, 2009). Plato has said, something that is a justified true belief is knowledge. My belief on the knowledge my Mother love me is justified because I can back up this belief with repeated proof. Truth is aligned with fact meaning my truth that my Mother loves me is a fact.

· While I believe my Mother loves me I also have a firm knowledge that this is in fact true. I can justify this belief through the many incidents throughout my life where my Mother has consistently proven her love. In order to “prove” a belief, there must be a justification for the confidence in this belief in order to persuade the opponent to do the same (Heinlein, 2011).

· To be able to take a belief to knowledge there must be experience about the topic. I have over thirty years experience in the topic of my Mother’s love for me. This belief is also knowledge due to the repeated experience with the living with my Mother and being nurtured and cared for. Knowledge becomes fact due to repeated exposure and experience (Binmore, 2005). The repeated exposure to my Mother’s love has made it fact.

Empirical Evidence

Empirical evidence refers to evidence collected through experiments and observation. While I have not conducted any formal experiments on my mother’s love there have been numerous occasions where my mother’s love has been proven and I have observed her love for me on a multitude of occasions.

When I was young I fell off a second story balcony and broke both my wrists. When my mother ran to me she immediately picked me up and raced over to the military base hospital in her little Fiat car. My Mother kept assuring me everything would be okay and she stayed completely calm and loving. The minute the doctor took me out of her arms after she carried into the hospital she fell to the ground sobbing. I was seven years old and knew with a certainty how much my Mother loved me and how scared she was when I was hurt.

The second time I knew with complete knowledge my Mother loved me was when I left for basic training for the military. My Mother rarely cries but when I went through the gate at the airport I turned back and saw my Mother sobbing. I was gone for eight weeks to basic and continued on to Tech school for an additional six weeks. Every single day I was gone my mother wrote me a letter. In the letters she told me what was going on at home and how much she loved me. Physical evidence is conclusive (Giwer, 2011). The letters are physical evidence.

Ptolemy believed the sun revolved around the Earth (Binmore, 2005). This belief was in fact false because it has been proven through fact and knowledge that the Earth in fact revolves around the sun. Ptolemy’s belief was just that. Something he thought to be true without fact. I know for a fact my Mother loves me and will do anything for me. The proof is willingness to risk her retirement to help my family several years ago when the economy went bad. Giving us the money no knowing if we would be able to pay ti back was clear proof of her love.

Logical Evidence

Logic is applying reason to an argument. It is only logical to assume a Mother loves a child but that is not always the case. Logic is the ability to apply critical thinking to an argument (Kornblith, 2008). After reviewing the evidence that my mother loves me there are three logical arguments in favor of knowledge. One my Mother has always shown me love, understanding, and has been nurturing. No one would show this behavior for 30 plus years without loving them. Secondly my Mother will sacrifice anything for me from money, to time, to organs. This is clear proof of love. Thirdly my Mother tells me she love me every day. The fact she takes the time to call or text every day and tells me how much she loves me is clear proof of her love.

Final Argument

After going through all of the evidence I still hold to my argument that I have complete knowledge my mother loves me. I can prove this through physical evidence as well as years of observation of her behavior. Love is a feeling but it is also proven over and over again by someone’s actions. My Mothers actions and behavior since the day I was born has changed the belief she loves me to knowledge she love me.

References

Binmore, K. (2005). Why the Distinction Between Knowledge and Belief Might Matter.

Economic Journal Watch, 2(1): 97-104

Giwer, M. (2011). Belief and Knowledge. Retrieved February 21, 2014 from

http://www.giwersworld.org/made-in-alexandria/belief-list.html

Greco, J. (2009). “Knowledge and Success from Ability,” Philosophical Studies, 142(1): 17–26

Heinlein, R. (2011). Knowledge vs. Belief. Retrieved February 21, 2014 from

http://www.thewaytoactuality.com/thoughts/knowledge-vs-belief/

Kornblith, H. (2008). “Knowledge Needs No Justification,” in Q. Smith (ed.), Epistemology:

New Essays, Oxford: Oxford University Press.