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“Humans are pattern-seeking pattern -seeking animals and we are adept at finding patterns whether they exist or not” (adapted from Michael Shermer). Discuss knowledge questions raised by this idea in two areas of knowledge.
Philosophers like Thomas Hobbes (Hobbes, 2008) and Sir Francis Bacon (Bacon et al., 1825) have agreed that the individual who possesses knowledge will consequently possess power. However, there has always been a trade-off as to what is true knowledge. How can we confirm that our knowledge is actually true? The German physicist, Helmholtz, ventured the idea that senses and past experiences can shape the way a thinker understands the world, and it can make the human adept at constructing images and patterns whether they exist or not (theoryofknowledge.net, 2014). It is difficult to trust our senses to gain true knowledge given that the human’s sense perceptions tend to fall into confirmation bias. Granted that humans have this biological nature, it is important to know if our senses are actually guiding us to see images or patterns that actually exist and not only to fallacies. This leads me to the question, ‘T o what extent is sense perception, alone, sufficient for gaining knowledge?’
In the arts, one’s interests and experiences are essential in gaining knowledge. The particular interest you have and the things you have experienced in the past are factors that determine how you perceive an art piece. For example, last summer I visited the Salvador Dali museum in Florida, where my family and I encountered M.C. Escher’s painting ‘Study for Stars.’
Figure 1. ‘Study for Stars” by M.C. Escher. (Mcescher.com, 2016)
The painting consists of shapes that seem to be stars. M y father’s perspective regarding the stars was of the vastness and the beauty beaut y of the universe. My father is accustomed to watching and studying the stars at night with a telescope; he loves stars and he is very enthusiastic about cosmology. He interpreted the painting b y saying that it is beautiful how the painter gave different geometrical faculties to the stars and still conserved it’s beauty. My interpretation was quite different. I saw the painting as a symbolism of the struggle between men vs. nature. The fact that the stars are made of geometrical shapes symbolises how the freedom and wildness of nature is being b eing restricted by angular and mathematical shapes. For me, it symbolises how man is sabotaging n ature by restricting its freedom. My father and I had different topics of interest, which we brought to the viewing of the same s ame painting. Even though our interpretations were different, my father and I were able to come to knowledge of the artwork with the use of our senses. Humans only see or notice those examples that fit our preconceived interests and beliefs; thus, I was able to perceive patterns that reminded me to conflict between man vs. nature, coming to true knowledge.
However, reason is required for knowledge in art, and in fact, sense perception can come in the way of reaching knowledge in the arts. It is very important to be cautious cau tious about what we
perceive because sense perception is selective. What an individual tends to notice or to perceive better in a particular environment is greatly influenced by our interests, emotions and culture; thus, the patterns that are perceived by the audience might fall into confirmation bias (Lagemaat, 2015). These three aspects act as filters that determine what shows up as an individual scan the images around them.
Spectators in the arts are able to make rational judgments while perceiving a piece of artwork, and not fall into perception selectivity. For ex ample, in June 2004, Mexican physicist, Jose Luis Luis Aragón, compared Van Gogh’s Go gh’s ‘Starry Night’ with physics phenomena ‘Turbulent Flow’ (Aragón et al., 2008). Using the Hubble Space Telescope, Aragón took a picture of a distant cloud composed of dust and gasses, which followed turbulent flow behaviour. This image reminded them of Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night,’ which vividly transmits the sense of turbulence. By using mathematics, Aragón’s team was ab le to find a correlation between the behaviour of the painting p ainting and the velocity differences in a turbulent flow. Aragón noticed the pattern in nature and in the art piece with the use of his sense of vision, but reason and logic was required to construct a mathematical correlation between the painting and the phenomena. The use of emotions and senses were not vital in the understanding of the spectator’s rational judgement. A solid and logical method was used to create a valid conclusion of the relationship of a rt and physics; thus, leading them to justified knowledge without confirmation bias.
Sense perception plays a great role within the arts. Senses lead the knower to make the most creative interpretation of art, and to spot patterns in the environment. On the other hand, given that sense perception is selective, there are too many different interpretations that can easily fall into confirmation bias; thus, I believe that sense p erception, alone, is not sufficient in gaining knowledge. We were able to see how Aragón combined sense perception and reason in order to make succesfull links between art and nature and effectively gaining knowledge. Given that mathematics is a universal language, all humans, regardless of their emotions, religion and culture, share it; thus, it does n ot tend to fall into confirmation biased as easily as sense perception alone.
My second claim is that sense perception is essential e ssential in linking patterns within the natural sciences. Empiricism believes that all knowledge is ultimately based on sense experience (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015). Immanuel Kant, stated that ‘All our our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason (Kant et al., 1955).’ 1955).’ This quotation makes reference to the the scientific method, where it is argued that the aim of science is to develop testable models, which capture cap ture experiments essential features. This is done with the use of empirical observation and the classification of data. For example, when doing the research for the DNA double-helix double -helix structure, Watson and Crick used stick and ball models mod els to illustrate the structure of the double helix. Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins came to knowledge using X-ray diffraction experiments to understand the physical structure of the double helix. When the structure was revealed in a photograph, many complex patterns were revealed. Watson and Crick were able to interpret correctly the patterns of the photograph and come to a conclusion via reason (Watson, 1968). 1968). Overall, we can induce that Watson’s and Crick’s DNA model wouldn’t have been possible if they weren’t provided provided with empirical evidence that was formulated via experimentation and not via theory. Reason led them to analyse the complex patterns in the image, but this was only possible after they gained knowledge from the sensorial experience.
On the other hand, even though science is based on empirical observation, it is not as reliable as it seems. Expectations and confirmation bias tend to lead scientists to different interpretations of what they see, as they try to confirm their beliefs and overlook evidence that disagree with them. For this reason, I believe that the use of imagination and reason is essential to come up with new ideas in the natural sciences. Rationalism is the belief that reason rather than experience is the most important source of knowledge (Mastin, 2008). Many great scientists have experienced a spark o f inspiration while they were thinking. They manage to form new images and methods with the ability of thinking and an d reasoning, rather than with the use of senses. John Dewey, an American philosopher stated, "Ever y great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination (Dewey, (Dewe y, 1929)." An example of imagination and reason in the sciences is the dreams of August Kekulé, Kekul é, where he revealed the true structure of the benzene ring. Kekulé described vivid images of
chains of molecules that looked like snakes; one of the snakes was biting his own tail. These dreamy images allowed him to visualize the hexagonal structure of the Benzene molecule (Scribd, 2017). It is essential to be creative in the sciences in order to give meaning to the data gathered.
Overall, I believe that sense perception is an essential wa y of knowledge in the sciences. I believe that most of knowledge comes from observations, and later we can make logical patterns to come up with a theory. Even though confirmation bias exists in sense perception, I believe that it is better to justify concrete evidence than someone’s creative thoughts. Personally, I believe that sense perception is extremely powerful but an insufficient tool to develop knowledge. In the arts, I believe that sense perception was key to d evelop personal knowledge, given that our emotions and an d our interests lead to the most creative interpretations of art. On the other hand, I think that sense perception, on its own, might not no t obtain the true essence of what the artist might have seen or obtain the hidden knowledge it might contain. It is purely objective and can easily start to see patterns even if they are not there. In the natural sciences, I believe that empiricism is better than rationalism. This is because I believe in solid evidence by observation and experimentation. On the other hand, I believe that empiricism requires a certain degree of reason in order to give sense to the patterns obtained in experiments; thus, I think that sense perception, by it’s own, own, is not sufficient to gain knowledge in Natural Sciences. It is important that we know this because it is essential to know when to rely in sense perception, given that in some areas of knowledge there might be an over-dependence on the senses. We never know if what we sense is reliable or not; therefore, I believe that in order to obtain certainty we must not over-depend on sense perception given that it can make humans adept at constructing images and patterns even if they don’t exist. exist.
Bibliography
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