Sweeney 1

Kourtney Sweeney
Mr. Buescher
Philosophy, Period 1
30 September 2015
Experience is Knowledge
The definition of knowledge is ambiguous, which is why knowledge itself has
an entire study dedicated to discerning its enigmatic concepts: Epistemology.
Epistemology has three main topics in which knowledge is defined, and those are
Skepticism, Empiricism, and Rationalism. Skepticism is the belief that we in fact
have absolutely no knowledge. Skeptics believe that all we have are knowledge
claims that are unjustified and subject to doubt. Empiricists believe that all
knowledge comes from experience. They believe that we have to experience
something in order to really grasp the concept of it. Rationalists believe that reason
is the all-powerful source of knowledge. They think that empiricism is invalid
because our sense experiences are often manipulated and kaleidoscopic.
Empiricism is the most logical approach to knowledge as it can be proven and
supported by the fact that rational decisions come from past experience, apart from
experience all we have are ideas, and we absorb knowledge from the world around
us.
It is impossible for for all knowledge to come from reason, and this is because
all reasoning comes from past experiences rather than inherent sense. For example,
If you had no taste buds, you could not even conceive what bitter might mean.
(Textbook) There is no way that reason could tell you that something tastes bitter
unless your taste buds have experienced it before. Empiricists believe that we have
to be, ...content with conclusions that are probable rather than absolutely certain,

Sweeney 2
because mere reasoning that is based on sense experience takes the form of
inductive arguments. (Textbook) An inductive argument is an argument that is
backed by strong evidence rather than absolute proof. Rationalists argue that sense
experience doesnt provide absolute certainty.
Empiricists believe that every concept or idea has to be traced back to an
original experience. This is because, Apart from experience, all we can do is
compare one idea to another. (Textbook) However, one counter-idea is that, ...it is
possible to have a completely coherent, but false system of ideas. (Textbook) Star
Wars is an example of this suggestion that something can be coherent and woven
around a series of events, but does not describe anything real. (Textbook)
Rationalists argue that Empiricism is an invalid way to base your beliefs because
our senses and perceptions of the outside world can be swindled. For example,
when we are asleep and dreaming, we think that we are experiencing something
real until we actually wake up.
Another proposal that Rationalists and Empiricists disagree upon is the idea
that humans are born with a blank slate. As we grow up, we absorb and acquire
knowledge as we observe what goes on around us. For example, when we are

born, we technically learn how to be human by watching other humans

(usually our parents and other family members). We inherit their mannerisms
and their way of dealing with things. Also, How would you know what the
color blue looks like if you were born blind? The only way to come to have
the idea of blue is to experience it with your senses. (Mesacc.edu) There are
some things that you just cannot understand without experiencing them.
However, Rationalists argue that we have knowledge that is not taught to us,

Sweeney 3

but that we inherently possess. This is explained in this quote that states,
Three year olds use language in ways that they are not explicitly taught.
For example, they form original sentences from words that they havent
heard put together in precisely that way before. Also, they start to
understand grammatical rules before they even know what a noun or a verb
is. If we can only say what weve heard said by others, how can three year
olds speak as well as they do? (Mesacc.edu) That is just a very general
example of how we may possess innate knowledge that begins manifesting
itself when we are very young.
Empiricism relies on the facts that rational decisions and perceptions
come from past experiences, without experience all that exists are ideas, and
we assimilate knowledge and experiences from the world around us. Without
experience, we have nothing but distorted ideas and stories that people tell
us from their own point of view. We know nothing for sure until we fully
encounter worldly goods with our own senses. From this, we can develop
personal truths that will help us gain a better understanding of our existence.

Sweeney 4