Theme 1: Theory of knowledge and theory of science

So, the question is basically, are we shaped by experience – or is our perceptions of the world shaped by us.

If you listen to Immanuel Kant in his Critique of Pure Reason, the answer is the latter. Prior to reading his work I would easily agreed with the empiricist camp. Personally, I like the idea of every person being born as a blank slate, shaped and molded by our experience from the world around us. But the more I read about Kant’s opinion – I’m inclined to agree with him. It makes sense that we are born with innate ideas if you think about it. How would you otherwise explain, for example, our concept of infinity – where did that idea come from? It would be hard to argue that any empirical study could give us that idea. Kant’s theory about a priori cognition also explains why we cannot think about objects without space or time (try to do it, it’s kind of hard), which I’ll also admit makes a lot of sense. If we agree with Kant’s theories about how we ourselves mold all objects with our innate filter, how can we really know what the world looks like? The answer is that we can’t, and suddenly another question arises; does it really matter if we can’t experience the true, unknown world?

While the theory might not change our everyday lives, it’s still thought-provoking and interesting for the person who’s into metaphysics and philosophy.

In Plato’s the Theaetetus, in between the chapters of men having babies, a similar rationalist view is presented when Socrates and Theaetetus is discussing whether perception is knowledge. In short, man is the judge of his perceptions – if the wine is bitter or sweet depending on the state of the man drinking it, how can we be certain about the true nature of the wine itself? Similarly to Kant’s view, this is also a critique against the empiricist opinion. Although a moderately entertaining read the most impressing part of the Theaetetus is the foreshadowing it does for theories like Kant’s. Some say Kant was ahead of his time, then consider when the Theatetus was written! 

Of course, both the empiricism and rationalism can be equally criticized and discussed, and in my opinion the questioning and dispute between the theories are more interesting than presenting a definite answer.

Thank you for reading!