1. Ethical judgements limit the methods available in the
production of knowledge in both the arts and the natural sciences. Discuss.
2. “When the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems
begin to resemble nails” (Abraham Maslow). How might this apply to ways of
knowing, as tools, in the pursuit of knowledge?
3. “Knowledge is nothing more than the systematic
organisation of facts.” Discuss this statement in relation to two areas of
knowledge.
4. “That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes
discarded tomorrow.” Consider knowledge issues raised by this statement in two
areas of knowledge.
5. “The historian’s task is to understand the past; the
human scientist, by contrast, is looking to change the future.” To what extent
is this true in these areas of knowledge?
6. “A skeptic is one who is willing to question any
knowledge claim, asking for clarity in definition, consistency in logic and
adequacy of evidence” (adapted from Paul Kurtz, 1994). Evaluate this approach
in two areas of knowledge.
