1. Reviewing the WOKs

3. Language Central function, used for a variety of purposes
Allows us to tap into the world’s collective experience
Leads to intellectual division of labor
What is language?
Rule-governed
Grammar, vocabulary
Intended
Not all communication is language
Creative and open-ended
New words always arriving
Make up a sentence or word that has not been used yet

4. Language and Meaning
It is very important that you learn about traxoline. Traxoline is a new form of zionter. It is monotilled in Ceristanna. The Ceristannians gristerlate large amounts of fevon and then bracter it to quasel traxoline. Traxoline may well be one of our most lukised snezlaus in the future because of our zionter lescelidge.
1. What is traxoline?
2. Where is traxoline monotilled?
3. How is traxoline quaselled?
4. Why is traxoline important?
Meaning is important – how can you decide if something is true or false?

5. Theories of Meaning Definition Theory Denotation Theory Image Theory
Meanings may be found in the dictionary
Criticism: explain the concept of “red”
Denotation Theory
Consider the value of a word, what does it stand for
“France” vs. “Jabberwocky”
Criticism: What do words like “freedom” and “wisdom” stand for?
Image Theory
Meaning of the word is what you see in your head
Criticism: Example of giving directions
Perhaps easiest to use know-how
You know the meaning of the word when you know how to use it

6. Problems of Meaning Vagueness Ambiguity Secondary Meaning Metaphor
Irony
Why should we care about meaning?
You have a strong need for other people to like you and for them to admire you. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have a great deal of unused energy, which you have not turned to your advantage. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them. Your sexual adjustment has presented some problems for you. Disciplined and controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside. At times you have some doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed-in by restrictions and limitations. You pride yourself on being an independent thinker and do not accept others opinions without satisfactory proof. You have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times, you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other times, you are introverted, wary and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be pretty unrealistic.
Rate this description of you “Poor-Bad-Neutral-Good-Excellent”
Although language may not determine our reality, it influences it

7. Perception Awareness through our five senses
Which would you give up?
We are very visually oriented
“I see what you mean” and “That’s great insight”
Usually smell
Empiricism says all knowledge is based on the senses

9. Concerns About Perception
Expectations
Role of the unconscious
Certain aspects always stand out
Seeing and believing
Story of the planet Vulcan
First gunshots at Lexington
Eyewitness testimony
May misinterpret
May fail to notice
May misremember
How to distinguish reality
Confirm with another sense
Coherence
Independent testimony
If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?
What is sound? Physical or experienced?

10. Reason Think Sherlock Holmes
The pavement is wet -> it must have rained
Assumptions are given, conclusions must follow
School of philosophy: rationalism
Not too much room for the senses

11. Types of Reasoning Deductive reasoning Inductive reasoning
From the general to the specific
All dogs are mammals. Fido is a dog. Fido is a mammal.
Inductive reasoning
From the specific to the general
Every human being I have known has died. I have never heard of a human being who didn’t die. Therefore, all human beings are mortal.
Causes of bad reasoning
Ignorance, laziness, pride, prejudice

12. Emotion Often treated as an obstacle to knowledge
Angry person unlikely to reason well
But what would your life be like without it?
Feelings, passions, moods
Internal feelings and external expressions
Happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust
James-Lange theory
Emotions happen physically first

13. Emotions as Ways of Knowing
Emotions as an obstacle to knowledge
Likely to be blocked in the areas of perception, reason, language if angry
Emotions as a source of knowledge
Sometimes narrows our options, reason alone may lead to mental paralysis
Intuition
Mysterious concept, the aha moment, reason and perception

14. Four New Ways of Knowing
Memory
Intuition
Faith
Imagination

15. Memory
How information about past events and experiences is reconstructed
Also a strong link to remembering how to perform actions
Process or way of knowing?
Then also a mechanism for processing new situations
How would life be different if we had no memory?

16. Intuition
Immediate cognition without evidence or justification – perception via the unconscious
Sometimes contrasted with reason
Combination of prior experience, heightened sense perception and active imagination

17. Faith
Not just religious, also a synonym for trust, commitment to a particular interpretation
Way of going beyond reason, not always irrational
How do you evaluate it as a way or knowing?

18. Imagination
Capacity to form a mental representation without the stimulus of sense experience
Can imagination reveal truths that reality hides?
What is the role of imagination in understanding others?

19. Conclusions
Test the eight ways of knowing against one another to establish truth

20. Balancing the ways of knowing
Performing
Balancing the ways of knowing