kcofrinsha's blog

The definition and origin of knowledge is a complexquestion that cuts across many academic disciplines, including Psychology,Education, Philosophy and Biology. Many questions are raised.  Where does knowledge come from?  Do our brains truly create new knowledge or simply reproduce what we have seen, been taught and experienced?

Erik, the protagonist in The Sorrows of an American by Siri Hustvedt, spends time researching and thinking about his family history after his father dies.  Erik attempts to learn about his father's life and in the process realizes that there is much that will never be known about his family history.  Erik, as well as his family andfriends, struggle with the things they cannot know about their family historyand in the process bring the people of the past into the present.

The definition and origin of knowledge is a complex question that cuts across many academic disciplines such as Psychology,Education, Philosophy and Biology and raises many questions.  Where does knowledge come from?  Do our brains truly create newknowledge or simply reproduce what we have seen, been taught andexperienced?  What is the best wayto pass knowledge on to future generations?  These are complex questions without a definitive answer.  Over time, many peoplehave expressed extremely different ideas about knowledge.  However, one constant seems to be the changein views on both the origin and nature of knowledge in an almost evolutionary process.

Keely Cofrin-Shaw

February 13, 2009

On Charles Darwin and Slavery