I'm just doing my assignment in philosophy and this is one of the questions in
it:
"Is knowledge ever be possible without language?"
I think that a person can still have knowledge without language. He can still
gain knowledge through obeservation. But a person cannot be able to share the
knowledge that he gained to others without a language.
Everyone has knowledge even people you are mentally challenged have knowledge.
Its a kind of knowledge that we as "normal" people will never see
because we have never had to walk in their shoes. Language is a way to express
knowledge and present to those who don't yet understand how things in life
work.
.
Of course, knowledge is infomation gained through your senses durring
experience. So, you technically have knowledge from each of your experiences.
Your don't need language to communicate knowledge. Facial expression and
gestures will carry infomation quite clearly. Monkey's teach other monkeys to
fear snakes by shrieking and having their arms. Your mom can teach you not to
eat something by slapping your hands. Knowledge is easily exchanged through
verbal communication, but it can be provided via other means.
Nietzsche would argue that knowledge is a construct of man meant to give him a
sense of understanding of the world around him. Language fools us into think
the words we use are actually connected to the objects and concepts they
describe. He would also say that since language changes and evolves and new
words are created for old concepts and old words shift in meaning that the
knowledge we gain from the institutions built upon language are destined to
crumble and fall and will be completely gone when man has destroyed himself.
So I guess knowledge isn't possible without language.
It is true that knowledge transient time in language and writing. However, one
must realize that writing did not come into existance until later in the
evolution of men. Art, often in the form of cave drawings, is what helped the
modern men in learning about the long forgotten past, during which there was no
writing. With no language (as in speaking and writing), men can still
communicate through art, signs, and behaviors. A monkey can acquire knowledge
by imitating a human, such as learn how to use a certain tool, even though these
two organisms are from different species and do not share a common
language.
As people have mentioned earlier, knowledge (and wisdom) is gained through
experience and study, therefore, a single man can still possess knowledge.
However, as knowledge would worth nothing but to one himself if not shared with
others, a way to communicate with others is needed, which leads us back to my
original arguement.
* This could go on forever, you know? There is never a true answer in
philosophy. *
i think that you [Sakura0Chan] are right. peeps can learn from watching, but
sometimes you must speak to learn stuff! but um......maybe sign language can be
a way of learning without talking, but then you would have to talk to explain
what the hand motions mean.....hm.....!
I agree with you, knowledge can be obtained by people through observation, trial
and error, experiences etc. but without language it can't be passed on.
Basically wisdom is that kind of knowledge in my opinion.
well you have to think that... if knowledge is ever present, it has the abbility
to gain a language or some form of communtication... so if knowledge and more
than one being exsists... there will be language... yet people observe and
language is only something one uses to prove the knowledge...
hope my whacked out philosiphy helps
Quote by CataclysmI agree with you,
knowledge can be obtained by people through observation, trial and error,
experiences etc. but without language it can't be passed on. Basically wisdom is
that kind of knowledge in my opinion.
Not only can it not be
passed on but it can't be built upon. It would be very difficult to learn how
to build a nuclear reactor just from observation and experience!
Language is a way of communicating knowledge. If you stuck someone in a
situation where s/he was born in isolation, I'm sure that person could figure
thigns out, and that person would not need to articulate thoughts to anyone,
because that person won't know of anyone else.
i think the interpretation of language is very relative.. to me, it is
impossible to gain knowledge without language because language is the means to
interpret the knowledge that we gain. what i meant by language is not the spoken
tongue.. i view language in a much wider scope..
You usually gain knowledge by reading and communicating with others. If you
don't use language then I don't think that there'll be any possibility that you
could gain knowledge.
I also had this in philosophy class... and just like you, I also think a
language not necessary to have knowledge... though I didn't say that to my
teacher... she was argumenting that it's impossible... and well... -___-
Aren't the animals a proof that we don't need language and letters to be
smart?
(we refered language to symbols like letters in the class)
Humans are just too used to that to regain instinctiv knowledge like the
animals...
xD
I know I have weak arguments... I just can't explain them how I want to... ^^;;
I agree that people can possess knowledge without language. Through
observations and trial and error can people gain knowlege. Although, people
cannot pass their knowledge without language.
Quote by jeanie727I agree that people
can possess knowledge without language. Through
observations and trial and error can people gain knowlege. Although,
people cannot pass their knowledge without language.
I agree
with this statement. Experiences do lead to the increase of knowledge because,
for example, if something doesn't work out, they'll try to find a way of making
it work out. After all, that's how it was done when all of our products, like
cars or airplanes, were first built. However, it's going to be hard to pass that
knowledge formed from experiences down to others without the right level of
literacy.
I agree that we can still gain knowledge with out language, but with out that
language we can not share our knowledge with others. We would all be stuck with
all these ideas but no way to express and share the knowledge with the world.
But in some instences we can't gain knowledge without language because some
people see things differently than other and if one person see something that
the other did not then know one would not be able to notice it because there is
no knowledge there to tell what someone else has missed.
Quote by KyoFan368I agree that we can
still gain knowledge with out language, but with out that language we can not
share our knowledge with others. We would all be stuck with all these ideas but
no way to express and share the knowledge with the world.
But in some instences we can't gain knowledge without language because some
people see things differently than other and if one person see something that
the other did not then know one would not be able to notice it because there is
no knowledge there to tell what someone else has missed.
Knowledge means rationality....and we as humans are gifted with that, we were
born rational. Language is just another product of the rational mind of man.
It's just a form of communication, dancing and laughing and even smiling at
another person is also a form of communication. But lets just keep it simple and
communicate through language coz if language didn't exist....then we'll have to
communicate with each other through dancing and I hate to think of dancing as a
form of communication coz Im totally horrible at it...hehehe.... just ask your
self alot of questions and you'll start to think like a philosopher....coz after
all philosphy is to seek for the truth....hehehe Hope I
helped you out with your assingnment..
I'm just doing my assignment in philosophy and this is one of the questions in it:
"Is knowledge ever be possible without language?"
I think that a person can still have knowledge without language. He can still gain knowledge through obeservation. But a person cannot be able to share the knowledge that he gained to others without a language.
What do you think?
Everyone has knowledge even people you are mentally challenged have knowledge. Its a kind of knowledge that we as "normal" people will never see because we have never had to walk in their shoes. Language is a way to express knowledge and present to those who don't yet understand how things in life work.
.
Of course, knowledge is infomation gained through your senses durring experience. So, you technically have knowledge from each of your experiences. Your don't need language to communicate knowledge. Facial expression and gestures will carry infomation quite clearly. Monkey's teach other monkeys to fear snakes by shrieking and having their arms. Your mom can teach you not to eat something by slapping your hands. Knowledge is easily exchanged through verbal communication, but it can be provided via other means.
Nietzsche would argue that knowledge is a construct of man meant to give him a sense of understanding of the world around him. Language fools us into think the words we use are actually connected to the objects and concepts they describe. He would also say that since language changes and evolves and new words are created for old concepts and old words shift in meaning that the knowledge we gain from the institutions built upon language are destined to crumble and fall and will be completely gone when man has destroyed himself.
So I guess knowledge isn't possible without language.
It is true that knowledge transient time in language and writing. However, one must realize that writing did not come into existance until later in the evolution of men. Art, often in the form of cave drawings, is what helped the modern men in learning about the long forgotten past, during which there was no writing. With no language (as in speaking and writing), men can still communicate through art, signs, and behaviors. A monkey can acquire knowledge by imitating a human, such as learn how to use a certain tool, even though these two organisms are from different species and do not share a common language.
As people have mentioned earlier, knowledge (and wisdom) is gained through experience and study, therefore, a single man can still possess knowledge. However, as knowledge would worth nothing but to one himself if not shared with others, a way to communicate with others is needed, which leads us back to my original arguement.
* This could go on forever, you know? There is never a true answer in philosophy. *
i think that you [Sakura0Chan] are right. peeps can learn from watching, but sometimes you must speak to learn stuff! but um......maybe sign language can be a way of learning without talking, but then you would have to talk to explain what the hand motions mean.....hm.....!
Yes, but we need language to say it.
I agree with you, knowledge can be obtained by people through observation, trial and error, experiences etc. but without language it can't be passed on. Basically wisdom is that kind of knowledge in my opinion.
well you have to think that... if knowledge is ever present, it has the abbility to gain a language or some form of communtication... so if knowledge and more than one being exsists... there will be language... yet people observe and language is only something one uses to prove the knowledge...
hope my whacked out philosiphy helps
Not only can it not be passed on but it can't be built upon. It would be very difficult to learn how to build a nuclear reactor just from observation and experience!
yah, you can still observe things and produce knowledge according to your own ideas.
But its kinda hard though because you hav to reinvent the wheel.
Remember the story of tower of babel in the bible?
They cannot understand each other so they got separated to each other.
I think that is actually might happen.
Language is a way of communicating knowledge. If you stuck someone in a situation where s/he was born in isolation, I'm sure that person could figure thigns out, and that person would not need to articulate thoughts to anyone, because that person won't know of anyone else.
i think the interpretation of language is very relative.. to me, it is impossible to gain knowledge without language because language is the means to interpret the knowledge that we gain. what i meant by language is not the spoken tongue.. i view language in a much wider scope..
You usually gain knowledge by reading and communicating with others. If you don't use language then I don't think that there'll be any possibility that you could gain knowledge.
I also had this in philosophy class... and just like you, I also think a language not necessary to have knowledge... though I didn't say that to my teacher... she was argumenting that it's impossible... and well... -___-
Aren't the animals a proof that we don't need language and letters to be smart?
(we refered language to symbols like letters in the class)
Humans are just too used to that to regain instinctiv knowledge like the animals...
xD
I know I have weak arguments... I just can't explain them how I want to... ^^;;
Just as he can learn through observation, he can teach back with demonstration. ~_^
I agree that people can possess knowledge without language. Through observations and trial and error can people gain knowlege. Although, people cannot pass their knowledge without language.
you can gain knowledge easly by not haveing a language. you can study astronomy without the use of books.
Don't have to talk, just do !!
You can learn by experience and looking is somtimes enough
But don't forget : "you hear, you forgot ; you see, you remember ; you make, you know "
Chinese proverb
I agree with this statement. Experiences do lead to the increase of knowledge because, for example, if something doesn't work out, they'll try to find a way of making it work out. After all, that's how it was done when all of our products, like cars or airplanes, were first built. However, it's going to be hard to pass that knowledge formed from experiences down to others without the right level of literacy.
I agree that we can still gain knowledge with out language, but with out that language we can not share our knowledge with others. We would all be stuck with all these ideas but no way to express and share the knowledge with the world.
But in some instences we can't gain knowledge without language because some people see things differently than other and if one person see something that the other did not then know one would not be able to notice it because there is no knowledge there to tell what someone else has missed.
Nuff said!
Knowledge means rationality....and we as humans are gifted with that, we were born rational. Language is just another product of the rational mind of man. It's just a form of communication, dancing and laughing and even smiling at another person is also a form of communication. But lets just keep it simple and communicate through language coz if language didn't exist....then we'll have to communicate with each other through dancing and I hate to think of dancing as a form of communication coz Im totally horrible at it...hehehe.... just ask your self alot of questions and you'll start to think like a philosopher....coz after all philosphy is to seek for the truth....hehehe
Hope I
helped you out with your assingnment.. 
i agree with the person above me