2 Problems with Common Ways of Knowing

Listen, I’m just going to give it to you straight: this class is going to make you question what you know and how you know it. That might get really uncomfortable considering how we generally come to “know” things (family? faith? personal experience?? Yeouch – that’s pretty hard to think critically about.) But the questioning period is a necessary part of growth because there are legitimate problems with some of our “knowledge.” Let’s see what your student textbook authors have to say:

 Problems with Everyday Ways of Knowing

Now that we have the basics of everyday knowing, let’s criticize how they might change or alter our views.

First is Accuracy

• We sometimes think we know things are true when they are not.
• Eyewitness testimonies are a great way of thinking about accuracy. Take, for instance, the testimonies in the (very old and ancient, I know) movie My Cousin Vinny.
  •  Example: While you and a friend are eating at Pancheros, a guy hits on your friend. You think she is flirting with him, but when he leaves she says she was so annoyed by him bugging her.
  • Example: You think the driver ahead of you is going too slow, but they are actually stuck behind the slowpoke in front of them.
  • Example: Collective memories of the Monopoly Man wearing a monocle (he doesn’t!), Double Stuf Oreos (NOT Double STUFF), and other instances of the “Mandela Effect” (yeah, sorry, it’s not real folks – or is it? More to come on this during our “ologies” section).

Second is Overgeneralization

• This can be seen by applying a single incident to all other incidents.
• Overgeneralization is taking a single or few experiences/observations and generalizing them to the whole.
  • Example: Saying that the CAMBUS is never in service because you saw one CAMBUS that says “I AM NOT IN SERVICE”
  • Example: You see more pickup trucks in Iowa than you do in your home state, so “everyone in Iowa drives a truck.”
  • Example: You know somebody on the XYZ team who is sort of mean, so all athletes must be jerks.

Third is Cognitive Conservatism

• These are contradictions in the things that we already know.
• Associated with perception, meaning how someone views and interprets a situation based on preexisting knowledge.
  • Example: If you like McDonalds more than Wendy’s, you may conduct skewed research when testing whose burger is better.
  • Example: If you go to Iowa, but are asked to review Iowa State’s campus, you may have a biased opinion that skews your review.
  • Example: You grew up in a family that drove Chevys, so when it came time to test-drive a Ford, you said no immediately.

Fourth is the fact that things can contradict

• There can be knowledge that contradicts or opposes views.
  • Example: The saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder” contradicts “out of sight out of mind.
  • Example: The saying “Less is more” vs. “Bigger is better.”
  • Example: Deforestation is harmful to the environment, but forest overgrowth contributes to forest fires.
  • Example: Watching TV is a waste of time, or a significant source of socio-cultural learning.
  • Example: Caffeine can help you study (boosts perceived energy) or harm your study habits (you DO need to sleep for your brain to work well!)
• Intra-Contradiction is when you possess two forms of knowledge that contradict with each other.
  • Example: This can happen at doctors offices. They may have two different diagnoses for your symptoms, making it difficult to discern what is accurate.
  • Example: Perhaps you want to buy a large truck because you want to feel safer while you drive, but perhaps you also are better at driving smaller vehicles and are thus less safe in a larger one.
  • Example: You know drinking an energy drink/coffee is a good idea for an upcoming study session because you are tired, but you also know you need sleep to actually be less tired. 

Examples we have found:

The witch scene from Monty Python and The Holy Grail demonstrates several problems with common ways of knowing. How many can you recognize?

Peasants: We have found a witch! (a witch! a witch!)
Burn her, burn her!

Peasant 1: We have found a witch, may we burn her?
(cheers)
Vladimir: How do you known she is a witch?
P2: She looks like one!
V: Bring her forward.
(advance)
Woman: I’m not a witch! I’m not a witch!
V: Eh… but you are dressed like one.
W: They dressed me up like this!
All: Naah, no we didn’t…no.
W: And this isn’t my nose. It’s a false one.
(V lifts up carrot)
V: Well?
P1: Well, we did do the nose.
V: The nose?
P1: …And the hat, but she is a witch!
All: Yeah, burn her, burn her!
V: Did you dress her up like this?
P1: No! (No no…no) Yes. (yes, yeah.) A bit. (a bit, a bit.) But she has got a wart!
(P3 points at wart)
V: What makes you think she is a witch?
P2: Well, she turned me into a newt!
V: A newt?!
(P2 pauses & looks around)
P2: …I got better.
(pause)
P3: Burn her anyway! (burn her, burn her, burn!)
(King walks in)
V: There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.
P1: Are there? Well then tell us! (tell us!)
V: Tell me…what do you do with witches?
P3: Burn ’em! Burn them up! (burn, burn, burn!)
V: What do you burn apart from witches?
P1: More witches! (P2 nudges P1)
(pause)
P3: Wood!
V: So, why do witches burn?
(long pause)
P2: ‘Cause they’re made of…wood?
V: Gooood.
(Crowd congratulates P2)
V: So, how do we tell if she is made of wood?
P1: Build a bridge out of her!
V: Ah, but can you not also make bridges out of stone?
P1: Oh yeah…
V: Does wood sink in water?
P1: No.
P3: No. It floats!
P1: Let’s throw her into the bog! (yeah, yeah, ya!)
V: What also floats in water?
P1: Bread.
P3: Apples.
P2: Very small rocks.
(V looks annoyed)
P1: Cider.
P3: Grape gravy.
P1: Cherries.
P3: Mud.
King: A duck!
(All look and stare at King)
V: Exactly! So, logically…
P1(thinking): If she weighs the same as a duck…she’s made of wood!
V: And therefore…
(pauses & thinks)
P3: A witch! (P1: a witch)(P2: a witch)(All: a witch!)
V: We shall use my largest scales.

Self-Check In

• What are the everyday ways of knowing? Can you name them all?
• What are the fallacies of the everyday ways of knowing?