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The whole point of knowledge is to produce both meaning and purpose in our personal lives. To what extent do you agree with this?
Within our personal lives, there are many different reasons to why we aquire
knowledge. Not only does it produce purpose by instilling in us a drive that influences the
path that we choose to take in our life along with meaning by making life more enjoyable.
But also, the acquisition and application of knowledge serves a utilitarian function that
enhances and even eases our lives. Moreover, knowledge also ensures responsible citizenry
by creating a knowledge framework that individuals can apply to make responsible and
informed decisions that can have large and positive impacts on society. To answer the
aforementioned question, I will be drawing extensively from my own personal experiences
within the areas of knowledge of the Arts and Natural Sciences to demonstrate how the point
of knowledge is not constrained to just producing meaning and purpose in our lives, but
rather, is also extended to serving a utilitarian function along with ensuring responsible
citizenry.
Knowledge produces purpose in our lives by inspiring us to deepen our understanding
of our world, which, by extension helps us to choose a path that we will follow in our life.
For instance, I am incredibly passionate about cosmology and quantum mechanics, both two
very abstract divisions of physics, which are part of the natural sciences. When I applied to
university for a major in astronomy, my parents disapproved because my subject had no
“real-world application” in their eyes. Yet for me, I have an inherent desire to understand the
origin of our universe and how exactly were we created. Here, knowledge has given my life a
purpose for it has inspired me to deepen my understanding of the physical world. Without
this knowledge, my curiosity would not be satisfied and I would not be on a track towards an
astronomy major at an engineering school. This knowledge has inspired me by fueling my
desire to understand the world and has given me a direction for where I want to take my life
as it gives me an incentive to pursue new goals and learn new things. The fact that knowledge
has had a profound impact in setting a path for my life shows how knowledge has given my
life purpose. This knowledge has given me a reason for being, my purpose in life is to
understand the origin of this universe, and it is through knowledge that my curiosity was
sparked enough to make this my life’s purpose. However, I believe that knowledge does not
have to be the only avenue that produces purpose in our personal lives.
Therefore, it must be considered whether life can still have a purpose without
knowledge. For instance, I’ve always felt that Pakistanis, such as my parents, were brought
up with the belief that their purpose in life was to ensure stability by taking care of their
family and ensuring that they are happy, irrespective of how they do so whether it’s by
following their dreams or by pursuing the most secure - yet boring - job. Whereas having
grown up in an American society, I feel that I have been conditioned to follow my dreams
and pursue knowledge purely out of curiosity and passion, irrespective of where it might take
me. So when I asked my Pakistani father what is the purpose of his life, he replied that it is to
take care of his family and that this goal is what inspires and dictates his path in life. I
believe that depending on different cultures and subsequently, different people’s priorities in
life, knowledge doesn’t always have to be the sole provider of purpose in our lives. For
instance, my father’s purpose in life is to take care of his family whereas mine is to learn
about the origin of the universe. Both avenues have dictated the paths that we will both take
although one is motivated by knowledge and the other is motivated by duty. Although, in my
father’s case, his usage of knowledge is a means to take care of his family through his
profession, his purpose has not been created by knowledge but rather, by his culture. This
shows how knowledge is not imperative in order to have a purpose in life.
Knowledge does not need a reason to be acquired but rather, knowledge can be
acquired for it’s own sake because it can make life simply more enjoyable. The pursuit of
Physics has given my life purpose by giving it a sense of direction yet that does not mean that
all the knowledge that I seek must be constrained to only physics, or be purposeful
knowledge for that matter. But rather, much of my knowledge is acquired for my own
personal enjoyment. Coming from a conservative Pakistani family, my parents had always
tried to ensure that my studies (particularly in the sciences and maths) took precedence over
my musical education because “there is no money in music,” as my father would say. Both
my parents and I feel that music, which is part of the arts, has no significant purpose in my
life because it is part the path in my life that I wish to take. Despite this, music does provide
me with meaning for the knowledge of learning how to play a new instrument or song does
bring immense happiness and joy. I am motivated to learn new songs not because I want to
become a musician, but because music simply makes my days more enjoyable. Music, like
many other forms of stimuli such as reading, writing, or even exercise are all sources of
entertainment and joy. Without these stimuli, life would by joyless, as the very things that
give happiness to our life would be gone. By extension, this shows how knowledge is
imperative to obtain meaning in life for knowledge is required to pursue any sort of hobby or
recreational activity such as a sport, a video game, an instrument, etc. Without the knowledge
of how to use these stimuli, we would be unable to enjoy, use or interpret them, hence
showing how knowledge is imperative to produce meaning in our life.
Beyond providing meaning and purpose in our lives, another point of knowledge is to
serve a utilitarian function by easing or even enhancing the quality of life through the
application of knowledge. For instance, when I first started going to the gym, my personal
trainer had explained to me that I should never exercise the same muscles two days in a row
because not only does this prevent muscle from growing, but it also puts strain on the body.
Another example would be how my father taught me how to take care of our car’s engine and
what kind of fuel would be most suitable for our car so that it would drive most efficiently. In
both cases, knowledge is used to make life easier as the knowledge of the biology behind
muscle growth has enabled me to exercise more efficiently and the knowledge of the physics
and chemistry behind fuel and engines has taught me how to take care of the family car.
Here, knowledge from the natural sciences serves a utilitarian value because without this
knowledge, both my body would be under strain and my family’s car wouldn’t be taken care
of as frequently, thus showing how through knowledge, we can make changes to our
surroundings to improve and ease our lives, thus fulfilling knowledge’s utilitarian function.
Moreover, the acquisition of knowledge also ensures responsible citizenry by
allowing individuals to make informed decisions that could have profound implications for
society. For instance, after teaching us about the greenhouse effect and climate change, my
physics teacher remarked that it is our duty to elect politicians who actually have a thorough
knowledge and understanding about the issues rather than being fueled by misinformation, as
is often the case with climate change. Using our knowledge about the environment, which is
part of the natural sciences, we can determine whether or not the implications of a bill or the
election of a politician will benefit society based on what they propose. Without knowledge,
we would be unable to determine what exactly are the implications of electing a politician or
supporting a bill. In fact, our lack of knowledge could result in us being easily swayed and
influenced by the persuasive rhetoric of the politician in the ensuing political climate, hence
influencing us to elect politicians or support bills that could potentially hurt society. But with
knowledge, we can make clear and informed decisions about the bill or politician by
evaluating their impact on society, thus ensuring responsible citizenry by allowing us to make
informed decisions that benefit, rather than hurt, society.
So in essence, the point of knowledge is to provide both meaning and purpose to our
lives but is not solely constrained to this scope. In fact, knowledge also serves a utilitarian
function in the sense that garnered knowledge can be used to solve real world problems
through it’s application along with ensuring responsible citizenry by helping individuals
make informed, knowledgeable decisions that can have profound and positive impacts on
society. Therefore, to conclude, it has been found that knowledge serves a myriad array of
functions in our personal lives.
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