Four Ways of Knowing

Authority

You trust an expert based on their credentials and experience.

The strength of the knowledge depends on the strength of the authority

Ex:Don’t leave your roller skates on the stairs. Ouch!

Authority

BenefitsSaves you from

finding out the hard way

Faster than learning for your self

DrawbacksThe expert can be

wrongTwo experts could

disagreeThe expert could

change their mind

Logic

You use reasoning and thinking to get new knowledge based on what you already know

This is like how you figure out who did it in the game Clue, or how you win Sudoko

Logic

BenefitsYou can come up with

new knowledge just by thinking and puzzling it out.

If A=B, and B=C, then A=C

DrawbacksIf your starting point is

wrong, your conclusion will be wrong.

I always get an A in my favorite class. Economics is my favorite class, so I will get an A in Economics.

If your reasoning is wrong your conclusion will be wrong

Parrots live in trees, and parrots eat crackers, therefore, crackers grow on trees.

Intuition

Something that you just know, you can’t explain where it comes from

Gut feelings or hunches, or common sense, or faith fall into this category

Intuition

BenefitsThis knowledge comes

from within you without an outside source.

It feels right to you.

DrawbacksIt may be impossible to

explain to someone what it feels like or how you know.

It could be wrong.

Science

You use your senses to make observations and experiments to gather evidence to physically show something is true.

Science

BenefitsEasy to share because

people can get the same results you did

Very reliableCan be used to make

predictions

DrawbacksIf something can’t be

observed, measured, or tested, science can’t tell about it.

Science can’t answer all questions.

A Quick Quiz

Which kind of knowing is it?

1. Sally is a head detective at the Draper police department. She is sure that Jeff stole her lunch out of the fridge. She doesn’t have evidence yet, but something tells her he’s the guilty party.

A: AuthorityB: LogicC. IntuitionD. Science

Which kind of knowing is it?

2. Luke is playing in the park by the creek. He’s really thirsty, but he remembers his teacher telling him that river water isn’t safe to drink, so he just keeps playing.

A: AuthorityB: LogicC: IntuitionD: Science

What kind of knowing is it?

3. Gabriella is baking a raspberry cake for her best friend’s wedding and so it is important to get it just right. She tries a few different recipes until she get the one that’s the best, then she practices making the cake until it’s just right, writing down everything she did so she make it perfect for the wedding.

AuthorityLogicIntuitionScience

What kind of knowing is it?

4. Eric steps into the shower and turns on the water. After waiting for awhile, the water is still cold. Eric knows the shower made hot water yesterday, so it should give hot water today. Since he was the first one to get the shower, he decides the hot water couldn’t have run out already, so the pilot light on the water heater must be out.

A: AuthorityB: LogicC: IntuitionD: Science

Credits

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Sudoku.org.ukhttp://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR

-1MIswxu31ENubNCj3gmVFBXI31aj84O9lvB5JsNwTV0jwVkuPw

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