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Consider this
One of the most frequently asked questions, emerging in my life is When will we use
this knowledge in our lives? I think of it quite often that what I study in school might have no
practical application in the real world, but I think it is just a matter of time. Knowledge gained
during high school will definitely help us during university. Furthermore, knowledge gained in
university will have its contribution when we work. That is what I believe. I also think that
several knowledges like the process of making biodiesel, is developed to be applied on our real
lives, which will either directly or indirectly support our lives to be better. The realization of this
knowledge could change peoples view on the knowledge compared to when it is not applied.
Therefore, practical applications could have some impacts on how people view whether the
knowledge itself because it could be lost if its value is diminished, since people will prefer to
learn and maintain the valuable knowledge and not those without value. However, different
people will have different interpretation of the value; they have their own opinion or judgement
based on their perspective. A scientist may think knowledge in Religious Knowledge is useless
and vice versa. Stephen Hawking, a well-known physicist, does not even believe in the presence
of God1. Meanwhile, in the late 18th century, the development of science was inhibited by the
churches at that time. For example is Nicolaus Copernicus who was beheaded for his
astronomical heliocentric theory about the revolution of the planets (including the Earth) against
1
Matyszczyk, C. (2014). Stephen Hawking makes it clear: There is no God. CNET. Retrieved 1 March 2016, from
http://www.cnet.com/news/stephen-hawking-makes-it-clear-there-is-no-god/
1
the sun as the center, which contradicts with the churchs belief at that time2. However, some
scientists also greatly appreciate religious knowledge, such as Albert Einstein who said science
without religion is lame, religion without science is blind3. Those different opinions of the
people toward the knowledges application will lead to different value interpretation. This
subjective thinking of each person gives me an insight to investigate In what ways does
allowing the subjectivity of each party to differently interpret the value based on what they
experience. In the past during World War 2, the American government used the atomic bomb to
bring huge explosion on Japan, specifically in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The major or over 95%
of the casualties caused by this atomic bomb incident is Japanese civilians4. However, this same
atomic bomb also brought Japan to surrender and ended the World War 2. Based on Just War
Theory, Distinction of Jus in Bello, in Ethics, the incident of atomic bomb by America
government should not be done as it kills a lot of people including civilians. However, based on
theory of Prioritarianism in Ethics, this incident was advantageous as it contributed to ending the
World War 2. These different perspectives give out different interpretations of this application of
atomic bomb. Through intuition, each perspective immediately interpreted the same incident
differently based on their mind which was shaped through past experiences and the
understanding of the situation based on their own perspective, while ignoring any further
2
Ismail, F. (2013). Perkembangan Korelasi Agama dan Ilmu Pengetahuan [The Development of the Correlation
between Religion and Science]. KOMPASIANA. Retrieved 28 February 2016, from
http://www.kompasiana.com/fauzan.ismail/perkembangan-korelasi-agama-dan-ilmu-
pengetahuan_552fde146ea834c7568b45c4
3
Godandscience.org,. (2011). Famous Scientists Who Believed in God. Retrieved 1 March 2016, from
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/sciencefaith.html
4
Hudson, K. (2013). Hiroshima - the truth about the bombing. Cnduk.org. Retrieved 3 March 2016, from
http://www.cnduk.org/cnd-media/item/1725-hiroshima-the-truth-about-the-bombing
2
justification. Those who are favored from the situation will immediately appreciate the
knowledge and vice versa. Japanese people will immediately look down on its value as they
suffer big loss, while American military will appreciate the knowledge because it allows their
victory.
Meanwhile, some knowledge needs time for its recognition by the society to have its
value respected. At first, Gregor Mendels study about the patterns in pea plants inheritance was
not highly appreciated because society thought that it was more to breeding and not to genetics
which it was actually applicable to every species5. After being recognized, through inductive
reasoning, this study on pea plants inheritance was predicted to be a universal phenomenon
which could occur on other species. Scientists develop hypothesis based on the Mendels results
and conducted experiment to prove whether the hypothesis was correct or not. As most of them
were correct and some discrepancies could be scientifically explained while still following the
rules proposed based on Mendels study on peas, Mendels work then finally got greater
appreciation and a developed into Law of Segregation, Law of Independent Assortment and Law
of Dominance6 in Biology. Moreover, deductive reasoning from these laws helped the scientists
in several genetic related cases, such as when associated with genetic disease or cross breeding to
get advantageous organisms. The aforementioned laws became the basis in predicting the
outcomes from genetic disease and cross breeding to obtain the desirable result, where
experiment could barely be conducted due to some circumstances, such as a very long time when
testing the human genetic disease. The recognition and appreciation of the values from this study
were because the great impact on the study itself towards the world. In this case, through
5
Weem, M., Talbot, C., & Mayrhofer, A. (2014). International Baccalaureate Biology (4th ed., p. 273). Melton:
IBID Press.
6
Updegraff, E. Explanation of Mendel's Three Laws Through the Discussion of Meiosis. Education.seattlepi.com.
Retrieved 9 March 2016, from http://education.seattlepi.com/explanation-mendels-three-laws-through-discussion-
meiosis-3838.html
3
reasoning, there was a shift in the subjective opinions of the scientists toward this study because
they realized the great impact Mendels study on pea had brought on broader issues, therefore
It can be seen that there could be a shift in a partys opinion because of a deeper
parties leads to different opinions toward the application of knowledge. The impact of the
knowledge could determine its value interpretation, where negative impact tends to yield
negative interpretation and vice versa. This has built an interest for me to explore to what
A knowledge being applied will not always yield only one result, but some implications
may also happen. What one experienced may differ from another, but empathy could drive one
to feel a worse result from a certain issue and therefore does not appreciate the knowledge that
causes the issue, and vice versa. Abortion brings many issues related to human rights. Based on
the universal human rights, everyone has equal chance to live, including the fetus which is
further protected by the fetal rights. The abortion has violated the human rights to live and it has
always been refused by those who support the pro-life, who believe that we as human being have
the same right to live. On the other hand, some people may claim that abortion is necessary when
the woman is not ready to be a mother, and the right of the mother to choose what she wants
should be respected. However, it should be noted that abortion, besides taking the lives of the
baby, also shows some side effects on the mother. Ashtons study showed that the mothers,
within 8 weeks after their abortions, 55% expressed guilt, 44% complained of nervous
disorders, 36% had experienced sleep disturbances, 31% had regrets about their decision, and
4
11% had been prescribed psychotropic medicine by their family doctor7. Based on theory of
Proportionalism in Ethics, abortion can be considered a wrong action due to the bad
consequences that it produces. The empathy on the unborn babies and emotional feeling of the
mothers who regret the abortion triggered the pro-life faction to further refuse the abortion.
Our senses to interpret this physical world are limited to gain its understanding and some
possible benefits. To overcome these, some technology has been developed. Depending on its
aim and possible side effects, the usage of technology could be hindered. If the side effect is not
very significant while the aim is a very important one, the technology will be keep being used.
For example is the development of CT Scan to help overcome the inability of our sense of sight
to diagnose some disease inside our body by visualizing the components in our body. It is done
by bombarding our body with x ray beams, which unfortunately could cause mutation on our
DNA8 and increase the risk of getting cancer by chance approximately 1 in 2,0009. Despite its
side effect, CT Scan is still commonly used because it could help us determine where the exact
location on our body that a surgical operation needs to be performed to cure the disease. The
implication of the knowledges application was insignificant compared to the possible benefit
arising from it, which therefore does not greatly reduce its value.
The application of knowledge could sometimes bring advantages and disadvantages to us.
When an application of knowledge is overall advantageous for the humanity, where its benefit
7
Ashton, J. (1980). The Psychosocial Outcome of Induced Abortion. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics
and Gynaecology, 87(12), 1115-1122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1980.tb04483.x
8
Storrs, C. (2013). How Much Do CT Scans Increase the Risk of Cancer?. Scientific American. Retrieved 27
February 2016, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-much-ct-scans-increase-risk-cancer/
9
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (August 2009). What are the Radiation Risks from CT? Retrieved March 2,
2016.
5
disadvantageous, where the cost surpasses its benefit, it could be considered insignificant.
However, ones view toward certain knowledge, its application and implication, could be
affected by the viewers subjectivity which is influenced by his perspective. Furthermore, the
subjectivity itself could experience some shift, resulting in different value interpretation.
The application of knowledge could have different interpretations, which could cause
opposite judgement on its value. This makes the absence of the application to possibly cause the
value to be greater than when it is applied. Subjectivity of each person also plays role in
interpreting the value. A shift in the subjectivity of the same perspective could occur, causing a
different value interpretation. It could be concluded that the value of knowledge is not an
absolute concept and will keep changing based on our understanding on how to apply it
effectively.
6
References
Ashton, J. (1980). The Psychosocial Outcome of Induced Abortion. BJOG: An International Journal of
Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 87(12), 1115-1122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-
0528.1980.tb04483.x
Godandscience.org,. (2011). Famous Scientists Who Believed in God. Retrieved 1 March 2016,
from http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/sciencefaith.html
Hudson, K. (2013). Hiroshima - the truth about the bombing. Cnduk.org. Retrieved 3 March
2016, from http://www.cnduk.org/cnd-media/item/1725-hiroshima-the-truth-about-the-
bombing
Ismail, F. (2013). Perkembangan Korelasi Agama dan Ilmu Pengetahuan [The Development of the
Correlation between Religion and Science]. KOMPASIANA. Retrieved 28 February 2016, from
http://www.kompasiana.com/fauzan.ismail/perkembangan-korelasi-agama-dan-ilmu-
pengetahuan_552fde146ea834c7568b45c4
Matyszczyk, C. (2014). Stephen Hawking makes it clear: There is no God. CNET. Retrieved 1
March 2016, from http://www.cnet.com/news/stephen-hawking-makes-it-clear-there-is-no-
god/
Storrs, C. (2013). How Much Do CT Scans Increase the Risk of Cancer?. Scientific American.
Retrieved 27 February 2016, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-much-ct-
scans-increase-risk-cancer/
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (August 2009). What are the Radiation Risks from CT? Retrieved
March 2, 2016.
Weem, M., Talbot, C., & Mayrhofer, A. (2014). International Baccalaureate Biology (4th ed., p. 273).
Melton: IBID Press.