Theory of Knowledge Essay

Topic 2: “The production of knowledge is always a collaborative task and never solely a product of the
individual.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Word count: 1571

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Production of knowledge is a tedious task that involves gathering ideas and forming conclusions

that therefore will be universally accepted.The world where we reside has had revolutionised

because knowledge travels places and is shared amongst masses.This gives birth to

collaboration. Now if „‟collaboration‟‟ here is concerned it is best defined by nature of it. In the

workplace, collaboration can be defined as when more than one individual works together in a

group by sharing ideas and working for the accomplishment of a common goal. It is believed that

knowledge that is produced collaboratively is hybrid in comparison to that, which is solely

produced by an individual. For instance let‟s take example of world‟s most significant and

biggest business takeover wherein collaboration between two firms, Royal Dutch Shell and BG

group which resulted in a better and competitive business. I personally feel that knowledge that

is bound to only one place is likely to die, so for knowledge to stay in existence it should travel

places. Different knowledge systems have their own nature and scope and study of them is

known as Epistemology.1 The nature of knowledge is versatile and it is often relatable to the

beliefs of justification, belief and even truth. We all rely on sense perception, specifically sight

and hearing and they are constant part of one‟s life which further helps in attainment of

knowledge. Epistemology can also give scope in analyzing the fact that how is knowledge

produced, for instance individually or collaboratively and this further raises a knowledge

question: What role does collaboration play in the production of knowledge in Religious

Knowledge Systems and Natural Sciences? Throughout this essay, I have inquired about areas

where collaboration lead to production of knowledge and nurtured the contrasting perspectives

to discuss counter claims.

As far as, Religious Knowledge Systems are concerned, collaboration have just played a key

role in the production of knowledge. Religion, defined as a specific fundamental set of beliefs

1
Stroll, Avrum, and A.P. Martinich. “Epistemology.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 17
Jan. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/epistemology.

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and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects2.I come from Sikh culture

and strongly believe in the concept of God as defined by our holy scripture, Adi Granth or Guru

Granth Sahib. The term „‟Sikh‟‟ in its literal sense means to learn. The fact that fascinates me the

most is that it is an assemblage of almost 6,000 hymns which are works of Sikh gurus (also

primarily knows as religious leaders) and also many other medieval saints of varying castes and

backgrounds. It was after Guru Gobind Singh (tenth Sikh guru) passed away when his own work

was recorded in this Holy Scripture and everything was compiled in one single book. This

amalgamation of information serves to prove that our religious inclusivity is very prominent in

such a knowledge based religion. Hence, gathering of ideas which come from different

psychologies and perspectives helps build stronger foundation in religious knowledge.

Additionally, the Bible which was written almost 1500 years back is also one of the finest

examples in collaborative tasks. The word of God was written by 40 writers which all consistently

gives the human race a common central message. In fact, this one artwork is a small library of

many books which were written by people whose existence can‟t be traced down. To add on,

with the help of collaboration; Christian missionaries have been successful in spreading

Christianity to Eastern and Western areas. Despite the fact that Jesus Christ was a middle-

eastern Jewish descent, he was depicted as a Caucasian male to appear more familiar to the

people of Europe so that they accept knowledge as given due to perceived similarities.

Islam, second widely followed religion worldwide is a fine example that can be used as a counter

claim to the notion that knowledge is produced collaboratively. Quran, the holy book of Muslims

was revealed to Prophet Muhammad by Angel Gabriel which was then Rather foundation of

Islam is based on teachings of famous prophets such as Jesus, Moses and Abraham etc.

2
“Religious Knowledge Systems Notes - ToK.” Religious Knowledge Systems Notes - ToK,
www.ibmastery.com/blog/religious-knowledge-systems-notes-theory-of-knowledge.

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After the death of Prophet Muhammad, all the followers of Quran remembered verses of Quran

and would recite them at appropriate situations as guided by Prophet Muhammad. On that Abu

Bakr (Caliph) collected all the written records and compiled all of them in a single scripture,

popularly known as Hadith.

While on the contrary, a classical text known as „‟Manusmriti‟‟ which is believed to be subject

sect of Hinduism was translated into English by Sir William Jones has been a topic of big

debate, reason being that it makes statements on casteism and feminism, that many people

refuse to believe in its knowledge. It is a result of individual knowledge and has been a topic of

big debate amongst Hinduism as many of them are opposed to its teachings.

Knowledge, to be preserved should travel and if it is only bound to particular race or culture

there are high chances that it will die. Religions that have more rigid structures are subject to

become extinct. As reference let‟s say religions like Mayans, Greek and Zoroastrianism are not

worshipped anymore and majority of the Gods of these religions aren‟t even believed anymore.

There have been cases wherein because people of a particular sect were opposed to other

religions so they eradicated their beliefs and made sure that knowledge isn‟t passed to other

groups. For example, the Catholics boycotted Catharism (Gnostic religion) in the most ruthless

manner. It is believed that it is because of the lack of spreading beliefs. Religion without any

doubt can never become extinct but for it to spread, knowledge must travel.

Natural Sciences which too is a discipline wherein numerous life changing discoveries and

inventions have been result of collaboration. Fleming who discovered penicillin received the

noble prize along with other two scientists, Florey, and Chain. This discovery that revolutionized

the medicine world wasn‟t just product of an individual; rather it was built upon the ideologies of

other well-renowned scientists. Defining regarding someone for discovery can be a bit of a

hassle as the knowledge produced is a hybrid of various other ideologies. The model of DNA,

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which has enabled us to learn about Central Dogma and is a common model found in most

Biology books worldwide. Watson and Crick's model made in 1953 wasn‟t solely the work of

these two scientists. Instead, it was a better version created using ideologies of Maurice Wilkins

and Rosalind Franklin. As always taught, when a question is raised who invented the light bulb?

The answer is very obvious, Thomas Edison. Well, he wasn‟t the person behind this

revolutionizing idea. Instead, the first light bulb was made by Humphry Davy but it wasn‟t

commercialized because of which another scientist named Joseph Swan found a better

alternative for the filament, but again it proved to be a failure. After more trial and errors, Edison

made use of better material to make filament and ultimately collaboration between two

companies gave birth to a better bulb design. Although Edison only improved the filament

material, but he is regarded for inventing the bulb.

Anyhow, there are some contradictions to the claim to that knowledge is always produced

collaboratively. There have been some commendable and world changing inventions by only

individuals as well. Nikola Tesla who is believed to be antisocial transformed the field of

electrostatics when he discovered the rotating magnetic field and alternating current. Even

though he didn‟t interact with others and his work was solely his own product. There was no role

of collaboration in his discovery. His multifaceted approach didn‟t only made produced

knowledge but also fortified production of knowledge processes at that point of time. Nikola

Tesla gives humans a message that antisocial human nature is an attribute of remarkable

inventions.

Conclusively, in Religious Knowledge Systems and Natural Sciences, collaboration is

fundamental in production of knowledge that is logical and rational. This knowledge can no

doubt drive other practices of knowledge production but for that it must be catalyzed by rational

justification. Nonetheless collaboration is not likely to always produce knowledge as talked about

in the example above about Manusmriti and Nikola Tesla. This too comes with number of

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shortcomings as people are opposed more to the knowledge that is produced solely. Knowledge

produced only through collaboration must be backed up by logical reasoning and evidence that

will further lead to agreement. Collaboration also known as community elements in religion such

as evangelism in Christianity which further has played a key role in spreading Christianity,

Ummah in Islam and religious pluralism has enabled pre-existing knowledge produced through

sharing of common beliefs stimulated the concept of communalism.

There are diverse ways to address the title depending upon the fact that in what context

collaboration is defined. Conceivably knowledge can be defined as collaborative task when it

has endured to stay veracious and justifiable since ages. One method to determine the method

of knowledge produced can be by looking at how the knowledge contributes to the society as

whole. For example, in the future if cure for HIV AIDS is found out through collaboration or even

solely by an individual it will prove to beneficial if its implemented in medicinal sciences wherein

a research paper on its cure which isn‟t even known to the world will be of no use. Whichever

perspective is taken into consideration varying cases of knowledge production in every Area of

Knowledge should be analyzed. This can further help in understanding the contribution of

collaboration in fabricating knowledge and further justification.

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16. Cover photo:

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