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Knowing Things 19 IS How You Kn Knowing Things word epistemology means the study

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Question

Knowing Things 19 IS How You Kn Knowing Things word epistemology means the study of knowledge-how you know what you know. Think about it. How does anybody know anything to be actual, truthful, or real? How do we differentiate fact from fantasy in archaeology or in any other field of knowledge? Everybody knows things, but how do we Figure 2.1 If asked to name the tallest mountain in the world, most people would respond "Mount Everest," and some might even know that it peaks at about 29,035 feet (8,850 meters) above sea level. But how many know that, if you measure the height of a mountain from base to summit, Mauna Kea, in Hawaii, is taller (33,476 feet 110,203 metes)? And how do we know this anyway? O Royalty FreeCorbis) really know these things? For example, suppose I were to ask you to name the "tallest mountain in the world." Most of you, I am pretty sure, would respond confidently with the answer "Mount Everest," giving the Western name for the mountain that . Most t mountain in the world," and some of you might even know that its height is about 29,035 feet (8,850 meters) above sea level (Figure 2.1). Did you also know, however, that though the peak of Everest represents the highest point on earth, it isn't really our planet's tallest mountain if, instead of "above sea level" you define a mountain's height as the distance from base to summit? That distinction belongs to Mauna Kea, a moun- tain in Hawaii whose summit is 33,476 feet (10,203 meters) higher than its base, monument was built toward the end of the nineteenth century and marks the "hughest ground" in the state (Figure 2.2) When the monument was built to memorialize this most lofty and auspicious of peaks- the mountain is all of 2,316 feet (706 meters) above sea level-people knew that it was the highest point in the state and wanted to recognize this fact with the monument. the native people of Tibet call Chomolungma (Goddess of the Universe) Figure 2.2 ming a stone mo- ment perched atop Bear Mountain in the northwest- em corner of Connecticut which is located deep under water and, therefore, far below sea level. Mauna Kea is, in fact, an astonishing 4,441 feet (1,354 meters) taller than Everest However you define "tallest mountain," the truth is that I have never been to Tibet or even Hawai. I certainly haven't measured Everest: I haven't climbed to its summit to confirm that, in fact, I am above every other moun- tain I can see. For that matter, I haven't measured any of the other tall peaks to compare them to Everest or Mauna Kea. So how do I know anything about Note that the height of the mountain is given as 2,354 feet lit actually is only 2,316 feet (706 meters) and, in either case, though menmorialized as "the high On the subject of mountains, there is a run-down stone monument on the top of Bear Mountain in the northwestern corner of Connecticut. The est ground" in the state.it is mountains in the first place, much less which is tallest? Otn .se s not. K. Feder)

Explanation / Answer

In the given article, a field of science has been presented, known as epistemology. This is known as the science of knowing. The researchers are trying to understand how do people know, what they know. And for this they have given one of the most famous examples of Mount Everest. The researchers are trying to assert the fact that most of the facts that we know, most of the scientific facts, the universal statistical facts, about the scientific discoveries, what led to evolution, that is an understanding of everything. The researchers have stated a simple fact giving the example of Mount Everest, that an average human doesn't really go and measure all of these sites. Neither does an average human go and measure all of the mountains to really compare their heights. So the question raised by the researcher is how does a person really know the facts. Also, here the author has said that there are higher mountains than Mount Everest, which are not similarly advertised fact and hence not as established in the minds of every human. So the researchers have tried to establish what and how average humans have come to know of the established facts.