Doubt Is the Key Knowledge:

Doubt Is the Key Knowledge: To What Extent Is This True in Two Areas of Knowledge

"Doubt is the key to knowledge"(Persian proverb) to what extent is this true in two areas of knowledge?

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies knowledge. It is mainly concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge. It attempts to answer the basic question of what distinguishes true or adequate knowledge from otherwise false or inadequate knowledge (Heylighen). The major branches of epistemological theory are rationalism, empiricism and mysticism. Rationalism implies that knowledge is obtained through reason and introspection. Ones ideas are justified by sense experience, but if the senses and intuition are in conflict, the sensory evidence must be discarded. In empiricism, knowledge is obtained through observation and experiment. Models and theories may be used to organize this sensory experience, but if theories contradict experience they are wrong. In mysticism, knowledge is obtained through faith, emotions or revelation but if observation or intuition contradict, the knowledge is thus deemed wrong ("Rationalism"). Doubt, as a Persian Proverb once said, is the key to knowledge. It is one of the influencing factors in the expansion of knowledge. A fact that is considered to be true past any suspicion had to be subject to at least one individual questioning, since any belief worth having should be able to survive doubt. Knowledge plays an important role in development of an individual, a society and of a nation. Today, there is an unlimited source of knowledge like the internet, television, radio, magazines and the best source of knowledge is books.

In science, doubt plays an important part in acquiring knowledge. Schafersman states that scientific thinking and critical thinking follows a number of steps. In the first step, one must ask a meaningful question or identify a significant problem (Schafersman). The question or problem should be stated in a way that is conceivably possible to answer it. In this way, any attempt to gain knowledge begins here. At this stage, emotions and outside influences come about. For example, curiosity about nature is the driving force for most scientists. They need this emotional characteristic in order to sustain the motivation and energy that is necessary to perform the hard and often tedious scientific work. The second step involves gathering relevant information in an attempt to answer the question or solve the problem by making observations. The first observations could be data obtained from a source of information from their own experience. Other source of observations could be from trial experiments or past experiments. These observations, and all that follow, must be empirical in nature; this means they must be sensible, measurable and repeatable, so that others can make the same observations (Gettier 121). The third step can propose a solution or answer to the problem or question, which is referred to as a scientific hypothesis. In doing so the hypothesis must be stated in a way that is testable to prove whether it is true or false. A great number of individuals stop after they find their first answer or solution, but the lack of skepticism is a major roadblock in gaining reliable knowledge. While some of these early proposed answers may be true, most will be false, and further investigation will almost always be necessary to determine their validity (Schafersman).

The fourth step tests the hypothesis before it is corroborated and given any real validity. This is done in two ways with the first being conducting an experiment. The second way is to make further observations. Every hypothesis has consequences which make certain predictions about the phenomenon or process under investigation. By use of logic and empirical evidence, one can test the hypothesis by examining how successful the predictions are, that is, how well the predictions and consequences agree with new data, further insights, models and new patterns. The most important characteristic of a hypothesis is its predictability or testability. Hypotheses involving natural processes, natural events and natural laws can be tested while those involving the supernatural cannot. The fifth step comes about if the hypothesis fails and must be rejected and either abandoned or modified. With many of the hypothesis, scientists prefer to modify rather than simply throw out the idea in which they have invested a lot of time or effort. In this case, the modified hypothesis needs to be tested again and if it passes the test, it will be considered a corroborated hypothesis and can be published. The sixth and final step is to construct, support or cast doubt on a scientific theory which is not a guess, speculation or suggestion which is the proper definition of the term theory.

Mathematics is an essential discipline due to its practical role to the individual and society, as a result of its problem solving approach. Applied mathematics loosely designates a wide range of studies with significant current use in the empirical sciences. It includes numerical methods and computer science that seeks concrete solutions, sometimes approximate, to explicit mathematical problems for instance differential equations, large systems of linear equations (Moyal 240). Descartes, in his search for certainty, found that none of the senses, individually or jointly, provides experience so "clear and distinct" that it is beyond all doubt. He implied that if he could find one thing which was unquestionably true of his experience, it would serve as a foundation for all the other elements of knowledge that were less in certainty. It was for this reason that he turned to the intangible precision of mathematics (Rene & Ian 148). He was able to show that the possibility of being wrong in one's assumptions of mathematics. One may assume that they are right in their calculations due to having learnt the wrong way and even continue to teach others the wrong way. This can be compared to everyone originally thinking that the earth was flat and was the centre of the solar system. If a hypnotist can be able to make an entire group of people swear that there is a pink elephant in the room, it should not be difficult to accept that mathematics is equally suspect.