Sources of Knowledge

Sources of Knowledge

There are many ways in which we learn what we know. Many of these are used to help us become more effective social workers. Science is one of them.

1. Mystical experiences - relating to experiences outside of sensory and traditional religious sources. Not the same thing presented in the book as "mystification."
Example: the lion cub in The Lion King seeing his dead father in the clouds calling him back home.

2. Revelation - an instance of God's disclosure to us. A lot like a mystical experience but with the authority of religion behind it.
Example: Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.

3. Authority - information received from sources which are accepted as knowledgeable by the society.
Example: students who accept what their teacher says.

4. Personal experience - knowledge gained through trial and error or other types of experience with "reality."
Example: a child learns that a stove is hot by feeling the heat.

5. Intuition - pure, untaught, non-inferential knowledge (tamed mysticism), usually described as "having a feeling."
Example: I feel that the person I am meeting for the first time is going to be a very important part of my life in the future.

6. Logic - the extension of what is learned from another source to a new situation or type of situations. Involves deductive, inductive, and other processes.

a. Deductive logic moves from general principles to specific applications. Example: I have learned from an authority that babies cry when they are hungry. My baby is crying, I decide she may be hungry.

b. Inductive logic moves from specific cases to general principles. Example: I have learned from personal experience that my baby cries when she is hungry. I decide that babies cry when they are hungry.

7. Science - the use of the "empirical method," a generally accepted combination of authority, personal experience, and logic as a defined way to make decisions about what is. This is very highly regarded in our culture and most social workers are expected to show respect for and use of knowledge gained in this way. Example: a social worker doing a needs assessment survey to decide what types of services are needed in the community.

It is very important to remember that these different sources of knowledge are not mutually exclusive, even though many people present them as if they were. Science is the primary focus for this course, but it should not be the only source of knowledge which helps you make decisions about helping clients and constituents.