How can shared knowledge have an effect on our personal view of the world?
Answers
Shared knowledge can and does shape personal knowledge. Throughout life we persistently harness knowledge. We accumulate information from diverse sources in copious ways and then interpret such acquisition through our knowledge matrix, individual filters of emotion, memory, sense perceptions, language and intuition, so that we can comprehend and internalize it. We can divide knowledge into two areas: shared knowledge, which is imparted to a group or community, and personal knowledge, which is acquired through individual experience and personal involvement. I will discuss how shared knowledge shapes personal knowledge with reference to religious knowledge systems and the arts. My contention will be supported with evidence using examples from Judaism as a religion and music as a creative art. These examples both demonstrate how personal knowledge, unique to each individual both biologically and experientially, can be profoundly influenced by the communal constraints of shared knowledge. In order to validate my assertion, I shall flip the supposition; does the personal shape shared knowledge? A group requires many individuals and such individuals are responsible for knowledge that is then shared. Ultimately, shared scientific knowledge is a collection of individuals’ personal knowledge and contributions. It is also reasonable to contend that personal knowledge, creativity and individual experiences constitute essential influence on religion and the arts as well. However, just as individuals ultimately forge new dimensions in shared knowledge they must contribute in concert, so to speak, within an historical, cultural and linguistic context. Effectively, shared and personal knowledge are inextricably linked.