ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

It almost sounds as though the sentiment here is that we only know the
'real' world through science...

===========================
As an aside, when I hear the phrase "different ways of knowing" I think
of
political correctness. Though I agree that art and philosophy afford
us
different perspectives on thinking and add great value to our lives, I
don't
think they are comparable to the knowledge we have built based on
science
and I think it just serves to confuse the issue by claiming these are
all,
equal ways, of attaining knowledge about our world.
===========================

Though you could argue that inquisitiveness has been around in humans
for practically forever, science, per se, hasn't.  How long has science
been around?  Depending on how strict a definition you adhere to you
might say several hundred, or perhaps several thousand years.  How did
we obtain knowledge about our world before science?  Were those
perceptions of reality valid?  It seems to me that our perceptions of
the world during the period before science were valid enough to keep our
species viable.  This, I think, is what some folks refer to when they
talk about different ways of knowing.

Thanks,

 - Len

Len Adams
Health Promotion Specialist
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Dept.
3629 South D Street, MS:319
Tacoma, WA 98418-6813
253/798-6129


"Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
Genius hits a target no one else can see."

- Arthur Schopenhauer

***********************************************************************
More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]