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]