Free Custom «Understanding People and Societies» Essay Paper

Introduction

Understanding of individuals and societies requires more than just being part of it. The complexity is in the diversity of mankind. This implies that having an understanding of  the society and its elements requires an in depth analysis of the societal forms, the attributes of the different elements that make up the society and how the different attributes of individuals contribute to the making of a society. Knowledge issues just provide a framework towards the understanding of the society and individuals. A correlation between the knowers, areas of knowledge and the different ways of knowing should link up so that a better understanding of the world can be reached at.

Our disciplinary knowledge plays a significant part, not only through providing avenues which we can, understand the world but also how we influence the society. This essay attempts to evaluate how my learning of science and literature has contributed to the understanding of the society and individuals. The essay first attempts to explain the relevance of science and literature to the society and the extent to which science and literature influences the society. In addition, the paper will also provide an overview of the knowledge issues in science and literature, and how they contribute towards the understanding of the society and individuals.

A number of factors surpass the different ways areas of knowledge and the process of knowing. The nature of knowing describes the differences in the available information, beliefs and faith. The nature of knowing can be challenged in an attempt to gain a deep understanding towards a concept. It does not represent how true or false, rather to what extent and tries to implement the concept of openness. Knowledge communities explain how and to what extent we decide to choose a belief. 

The application of knowledge and the sources of knowledge provide an avenue for which we can use knowledge gained. Justification of knowledge on the other hand, involves a critical assessment of the knowledge claims (Karunanithi, 2001). It entails the use of establishing a criterion for truth, pragmatism and coherence. Basing on the above factors, the extent to which learning science and literature aids in my understanding of the society and individuals can be ascertained.

Science and literature are the fundamental building blocks of the society. It can be inferred that science, whether natural or human, play a significant role in determining the coexistence of a society. Literature on the other hand, attempts to provide an explanation towards the known societal concepts and ideologies. In order to evaluate how learning science and literature contributes to my understanding of the society and individuals, it is necessary first to gain an understanding of science and literature influences the society and individuals in it. Literature serves as a source of knowledge to the society. Examples of literature may include history and other related arts.

There is a number of ways through which available literature can be applied by the individual and society as a whole. One should attempt to evaluate the importance having literature forms such as history and the various ways through which they can be applied in human life. Science on the other hand, attempt to offer explanations on the occurrence of a number of phenomena. These explanations play a crucial role in the way the society perceives some concepts and occurrences. With this in mind, it becomes easy to gain an understanding of individuals and society.

Science essentially entails subjects such as biology, chemistry, and physics which attempt to provide explanations for a variety of phenomena. Science is an aspect of human nature that cannot be overlooked since it is applied in almost every human activity. A critical strategy in understanding individuals and the society involves having a clear understanding of the activities that they undertake their nature and some of the physiological attributes of people. Sciences facilitate the understanding of people through providing rational explanations for the occurrence of attributes which are physiological or hereditary. Lifestyles of an individual or a particular society draw a correlation from the biological explanations.

For instance, many people try to avoid sedentary lifestyles for fear of becoming diabetic. Gaining an insight as to why people in a particular society engages in a particular activity, in preference of another, is a significant step towards the understanding of individuals and society. It can be inferred that natural science is part of people, basing on that argument; I can vehemently stipulate that natural sciences facilitates my understanding of individuals and society through providing a framework for which an explanation of human processes can be derived. In doing so, one can have a clear-cut understanding of society and other associated activities which are part of that society.

One of the important aspects of literature is that if critically analyzed, it represents the perceptions of individuals and the society. Literature offers detailed information concerning a societal concept or an individual concept. For instance, one cannot formulate valid premises concerning as to why the believers of a given religion practice what they are doing, it is not until you has an overview of their literature for one to gain an understanding of the society. An example is the Bible with the Christian practices; Christians base their actions according to the biblical principles, this means that a person cannot have an understanding of the ways of Christianity prior to having an understanding of their literature. Having literature concerning an individual or a particular group plays a pivotal role in facilitating the understanding of individuals and the society.

Literature can be viewed as the integration of the societal elements such as culture, language, ethnicity and other human factors. In order to understand societies and individuals, each of the elements that constitute the society must be approached with extraordinary detail. For instance, having literature on cultural background of a particular individual or a society provides an avenue for understanding the society. On a similar account, literature elements such as language provides a background information that is relevant towards the understanding a particular society. It is not easy to acquire background information concerning an individual or a society unless you have the necessary literature skills.

This adds up to the fact that my learning of literature contributed significantly towards increasing my skills, which I can use to acquire background information concerning individuals and societies. Another important aspect of literature learning is that it provides different strategies for approaching different individuals and societies. This is imperative during my process of bonding with an individual or a society, in an attempt to acquire information from them which is helpful in understanding the individuals and the societies. Having knowledge on how to manipulate the available literature is also imperative in attempting to gain an understanding of individuals and societies. Learning literature therefore, equipped me with skills which can be used to acquire relevant information and manipulate information so as to facilitate the process of understanding individuals and societies.

It is evident that science is part of human life; on a similar account, literature is an essential element of our cultural orientations. It generally involves the use of thought, abundance of emotion and an in depth understanding of character. This means that proper use of literature can enhance our understanding beyond the ordinary, through enhancing our critical analysis skills which are aimed at trying to gain information beyond the first level of thinking. It can be inferred that literature is a key tool during the process of understanding history, the society which we are in and ourselves too. Since one is always a member of a given society, having an understanding of oneself provides a framework towards the understanding of the society as a whole. Literature simply provides us with an overview of the past, which we can always relate with the present in order to have an understanding of the society. Since literature equips one with critical analysis skills which are imperative in the analysis of observations observed from the societies in such a manner that conclusions can be inferred.

Conclusion

My learning of science and literature significantly contributes to my understanding of individuals and societies. Broadly stated, science and literature equips one with the relevant critical analysis skills and information acquisition skills which are indispensable in the process of understanding individuals and societies. Knowledge acquisition is part of the knowing process which implies that any skills which favor the process of knowledge acquisition plays a vital role in contributing towards the understanding of individuals and societies.