THE ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF KNOWLEDGE Manasa Ramesh 2

THE ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF KNOWLEDGE Manasa Ramesh, 2 B, Theory of Knowledge

THE REAL-LIFE SITUATION RLS: Various political ideologies regarding environmental issues Context: ØTopic of environmental issues has been an ongoing debate for decades ØBecome more prominent in the political scene in recent years; now a strong litmus test indicator. Political opinions on environmental issues may make or break constituency now ØPoliticians, corporations, and general public involved, and all have differing opinions. Affects all. Other Thoughts and Questions: ØWhat does the future of environmental issues look like? ØCan politicians be considered ignorant for their ethical views? ØIs there such thing as a “bad moral code”?

KNOWLEDGE QUESTION How does knowledge affect ethics? Relevant AOKs: Relevant WOKs: ØHuman sciences ØEmotion ØEthics ØReason An ethical code can be considered shared knowledge, as it is a set of values that a group shares and agrees upon as the basic rules of humanity.

THE PROCESS Presentation of knowledge Extract relevant ideas (based on personal or group shared emotions) Establish or revise ethical codes

DEVELOPMENT #1 Claim: People are more perceptive to ideas found in knowledge that hold some sort of value for them (usually emotional) Ø People extract and focus on the parts of a new source of knowledge that matter most to them. These pieces go on to influence their ethical code. Ø Ex: Single issue groups, a type of interest group in politics. Counter: If all people extracted only the ideas they perceived as important, there would be no open-mindedness. Ø Demonstrates the importance of using reason when analyzing a source of knowledge Ø A great example: John Mc. Cain’s fight for climate change. Spanned across party lines and was revolutionary given his Republican party affiliation People extract and focus on relevant ideas from a knowledge source based on personal or group shared emotions, but still maintain openness to a wider variety of perspectives, using reason to weigh a source.

DEVELOPMENT #2 Claim: People establish ethical codes, or culminate shared knowledge, based on what appeals to their emotion (or group emotions). Ø Different political parties have different ideologies or shared viewpoints regarding the environment based on what is important to them. Ø Ex: Often, Republicans have more capital interests in mind, so might brush off some issues vs. teenagers who grew up learning about environmental issues want more action to be taken to protect it. Counter: Sometimes people may choose what information to acknowledge based on pre-existing ethical codes. Ø People may find a way to affirm themselves and their ideas rather than taking different perspectives into account. Abandon reason. Close-minded. Ø Those who claim that the global rise in temperature is cyclical. Selective acknowledgement. Emotion influences the establishment of shared knowledge systems in the form of ethical codes, although some may reverse the process and lose the element of reason in the process.

DEVELOPMENT #3 Claim: Knowledge carries ethical responsibility Ø Former Vice President and Presidential Candidate Al Gore in his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, describes the irrevocable data proving the condition of the environment and the human role in the deterioration of it thus far. Ø Having been made aware of the dire situation, he felt ethically responsible for the situation, and took action. Counter: People sometimes deliberately overlook knowledge, and therefore its ethical implications, for other interests (e. g. capital or political) Ø Political endeavors and ideologies that pursue capital or political interests, despite being ethically questionable. Ø Cleaner energy simply costs more, would put many industries out of business, and heavily impact the economy. Easier to ignore the problem altogether, because to acknowledge it implicates a moral responsibility to take action against the issue. Ex: President Trump pulled out of the Paris accord.

CONCLUSION Ø Possession of knowledge carries a certain ethical responsibility with it. Ø There is a clear path connecting knowledge to the establishment and alteration of ethics: I. Presentation and analysis of a knowledge source II. Extraction of ideas from the source that are emotionally relevant to an individual or group III. Establishment, update, and/or alteration of ethical codes Ø As more people become aware of the information contained in the knowledge source, a group’s shared knowledge system changes with new ethical implications. Potential shortcomings Ø The process may be reversed. Sometimes, people may look for knowledge that affirms their existing ethical codes. Ø New information may have no effect on a group’s moral codes; may stay the same despite new knowledge.

LINK BETWEEN KQ AND RLS The Link: • The developments and conclusion presented pertain to my knowledge question of “How does knowledge affect ethics, ” by describing a clear path leading from the acquisition of a new knowledge source to the reflection of that knowledge in ethical ideologies of an individual or a group. This relates back to the various political ideologies regarding environmental issues by taking into account what people perceive of the knowledge available to them, how they utilize this information, and how people, groups, and corporations follow this process to reach conclusions about ethics. Groups such as single issue groups extract parts of knowledge that pertain to them. These bits of information help form personal and shared knowledge systems, such as political affiliations based on their ideologies. The established systems reflect the emotions found in the knowledge and influence people’s actions and self-perception. Connection to other RLSs: Exploration of other reasons than moral responsibility • Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990: America stepped in both because they were moral and because they were protecting their economic interests. • Hitler using the ideals of Pan-Germanism and democratic ideal of self-determination to justify invasion of the Sudetenland in 1938

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