‘Knowledge Is Much More Available in Contemporary Society Than It Was Fifty Years Ago, Increasing Choice and Opportunity’. to What Extent Do You Agree with This View?

‘Knowledge is much more available in contemporary society than it was fifty years ago, increasing choice and opportunity’.   To what extent do you agree with this view?

In order to determine my view on the above statement I shall be looking at what knowledge is, how it fits into our contemporary society, how it is formed, who has knowledge and what is done with it and how that affects us (Block 5). I shall be looking at the increased educational success of girls in school (Block 1), increased knowledge of environmental issues and risks (Block 2).   Any change in the availability of knowledge is going to have an effect on society, but I shall discuss whether these increases in knowledge have provided us with increased choice and opportunity.   I will look at the strengths and weaknesses of these arguments and investigate the roles of structure and agency and uncertainty and diversity and try to create an even balance of the evidence.

Knowledge is a social construction (Goldblatt, 2004, Page 2).   We all acquire common sense knowledge throughout day to day life, which we retain and use.   We can also seek out further knowledge, expertise and skills through learning and experience in many different ways, for example, education, reading, conversation with friends and family and by watching television and really any kind of social interaction.   We then interpret this information and the understanding we have of the material and the way in which we choose to use it again in the future creates our basis for knowledge.   There is also specialist knowledge, which is a trusted knowledge, usually regulated by an authority.   In medicine this would be your doctor, in religion this may be your priest and in society this may be our police officers, politicians and teachers.   The people that we trust have studied their profession and gained the necessary qualifications to become an expert in their field.   Where the reliability of our own knowledge may be weakened, it is socially... [continues]

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