This week we attended a coin exposition where we were presented the world’s largest Celtic coin hoard.

The labels on the coins and other items such as an an old “Celtic purse”, or a sword stated the object and their use or that they belong to a certain Celtic tribe for example the label on the coin in the picture stated that it belonged to the Durotriges tribe. Associations can be acquired in history though triangulation, but in this case there is no concrete proof that that coin was truly associated with that specific tribe as in history we can estimate the time and region a certain object might be found in, but that does not mean that those specific details are 100% true and exact without knowing the context at the time being. For example the coin could be originated from a different region and brought over by travellers , therefore it is not certain that its meaning and origin are completely accurate. Therefore to acquire good evidence for a claim the evidence must be accurate and exact in order to claim that information as true.

Due to historical research not being an exact science, fact-finding in history is likely to become uncertain information, therefore it may not be possible to uncover what actually happened. Another example is in the second picture of the sword and remains of the shield. The diagram drawn depicts a man, but due to our uncertainty regarding the culture that cant be certain as the principles of the tripe are unknown.

Culture is closely related to knowledge as it shapes our knowledge into unique experiences. Therefore the heritage and culture that people are exposed to can determine the type of knowledge they receive and the experiences they go through, particularly because of that culture.

In the pictures above, is an example of an experience that I have encountered in one of my recent trips home, in Romania where I have come across remarkable landmarks and architecture. This example is representative of how my Romanian heritage can offer completely different experiences and knowledge about the history, culture and traditions of the country and how the heritage and culture that another individual is exposed to can offer them different possibilities or experiences.

Some might say that culture may have originated from knowledge, although I believe that lot of knowledge which we have acquired over time and posses today developed and exists through culture. Many ideas, social behaviours and customs which we are aware of and have experienced, originated from culture and religion, therefore culture helps us accumulate knowledge over the years through experiential living.

So can there be knowledge without culture? Well yes, it is possible to have knowledge which is separate and independent of our culture, but in my opinion it is not possible to have beliefs which are independent of our culture as culture is one of the main factors that influence our beliefs, the way we think and see things in society due to the ways we have been brought up in our culture.

Language is also a huge factor as it points to the culture of a specific group. Learning a language is not only learning the meaning of words, and the grammar rules , but it is also learning the behaviour of the society and the ways and behaviours of that culture.

Most of our knowledge comes from personal experience. Events we go through, weather they are emotional or not are where we acquire most of our knowledge from. To be more exact personal experience helps all of us to understand knowledge better, on a deeper level. Personal experience allows us to store the knowledge and use it for situations that are personally relevant to us, therefore we apply the knowledge to future situations that are unique to us.

To further my point I will use the picture of me and my cousin above as an example. My older cousin and I are extremely close and I honestly consider her as my older sister; she has taught me many valuable lessons through my life and given me some of the best advice I could possibly ask for. I have shared many experiences with her that have provided me with knowledge which is linked to my points from above that knowledge and personal experiences are closely linked. Also as Albert Einstein said “…all knowledge of reality starts from experience and ends in it”, meaning without experience there is ultimately no knowledge; so in order to makes sense and understand the knowledge we accumulate we must use it and apply it to every day life or the experiences that we have.

In my opinion personal experiences are the main sources that shape our knowledge and ultimately provide most the knowledge we currently have. This is mostly due to the fact that we gain knowledge from other people therefore surrounding ourselves with people that are important to us and that we can learn something from is most likely one of the most important things you can do in life. You gain knowledge from experiences that you have with friends, you gain knowledge from experiences that you have with family and also from negative experiences that you might have had with people. And this knowledge comes in all sorts of forms, it can be educational or it may be emotional knowledge on how to deal with certain things that may happen in your life. Therefore the relationship between knowledge and personal experiences is the one you make and create by experiencing all sorts of different situations that you can learn from.

Everything is knowable to an extent. Things that we are certain are knowable are mainly personal to us or knowledge that we acquire through personal experiences, but it is very easy to state that some or most things are knowable because for something to be classified as knowable we need to have some sort of knowledge on the topic regardless of what the background context is. For example future is unknowable as we can predict what would happen but we lack certainty therefore, yes certain things are completely unknowable such as the true emotions someone might be feeling. For example, we will never know for certain what someone is feeling or experiencing unless they say it, and even then, they could be lying. All we can do is assume, based on their body language and facial expressions or our intuition which ultimately is enough. We don’t need to have any prior knowledge about what the person has experienced in order to depict how they might be feeling.

The picture I have chose to portray my idea is of a Russian cartoon that used to be a part of my childhood many years ago. I used to watch this cartoon every single morning before school and although I did not understand many of the words that were being spoken, I still made use of the knowledge I had at the time of words that have been taught to me by my father and other members of my family and understood from the actions of the characters what was taking place. Besides that, as I mentioned above we don’t have to have any prior knowledge in order to be quite confident in what we believe is true in this case.

There are other instances however, such as the future which are different. To conclude, I do believe some things, an impressive amount to be more exact are unknowable. We don’t know everything and we will not know everything. Even if we thought we were certain about a particular subject, we could be wrong and that depends on the source we acquire our information and knowledge from as some sources may be more reliable than others.

Knowledge is generally classified as what you learn and understand, but also what is true or scientifically proven. Your knowledge can come from numerous places such as friends, family, school or even personal experiences that have impacted you and that you have learned valuable lessons from; these experiences can be positive or negative. But does that mean that all knowledge has to be proven in order for it to be true or reliable? The picture I have chosen to answer this question and reflect upon the discussion is from a castle I have visited last summer at home, in Romania. This relates to history which is an area of knowledge that studies the past; history may contain certain truths, but cannot be 100% proven as we have not lived in the times of the events to have an authentic experience. However, the truth of history is established by reconstructing small events and placing those facts together in order to form truth or something very close to it.

In most cases such as what you learn in school for example an experiment in chemistry will require a stable and precise outcome to what has already been proven by scientists. But what about your personal experiences? The way you behave or speak to an individual can have positive or negative outcomes depending on that individuals perspective on your interaction. For example if during an argument with your parents you choose to raise your voice and disregard their boundaries or views on the subject that is being discussed you may risk getting grounded or having your phone taken off of you. Although this isn’t necessarily proven if it happens you now know that you need to be aware how you treat and behave around others, therefore it counts as knowledge because you have experienced it and you know the outcomes which in most cases are true.

Knowledge also comes from within and this can be things you learn on your own such as the example I gave above. People can also do this by having hobbies that they do often such as painting which is a process that you keep learning from regardless of what you have been taught or how much experience you had previously and in my opinion you can make no mistakes with art its just a matter of perspective and belief; science on the other hand is pretty much exact.

Therefore anything you believe is true due to you experiencing it is ultimately true. It might not be true to others as they have different life experiences that might not prove if the subject is true or not, but that doesn’t make it invalid and in some cases it doesn’t have to be proven for it to be true.