How do you know, that you know, what you know?

How do you know, that you know, what you know? This question has me reflecting on what life is, and how power influences our daily lives. Throughout our lives we are brought up as robots, subtly being told to think a certain way, know a certain amount of information and act a particular way. Is what we know actually true? Or are we being told certain things in order to lead us astray. How do we know, that we know, what we know? It cannot easily be identified.

Growing up in a society so corrupt by power it brings forth the question: are we being influenced so heavily and so subtly by other people in society, the media and the government to fit their profile of what is right and wrong, by what we should know and don’t know, where we should go and don’t go and by what we should do or don’t do that we don’t even know who we truly are anymore?

Prior to this semester I had my opinion on what power is, where it comes from and what can be done to get it. After a few classes in this course I have come to realize that power is much greater and deeper than I thought. The world is obsessed with it. From the stock market, to the United Nations, to the playground, to the media, to the classroom and to the home, everywhere has some form of power. Someone is always trying to take control of someone or something else, someone always wants to influence others to do something or get something, and someone/something always has the power to do so.

The next questions that I raise are: is having power a good thing? Is being able to control and influence others, a good thing? Is there a connection between ability and power? Do people want power because they are influenced by other that power is good? Is power the difference between need and want? What determines power, tangible things, intangible things or both?

Without power there would be no order in society....or would there?

Adam Haick