Relevance of Philosophy Essay Example

Relevance of Philosophy Essay In this essay the challenge is to shown the relevance of philosophy to 21st century manufacturing. As philosophy is not a new concept there is a wide and defervesce range of ideas (on everything that existed and does not yet exist). The people who study philosophy and deal with such matters must have at one stage put forward some thoughts on manufacturing and even engineering in general. Philosophy comes from the Greek for love of wisdom, giving us two important starting points: love (or passion) and wisdom (knowledge, understanding). Philosophy sometimes seems to be pursued without passion as if it were a technical subject like mathematics. Philosophy must come from some passion for the ultimate goal to be achieved: a reliable, accurate understanding ourselves and our world. Many think philosophy an idle, academic pursuit, never amounting to anything of practical value. The works of ancient Greek philosophers, ask the same questions which philosophers ask today. Doesnt this mean that philosophy never gets anywhere and never accomplishes anything? Philosophy is relevant as it makes us think about where we have come from, where we are at present and where we are going to in the future. The study of philosophy is usually conducted in one of two different ways: the systematic/ topical method and the historical/ biographical method. Both of these have their strengths and weaknesses and it is often easier to avoid focusing on one to the exclusions of the other, at least whenever possible. There are many different areas of philosophy which have relevance to manufacturing and will have relevance in the future. We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Philosophy is the study of the fundamental  nature of existence, of man, and of mans relationship to existence. Some areas of study in philosophy are logic, ethics and epistemology (knowledge, ways of knowing) to name but a few important that are relevant to manufacturing. In this essay I hope to discover the link and the importance of philosophy in relation to manufacturing in the 21st century. Main body The main areas in which manufacturing are influenced by philosophy is ethics, logic and epistemology. Logic  is the study of  reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy,  mathematics engineering, and  computer science. Logic examines general forms which  arguments  may take which forms are valid, and which are fallacies. It is a type of  critical thinking. The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behaviour. Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: met ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics Knowledge is about how things work and why they work and that’s what engineering and the sciences set out to do. Manufacturing is a by product of knowledge. These areas can be viewed from many philosophical points. And the different areas which have relevance to manufacturing can be put into three main branches and several sub branches. These main three are Epistemology, Logic and Ethics and some sub branches of the three main relevant branches to manufacturing, economic, technological mathematic, social and rational argument. The relevance of philosophy to manufacturing goes back long before the industrial revolution and even further back then the roman’s but to the first philosopher Pythagoras. These topics will be discussed in more detail later. Ethics or moral philosophy This is the branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality that is, about concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong, justice and virtue. Anyone who has read Aristotle’s Ethics and has read modern moral philosophy must realise the great contrasts between them. The concepts which are prominent among the moderns seem to be lacking, far in the background, in Aristotle. Most noticeably, the term ‘moral’ itself, which we have by direct inheritance from Aristotle, just doesn’t seem to fit in its modern sense into an account of Aristotelian ethics. Aristotle distinguishes virtues as moral and intellectual. This area of philosophy is a broad area of study and is very relevant to everybody in normal day life. We take for granted the morals we live by and the morals of others, this too can be true for ethical practices that take place in manufacturing. Ethics are used by every company and business as bases for running their organisation such as fair trade, quality of product and quality of working environment. Some examples of ethics that show how important it is to consumers that companies have morals include: Fair Trade In the case of fair trade ethics has changed the way trade is done and the way people are treated in the process. In the past number of years important social changes have occurred with ethics an example of simple ethic in fair trade would be the production of coffee beans. Companies in recent years have begun to buy fairly bought produce where the producers benefit. As most of the producers are poor farmers. But because of the moral changes that have taken place in the past twenty years things have improved before the change in attitude the companies bought the product at low prices for big plantation owners and the poor suffered because of it. Quality of Product The role of ethics in quality of product we can take a very recent example and it is very much manufacturing example that of Toyota with the stricken of the accelerator pedal. The company is calling back thousands of cars for repair; this will cost a lot of money. And why its being done well the company has a moral obligation to produce a product fit for use. The ethics behind leaving defective products in us by consumers it could cause many incidences and maybe fatalities. The ethics that Toyota will abide by. Will cost the company a lot of money but may save the company on the long run. Companies who didn’t solve their problems. i. e. the car company Lancia who had a rust problem, which crippled the company in the end. And Toyota could fall a similar fate and begun bankrupt if not carful. It can be said that it is not ethics that is making Toyota recall all these cars but money. That unfortunately that is a pessimistic view and one would hope that Toyota is doing it for the right reasons over the value of reputation and money. Quality of Working Environment Quality of working environment is the final scenario. There have been many changes in the way people work and the place in which they work in as most working environment can be very dangerous places. Since the start of the industrial revolution high fatalities have occured due to machines with little or no safety aspects, have been recorded and it was due to companies disregarding safety of workers to make high profits. It may not be as big an issue today in the western world but to poorer more undeveloped countries where workers are still being neglected-ethics will play a role to improve he working environment and show manufacturing in a better light, now and in the future. Ethics is the bases of why good judgment is made so as to maintain and improve society. In a manufacturing sense morals can be a corner stone in changing work practices in industry. It can be a tool for progress in the future. The moral obligation to all is to be just and right, the phrase â€Å"Do no harm† can be an important to manufacturing and life in ge neral. Thomas Hobbes had stresses the importance of peace and security. With ethics in mind he said; there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society† And then follows the description of life under such conditions made so by repeated quotation that I refrain from quoting it still again. Where morals prevail peace can be seen. Peace and security, however, including secure property rights and the attendant opportunities to create and accumulate wealth, permit â€Å"commodious living†, which is Hobbes’s term for economic development. In the three examples it can be seen where ethics has played a part in changing the mind set of people and companies in the past few decades. It may not be ethics which was the catalyst for these changes but it is the way things are changing for the better. Hobbes had a point even if it was a bit extreme; there is room for good if people give it a chance and do the right thing. Logic Logic is the study of reasoning. And reasoning typically focuses on what makes reasoning efficient or inefficient, appropriate or inappropriate. Logic is the corner stone of science and mathematics which in turn play a vital role in engineering. It is one of the oldest areas of philosophy going back to Aristotle. Along with Aristotle some key figures in the study of logic were Bertrand Russell, Charles Sanders Peirce and Immanuel Kant. These men made many points on the area of logic As like ethics, logic is a wide area of study. This is important to us in our every day existence. Logic is what we use to solve from our most basic problems to the kind of problems that change the world socially, economically, technologically and mathematically to name but a few ways. Logic can be broken down into two parts inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is where a set of facts are given and from those facts a conclusion can be got from it an example of this in is a jigsaw puzzle all the parts are there but the pieces must be put together to see the full picture. On the other hand deductive reasoning is quiet different while inductive reasoning all the pieces are to be seen at once deductive reasoning gets it answer on a logical sequence of events, example of deductive reasoning is where a problem is set out but there is only one piece of information to work on and from that another piece of information is discovered until a logical sequence is established and an answer is reached like a detective solves a crime. Logic is the tool to solve any problem or argument which may arise by using the types of reasoning. And with this in mind logic will play a part in the future of manufacturing because without the use of logic the problems of the future won’t be solved and manufacturing will not progress. Epistemology Philosophy is largely based on known knowledge and epistemology is a study of knowledge. Descartes defines knowledge in terms of doubt. While distinguishing rigorous knowledge and lesser grades of conviction, Descartes writes: â€Å"I distinguish the two as follows: there is conviction when there remains some reason which might lead us to doubt, but knowledge is conviction based on a reason so strong that it can never be shaken by any stronger reason. † [Stanford, 2010] According to Bertrand Russell in regards to Epistemology, he says â€Å"we could be familiar with objects in two ways: knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description. He also thought that we could only be acquainted with our own sense data and that everything else we had to know through reasoning. It set out to answer â€Å"what distinguishes true (adequate)  knowledge  from false (inadequate) knowledge? This question translates into issues of scientific methodology: how can one develop theories or models that are better than competing theories. There is many areas which knowledge can be broken down into these main areas are Ratio nalism, Scepticism Rational Knowledge Rationalism Mathematics and geometry are examples of abstract truths which are known with certainty, even though the physical illustrations of these truths may vary. An early example was the Greek philosopher Plato who stated that ideas have an existence independent of human minds. These independently-existing ideas are the only reality in the universe since they are absolute and unchanging. Valid knowledge comes then when the mind grasps these ideas. Another famous philosopher was the Frenchman Rene Descartes who went through a period of scepticism in his life and then came to the conclusion that only ideas which were clear and distinct to the mind represented valid knowledge â€Å"Objections to Rationalism: . There is no agreement among philosophers or cultures about so-called self-evident ideas. Supposedly self-evident ideas have often been rejected at later times in history. 2. Self-evident ideas provide no knowledge about the world. Though sense experience may not be certain, it provides us with information which is as reliable as we need. The fact that a belief is not absolutely certain should not disqualify it for knowledge. Why not say t hat something is  known  as long as there is no good reason to doubt it? Of course, that might mean that occasionally we would have to admit that what we thought we knew was something that we really didnt know. So what? † [tamu, 2010] Scepticism This is the view that questions whether valid or reliable knowledge is ever attainable by a human being. Some sceptics stated that nothing can be known. Other sceptics stated that they did not know whether knowledge was possible; they suspended judgment on the issue. Some of the common examples used by sceptics are the illusions and deceptions of our senses. Others point to the complexity of any experience and ask how you can know what is the essence or real nature of the things you are experiencing. Empiricism This is the view that valid knowledge comes only through the five senses. Aristotle held the view that whatever was in the mind was first in the senses. Rene Descartes  (1596-1650) He claims, unless we know first whether our belief itself is justified. To determine whether our beliefs are justified, we have to be able to trace them back to a statement, belief, or proposition that cannot be doubted. Such a proposition could provide the firm foundation on which all subsequent beliefs could be grounded; it would guarantee that all subsequent claims based on it would be true. In order to identify an ultimate principle of truth on which all other knowledge can be based, Descartes develops a method that suspends our confidence in what we have been taught, what our senses tell us, what we think is obviousin short, in regard to everything we know. In order to determine whether there is anything we can know with certainty, he says that we first have to doubt everything we know. Such a radical doubt might not seem reasonable, and Descartes certainly does not mean that we  really  should doubt everything. What he suggests is that, in order to see if there is some belief that cannot be doubted, we should temporarily pretend that everything we know is questionable. Since sense experience is sometimes deceiving, it is obvious to Descartes that  a posteriori  claims (e. g. , that this milk tastes sour or that suit is dark blue) cannot be the basis for claims of knowledge. We do not know that what we experience through our senses is true; at least, we are not certain of it. So the best thing to do is to doubt our senses. Likewise, we cannot be sure that we really have bodies or that our experience of the world in general can be trusted; after all, we might be dreaming the whole thing. Next, we cannot even be sure that mathematical propositions such as 2+3=5 or that triangles always have three sides are true because some evil power might be deceiving us to think such things, when it is possible that even propositions that seem evident to us as true might themselves be really false. But even if an evil genie deceives us about all other beliefs, there is one belief that we cannot be mistaken about, and that is that we are thinking. Even to doubt this is to affirm it. Thinking proves that we exist (at least as minds or thinking things, regardless of whether we have bodies). The body is not an essential part of the self because we can doubt its existence in a way that we cannot doubt the existence of the mind. We have a great inclination to believe that there are physical objects that are external to the mind. But since only those objects known in terms of mathematical propertiesnot those imagined by use of the sensescan be known clearly and distinctly, the only knowledge we can have of such objects is in terms of mathematical, quantifiable physics. The only real knowledge we can have, then, is of things understood as functions of laws of physics. The objects we  see  are not the objects we  know, because what we know is intelligible only in terms of the clarity and precision of the formulae of physics. Information provided by the senses cannot therefore be the basis of knowledge. [tamu, 2010] Kant Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher who attempted to combine rationalism and empiricism. It is called the form and matter epistemology. A statue can have a form such as Abraham Lincoln and a matter such as marble; you need both a form and a matter to have a statue. So in knowledge you need a form, which are categories of the mind,  and matter which are the data of sensatio ns. You need both of these to have knowledge. It is similar to wearing rose-colored glasses. You have visual sensations and they are coloured by the glasses. Of course with the mind you cannot take of your glasses. Knowledge is an incredibility powerful tool which has created great nations and pushed the boundaries of science and technology to new areas. The quotation from Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) said that â€Å"knowledge is power† and that has always been the case since the dawn of civilisation, knowledge has been a part of every major advancement. Knowledge has a big part to play in manufacturing, it is an integral part of all advancement without the constant need for knowledge through research and other means it would be impossible to make major achievement. The different areas which have been discussed can be seen as different way we can go about solving difficult situation and problems. Manufacturing will need to conform to these different methods of thinking in the future. Conclusion Philosophy can be shown to have many areas some of which have been covered throughout this essay. The areas which have been covered are relevant to manufacturing in ways that show philosophy as a key component to running a lucrative and sustainable operating line. Philosophy has a lot of points to make; its relevance to manufacturing can be used as a tool for advancement in the future in areas such as Ethics * Companies treatment of small producers * Quality of products produced for consumers * The working environment Ethics has a role to play in changing these for the better and will have a maintaining a standard in future productions, especially in third world countries where companies have taken advantage of their workers yet do not pay a moral price. Logic The study of reasoning logic can be found at the core of engineering and manufacturing in general. It is a corner stone in which there are couple of ways of resolving a problem. The two main types are * Inductive * Deductive These two methods of solving apply to certain manufacturing dilemmas depending on the individual situation. A logical sequence of steps to gain the solution in which a process i. e. a production line is established by taking the correct logical sequence for the line to work effectively. Logic has a vital role in the way manufacturing process are carried out, without which there would be ciaos, void of efficiency, continuity and general order. Epistemology Epistemology is the study of knowledge and the ways of knowing. It schools of thought from which theories have sprung can be divided in the categories. * Rationalism The view of using absolute truth which is known with certainty is rationalism. Breaking knowledge down into its simplified core elements to revel the truth. * Scepticism This is seen where a theory is put forward and is then questioned. Many theorists maintain that some knowledge can never been known in its entirety or factually. It is questioning until a hypothesis or theory is validated to their satisfaction. * Empiricism Using the five senses to gain knowledge, most natural form of collection of information as we do it every day unknowingly. In the future the ideas and views of philosophy will have a significant part to play in manufacturing and engineering in general. As it has had an important role to play in the past. Manufacturing can be broken down into many different areas and this is due to philosophy and the thinking required by the different schools of thought in the related areas. As all area have a knock on effect on each other, i. e. logic can change the methodology significantly. We now realise the importance of philosophy in every day manufacturing although it might not appear obvious but under the surface of manufacturing processes is detrimental to efficient, cost effective, and ethic practices in the work place. References [Stanford, 2010] http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/ [tamu, 2010] http://philosophy. tamu. edu/~sdaniel/Notes/96class15. html Relevance of Philosophy Essay Example Relevance of Philosophy Essay In this essay the challenge is to shown the relevance of philosophy to 21st century manufacturing. As philosophy is not a new concept there is a wide and defervesce range of ideas (on everything that existed and does not yet exist). The people who study philosophy and deal with such matters must have at one stage put forward some thoughts on manufacturing and even engineering in general. Philosophy comes from the Greek for love of wisdom, giving us two important starting points: love (or passion) and wisdom (knowledge, understanding). Philosophy sometimes seems to be pursued without passion as if it were a technical subject like mathematics. Philosophy must come from some passion for the ultimate goal to be achieved: a reliable, accurate understanding ourselves and our world. Many think philosophy an idle, academic pursuit, never amounting to anything of practical value. The works of ancient Greek philosophers, ask the same questions which philosophers ask today. Doesnt this mean that philosophy never gets anywhere and never accomplishes anything? Philosophy is relevant as it makes us think about where we have come from, where we are at present and where we are going to in the future. The study of philosophy is usually conducted in one of two different ways: the systematic/ topical method and the historical/ biographical method. Both of these have their strengths and weaknesses and it is often easier to avoid focusing on one to the exclusions of the other, at least whenever possible. There are many different areas of philosophy which have relevance to manufacturing and will have relevance in the future. We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Relevance of Philosophy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Philosophy is the study of the fundamental  nature of existence, of man, and of mans relationship to existence. Some areas of study in philosophy are logic, ethics and epistemology (knowledge, ways of knowing) to name but a few important that are relevant to manufacturing. In this essay I hope to discover the link and the importance of philosophy in relation to manufacturing in the 21st century. Main body The main areas in which manufacturing are influenced by philosophy is ethics, logic and epistemology. Logic  is the study of  reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy,  mathematics engineering, and  computer science. Logic examines general forms which  arguments  may take which forms are valid, and which are fallacies. It is a type of  critical thinking. The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behaviour. Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: met ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics Knowledge is about how things work and why they work and that’s what engineering and the sciences set out to do. Manufacturing is a by product of knowledge. These areas can be viewed from many philosophical points. And the different areas which have relevance to manufacturing can be put into three main branches and several sub branches. These main three are Epistemology, Logic and Ethics and some sub branches of the three main relevant branches to manufacturing, economic, technological mathematic, social and rational argument. The relevance of philosophy to manufacturing goes back long before the industrial revolution and even further back then the roman’s but to the first philosopher Pythagoras. These topics will be discussed in more detail later. Ethics or moral philosophy This is the branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality that is, about concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong, justice and virtue. Anyone who has read Aristotle’s Ethics and has read modern moral philosophy must realise the great contrasts between them. The concepts which are prominent among the moderns seem to be lacking, far in the background, in Aristotle. Most noticeably, the term ‘moral’ itself, which we have by direct inheritance from Aristotle, just doesn’t seem to fit in its modern sense into an account of Aristotelian ethics. Aristotle distinguishes virtues as moral and intellectual. This area of philosophy is a broad area of study and is very relevant to everybody in normal day life. We take for granted the morals we live by and the morals of others, this too can be true for ethical practices that take place in manufacturing. Ethics are used by every company and business as bases for running their organisation such as fair trade, quality of product and quality of working environment. Some examples of ethics that show how important it is to consumers that companies have morals include: Fair Trade In the case of fair trade ethics has changed the way trade is done and the way people are treated in the process. In the past number of years important social changes have occurred with ethics an example of simple ethic in fair trade would be the production of coffee beans. Companies in recent years have begun to buy fairly bought produce where the producers benefit. As most of the producers are poor farmers. But because of the moral changes that have taken place in the past twenty years things have improved before the change in attitude the companies bought the product at low prices for big plantation owners and the poor suffered because of it. Quality of Product The role of ethics in quality of product we can take a very recent example and it is very much manufacturing example that of Toyota with the stricken of the accelerator pedal. The company is calling back thousands of cars for repair; this will cost a lot of money. And why its being done well the company has a moral obligation to produce a product fit for use. The ethics behind leaving defective products in us by consumers it could cause many incidences and maybe fatalities. The ethics that Toyota will abide by. Will cost the company a lot of money but may save the company on the long run. Companies who didn’t solve their problems. i. e. the car company Lancia who had a rust problem, which crippled the company in the end. And Toyota could fall a similar fate and begun bankrupt if not carful. It can be said that it is not ethics that is making Toyota recall all these cars but money. That unfortunately that is a pessimistic view and one would hope that Toyota is doing it for the right reasons over the value of reputation and money. Quality of Working Environment Quality of working environment is the final scenario. There have been many changes in the way people work and the place in which they work in as most working environment can be very dangerous places. Since the start of the industrial revolution high fatalities have occured due to machines with little or no safety aspects, have been recorded and it was due to companies disregarding safety of workers to make high profits. It may not be as big an issue today in the western world but to poorer more undeveloped countries where workers are still being neglected-ethics will play a role to improve he working environment and show manufacturing in a better light, now and in the future. Ethics is the bases of why good judgment is made so as to maintain and improve society. In a manufacturing sense morals can be a corner stone in changing work practices in industry. It can be a tool for progress in the future. The moral obligation to all is to be just and right, the phrase â€Å"Do no harm† can be an important to manufacturing and life in ge neral. Thomas Hobbes had stresses the importance of peace and security. With ethics in mind he said; there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society† And then follows the description of life under such conditions made so by repeated quotation that I refrain from quoting it still again. Where morals prevail peace can be seen. Peace and security, however, including secure property rights and the attendant opportunities to create and accumulate wealth, permit â€Å"commodious living†, which is Hobbes’s term for economic development. In the three examples it can be seen where ethics has played a part in changing the mind set of people and companies in the past few decades. It may not be ethics which was the catalyst for these changes but it is the way things are changing for the better. Hobbes had a point even if it was a bit extreme; there is room for good if people give it a chance and do the right thing. Logic Logic is the study of reasoning. And reasoning typically focuses on what makes reasoning efficient or inefficient, appropriate or inappropriate. Logic is the corner stone of science and mathematics which in turn play a vital role in engineering. It is one of the oldest areas of philosophy going back to Aristotle. Along with Aristotle some key figures in the study of logic were Bertrand Russell, Charles Sanders Peirce and Immanuel Kant. These men made many points on the area of logic As like ethics, logic is a wide area of study. This is important to us in our every day existence. Logic is what we use to solve from our most basic problems to the kind of problems that change the world socially, economically, technologically and mathematically to name but a few ways. Logic can be broken down into two parts inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is where a set of facts are given and from those facts a conclusion can be got from it an example of this in is a jigsaw puzzle all the parts are there but the pieces must be put together to see the full picture. On the other hand deductive reasoning is quiet different while inductive reasoning all the pieces are to be seen at once deductive reasoning gets it answer on a logical sequence of events, example of deductive reasoning is where a problem is set out but there is only one piece of information to work on and from that another piece of information is discovered until a logical sequence is established and an answer is reached like a detective solves a crime. Logic is the tool to solve any problem or argument which may arise by using the types of reasoning. And with this in mind logic will play a part in the future of manufacturing because without the use of logic the problems of the future won’t be solved and manufacturing will not progress. Epistemology Philosophy is largely based on known knowledge and epistemology is a study of knowledge. Descartes defines knowledge in terms of doubt. While distinguishing rigorous knowledge and lesser grades of conviction, Descartes writes: â€Å"I distinguish the two as follows: there is conviction when there remains some reason which might lead us to doubt, but knowledge is conviction based on a reason so strong that it can never be shaken by any stronger reason. † [Stanford, 2010] According to Bertrand Russell in regards to Epistemology, he says â€Å"we could be familiar with objects in two ways: knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description. He also thought that we could only be acquainted with our own sense data and that everything else we had to know through reasoning. It set out to answer â€Å"what distinguishes true (adequate)  knowledge  from false (inadequate) knowledge? This question translates into issues of scientific methodology: how can one develop theories or models that are better than competing theories. There is many areas which knowledge can be broken down into these main areas are Ratio nalism, Scepticism Rational Knowledge Rationalism Mathematics and geometry are examples of abstract truths which are known with certainty, even though the physical illustrations of these truths may vary. An early example was the Greek philosopher Plato who stated that ideas have an existence independent of human minds. These independently-existing ideas are the only reality in the universe since they are absolute and unchanging. Valid knowledge comes then when the mind grasps these ideas. Another famous philosopher was the Frenchman Rene Descartes who went through a period of scepticism in his life and then came to the conclusion that only ideas which were clear and distinct to the mind represented valid knowledge â€Å"Objections to Rationalism: . There is no agreement among philosophers or cultures about so-called self-evident ideas. Supposedly self-evident ideas have often been rejected at later times in history. 2. Self-evident ideas provide no knowledge about the world. Though sense experience may not be certain, it provides us with information which is as reliable as we need. The fact that a belief is not absolutely certain should not disqualify it for knowledge. Why not say t hat something is  known  as long as there is no good reason to doubt it? Of course, that might mean that occasionally we would have to admit that what we thought we knew was something that we really didnt know. So what? † [tamu, 2010] Scepticism This is the view that questions whether valid or reliable knowledge is ever attainable by a human being. Some sceptics stated that nothing can be known. Other sceptics stated that they did not know whether knowledge was possible; they suspended judgment on the issue. Some of the common examples used by sceptics are the illusions and deceptions of our senses. Others point to the complexity of any experience and ask how you can know what is the essence or real nature of the things you are experiencing. Empiricism This is the view that valid knowledge comes only through the five senses. Aristotle held the view that whatever was in the mind was first in the senses. Rene Descartes  (1596-1650) He claims, unless we know first whether our belief itself is justified. To determine whether our beliefs are justified, we have to be able to trace them back to a statement, belief, or proposition that cannot be doubted. Such a proposition could provide the firm foundation on which all subsequent beliefs could be grounded; it would guarantee that all subsequent claims based on it would be true. In order to identify an ultimate principle of truth on which all other knowledge can be based, Descartes develops a method that suspends our confidence in what we have been taught, what our senses tell us, what we think is obviousin short, in regard to everything we know. In order to determine whether there is anything we can know with certainty, he says that we first have to doubt everything we know. Such a radical doubt might not seem reasonable, and Descartes certainly does not mean that we  really  should doubt everything. What he suggests is that, in order to see if there is some belief that cannot be doubted, we should temporarily pretend that everything we know is questionable. Since sense experience is sometimes deceiving, it is obvious to Descartes that  a posteriori  claims (e. g. , that this milk tastes sour or that suit is dark blue) cannot be the basis for claims of knowledge. We do not know that what we experience through our senses is true; at least, we are not certain of it. So the best thing to do is to doubt our senses. Likewise, we cannot be sure that we really have bodies or that our experience of the world in general can be trusted; after all, we might be dreaming the whole thing. Next, we cannot even be sure that mathematical propositions such as 2+3=5 or that triangles always have three sides are true because some evil power might be deceiving us to think such things, when it is possible that even propositions that seem evident to us as true might themselves be really false. But even if an evil genie deceives us about all other beliefs, there is one belief that we cannot be mistaken about, and that is that we are thinking. Even to doubt this is to affirm it. Thinking proves that we exist (at least as minds or thinking things, regardless of whether we have bodies). The body is not an essential part of the self because we can doubt its existence in a way that we cannot doubt the existence of the mind. We have a great inclination to believe that there are physical objects that are external to the mind. But since only those objects known in terms of mathematical propertiesnot those imagined by use of the sensescan be known clearly and distinctly, the only knowledge we can have of such objects is in terms of mathematical, quantifiable physics. The only real knowledge we can have, then, is of things understood as functions of laws of physics. The objects we  see  are not the objects we  know, because what we know is intelligible only in terms of the clarity and precision of the formulae of physics. Information provided by the senses cannot therefore be the basis of knowledge. [tamu, 2010] Kant Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher who attempted to combine rationalism and empiricism. It is called the form and matter epistemology. A statue can have a form such as Abraham Lincoln and a matter such as marble; you need both a form and a matter to have a statue. So in knowledge you need a form, which are categories of the mind,  and matter which are the data of sensatio ns. You need both of these to have knowledge. It is similar to wearing rose-colored glasses. You have visual sensations and they are coloured by the glasses. Of course with the mind you cannot take of your glasses. Knowledge is an incredibility powerful tool which has created great nations and pushed the boundaries of science and technology to new areas. The quotation from Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) said that â€Å"knowledge is power† and that has always been the case since the dawn of civilisation, knowledge has been a part of every major advancement. Knowledge has a big part to play in manufacturing, it is an integral part of all advancement without the constant need for knowledge through research and other means it would be impossible to make major achievement. The different areas which have been discussed can be seen as different way we can go about solving difficult situation and problems. Manufacturing will need to conform to these different methods of thinking in the future. Conclusion Philosophy can be shown to have many areas some of which have been covered throughout this essay. The areas which have been covered are relevant to manufacturing in ways that show philosophy as a key component to running a lucrative and sustainable operating line. Philosophy has a lot of points to make; its relevance to manufacturing can be used as a tool for advancement in the future in areas such as Ethics * Companies treatment of small producers * Quality of products produced for consumers * The working environment Ethics has a role to play in changing these for the better and will have a maintaining a standard in future productions, especially in third world countries where companies have taken advantage of their workers yet do not pay a moral price. Logic The study of reasoning logic can be found at the core of engineering and manufacturing in general. It is a corner stone in which there are couple of ways of resolving a problem. The two main types are * Inductive * Deductive These two methods of solving apply to certain manufacturing dilemmas depending on the individual situation. A logical sequence of steps to gain the solution in which a process i. e. a production line is established by taking the correct logical sequence for the line to work effectively. Logic has a vital role in the way manufacturing process are carried out, without which there would be ciaos, void of efficiency, continuity and general order. Epistemology Epistemology is the study of knowledge and the ways of knowing. It schools of thought from which theories have sprung can be divided in the categories. * Rationalism The view of using absolute truth which is known with certainty is rationalism. Breaking knowledge down into its simplified core elements to revel the truth. * Scepticism This is seen where a theory is put forward and is then questioned. Many theorists maintain that some knowledge can never been known in its entirety or factually. It is questioning until a hypothesis or theory is validated to their satisfaction. * Empiricism Using the five senses to gain knowledge, most natural form of collection of information as we do it every day unknowingly. In the future the ideas and views of philosophy will have a significant part to play in manufacturing and engineering in general. As it has had an important role to play in the past. Manufacturing can be broken down into many different areas and this is due to philosophy and the thinking required by the different schools of thought in the related areas. As all area have a knock on effect on each other, i. e. logic can change the methodology significantly. We now realise the importance of philosophy in every day manufacturing although it might not appear obvious but under the surface of manufacturing processes is detrimental to efficient, cost effective, and ethic practices in the work place. References [Stanford, 2010] http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/ [tamu, 2010] http://philosophy. tamu. edu/~sdaniel/Notes/96class15. html