Context Is All Margaret Atwood Summary

“Context is all” (Margaret Atwood). Does this mean that there is no such thing as truth when considering knowledge gained through sense perception?

Context is one of the most engrossing words in society. Knowledge can be assumed to be useless without the use of context, yet it is not always something that we need to consider in order for information to be proved true. As humans, we trust our sense perception, because we are easily able to justify everything we have witnessed. Certain pieces of information which we perceive using our senses cannot be proven true without context, and therefore the capacity of truth of knowledge gained through sense perception is reliant on the importance of context.

Sense perception is able to be justified
I take both biology and chemistry. At the same time that we were studying organic chemistry in chemistry, we were learning about organic molecules and their importance in biology. The subject of the two units was nearly uniform, however the content which we learnt felt as if it was uncorrelated. In chemistry, we strictly look at physical and chemical properties of organic compounds, however in biology, we investigate the importance of organic compounds and how they function in animals, plants, and the ecosystems as a whole. Context is vital in biology as we study the integration of systems in the world. Context is what allows us to use critical thinking and execute the background information we have done. In chemistry, however, context is nearly useless. It does not matter where any of the compounds take place in, we strictly look at background information. Each area of knowledge is significant in the knowledge it provides and the method in which it provides it. The dissimilarity between the similar units demonstrates that there is no definitive answer as to whether or not context is vital in justifying knowledge gained through sense
For example, it was stated in the previous claim that in chemistry, which is the study of matter, context is not useful. This claim has immense limitations, and context can be found to be necessary for determining truth using sense perception in chemistry. Before 1828, it was accepted and believed that organic compounds and life are dependant on a metaphysical force, the“vital principle”, and cannot be created by inorganic compounds. In 1828, Frederick Wöhler disproved this theory by forming urea, an organic compound, by heating an inorganic salt. Although Wöhler’s chemical reaction might seem analogous to any other simple chemical reaction, in context, it was the first of its kind and would change chemistry forever. Every piece of information deprived in any area of knowledge has an importance in its context. Every area of knowledge must rely on context as justification for knowledge because otherwise the knowledge is useless. Since each area of knowledge is so similar yet different, receiving a piece of information using sense perception without knowing at least which area of knowledge it came from, would not allow for the knowledge to often be justified