The  whole  point  of  knowledge  is  to  produce  both  meaning  and  purpose  in  our  personal  lives.  To  what  extent  do  you  agree  with  this?      

  Within our personal lives, there are many different reasons to why we aquire

knowledge. Not only does it produce purpose by instilling in us a drive that influences the

path that we choose to take in our life along with meaning by making life more enjoyable.

But also, the acquisition and application of knowledge serves a utilitarian function that

enhances and even eases our lives. Moreover, knowledge also ensures responsible citizenry

by creating a knowledge framework that individuals can apply to make responsible and

informed decisions that can have large and positive impacts on society. To answer the

aforementioned question, I will be drawing extensively from my own personal experiences

within the areas of knowledge of the Arts and Natural Sciences to demonstrate how the point

of knowledge is not constrained to just producing meaning and purpose in our lives, but

rather, is also extended to serving a utilitarian function along with ensuring responsible

citizenry.

Knowledge produces purpose in our lives by inspiring us to deepen our understanding

of our world, which, by extension helps us to choose a path that we will follow in our life.

For instance, I am incredibly passionate about cosmology and quantum mechanics, both two

very abstract divisions of physics, which are part of the natural sciences. When I applied to

university for a major in astronomy, my parents disapproved because my subject had no

“real-world application” in their eyes. Yet for me, I have an inherent desire to understand the

origin of our universe and how exactly were we created. Here, knowledge has given my life a

purpose for it has inspired me to deepen my understanding of the physical world. Without

this knowledge, my curiosity would not be satisfied and I would not be on a track towards an

astronomy major at an engineering school. This knowledge has inspired me by fueling my

desire to understand the world and has given me a direction for where I want to take my life

as it gives me an incentive to pursue new goals and learn new things. The fact that knowledge

has had a profound impact in setting a path for my life shows how knowledge has given my

life purpose. This knowledge has given me a reason for being, my purpose in life is to

understand the origin of this universe, and it is through knowledge that my curiosity was

sparked enough to make this my life’s purpose. However, I believe that knowledge does not

have to be the only avenue that produces purpose in our personal lives.

Therefore, it must be considered whether life can still have a purpose without

knowledge. For instance, I’ve always felt that Pakistanis, such as my parents, were brought

up with the belief that their purpose in life was to ensure stability by taking care of their

family and ensuring that they are happy, irrespective of how they do so whether it’s by

following their dreams or by pursuing the most secure - yet boring - job. Whereas having

grown up in an American society, I feel that I have been conditioned to follow my dreams

and pursue knowledge purely out of curiosity and passion, irrespective of where it might take

me. So when I asked my Pakistani father what is the purpose of his life, he replied that it is to

take care of his family and that this goal is what inspires and dictates his path in life. I

believe that depending on different cultures and subsequently, different people’s priorities in

life, knowledge doesn’t always have to be the sole provider of purpose in our lives. For

instance, my father’s purpose in life is to take care of his family whereas mine is to learn

about the origin of the universe. Both avenues have dictated the paths that we will both take

although one is motivated by knowledge and the other is motivated by duty. Although, in my

father’s case, his usage of knowledge is a means to take care of his family through his

profession, his purpose has not been created by knowledge but rather, by his culture. This

shows how knowledge is not imperative in order to have a purpose in life.

Knowledge does not need a reason to be acquired but rather, knowledge can be

acquired for it’s own sake because it can make life simply more enjoyable. The pursuit of

Physics has given my life purpose by giving it a sense of direction yet that does not mean that

all the knowledge that I seek must be constrained to only physics, or be purposeful

knowledge for that matter. But rather, much of my knowledge is acquired for my own

personal enjoyment. Coming from a conservative Pakistani family, my parents had always

tried to ensure that my studies (particularly in the sciences and maths) took precedence over

my musical education because “there is no money in music,” as my father would say. Both

my parents and I feel that music, which is part of the arts, has no significant purpose in my

life because it is part the path in my life that I wish to take. Despite this, music does provide

me with meaning for the knowledge of learning how to play a new instrument or song does

bring immense happiness and joy. I am motivated to learn new songs not because I want to

become a musician, but because music simply makes my days more enjoyable. Music, like

many other forms of stimuli such as reading, writing, or even exercise are all sources of

entertainment and joy. Without these stimuli, life would by joyless, as the very things that

give happiness to our life would be gone. By extension, this shows how knowledge is

imperative to obtain meaning in life for knowledge is required to pursue any sort of hobby or

recreational activity such as a sport, a video game, an instrument, etc. Without the knowledge

of how to use these stimuli, we would be unable to enjoy, use or interpret them, hence

showing how knowledge is imperative to produce meaning in our life.

Beyond providing meaning and purpose in our lives, another point of knowledge is to

serve a utilitarian function by easing or even enhancing the quality of life through the

application of knowledge. For instance, when I first started going to the gym, my personal

trainer had explained to me that I should never exercise the same muscles two days in a row

because not only does this prevent muscle from growing, but it also puts strain on the body.

Another example would be how my father taught me how to take care of our car’s engine and

what kind of fuel would be most suitable for our car so that it would drive most efficiently. In

both cases, knowledge is used to make life easier as the knowledge of the biology behind

muscle growth has enabled me to exercise more efficiently and the knowledge of the physics

and chemistry behind fuel and engines has taught me how to take care of the family car.

Here, knowledge from the natural sciences serves a utilitarian value because without this

knowledge, both my body would be under strain and my family’s car wouldn’t be taken care

of as frequently, thus showing how through knowledge, we can make changes to our

surroundings to improve and ease our lives, thus fulfilling knowledge’s utilitarian function.

Moreover, the acquisition of knowledge also ensures responsible citizenry by

allowing individuals to make informed decisions that could have profound implications for

society. For instance, after teaching us about the greenhouse effect and climate change, my

physics teacher remarked that it is our duty to elect politicians who actually have a thorough

knowledge and understanding about the issues rather than being fueled by misinformation, as

is often the case with climate change. Using our knowledge about the environment, which is

part of the natural sciences, we can determine whether or not the implications of a bill or the

election of a politician will benefit society based on what they propose. Without knowledge,

we would be unable to determine what exactly are the implications of electing a politician or

supporting a bill. In fact, our lack of knowledge could result in us being easily swayed and

influenced by the persuasive rhetoric of the politician in the ensuing political climate, hence

influencing us to elect politicians or support bills that could potentially hurt society. But with

knowledge, we can make clear and informed decisions about the bill or politician by

evaluating their impact on society, thus ensuring responsible citizenry by allowing us to make

informed decisions that benefit, rather than hurt, society.

So in essence, the point of knowledge is to provide both meaning and purpose to our

lives but is not solely constrained to this scope. In fact, knowledge also serves a utilitarian

function in the sense that garnered knowledge can be used to solve real world problems

through it’s application along with ensuring responsible citizenry by helping individuals

make informed, knowledgeable decisions that can have profound and positive impacts on

society. Therefore, to conclude, it has been found that knowledge serves a myriad array of

functions in our personal lives.

Word Count: 1,533