Sound Basis for Making Generalizations About Social Phenomena – Arts & Humanities Assignment Help

Assignment Task

1. Based on the characteristics of lay knowledge, discuss why this type of knowledge is not a sound basis for making generalisations about social phenomena.

Scope
You are expected to show that there are different kinds of knowledge in society, and that what distinguishes them is not the knowledge per se, but rather the authority behind the knowledge. The two main kinds of knowledge are Lay knowledge and scientific knowledge, with the former being the most popular kind widely used form of knowledge. However, because of the characteristics of lay knowledge, it is hardly a sound basis for making generalisations about any given social phenomenon. You can then concisely discuss any four of the following characteristics, and use appropriate examples:

i. Lay knowledge is obtained through reliance on “Authorities” such as people we respect and trust (e.g. Parents, friends, teachers, Pastors and Imams); people with some influence (public commentators, experts such as the weatherman); and popular statistics, etc. We know the things we know by learning it from others – especially
people/institutions we tend to trust. We “know” because we trust the opinions of these people/institutions, who sometimes are experts in their different fields. Almost
as a rule, we do not question their authority.

ii. Lay knowledge is context-specific: Lay knowledge is limited by space and time. We have no way of knowing if our experiences are the same as those of other people
elsewhere, or of people who lived before us, yet we claim to “know”. One person’s personal experience can be completely different from another’s mainly because of where and when they had the experience. Warning: it is dangerous to generalise from our personal experiences.

iii. Lay knowledge is obtained through reliance on secondary sources: TV, radio, newspapers, books, the internet, other people. We conduct no experiments or independent checks to prove the authenticity of what we are told. We “know” because we heard it in the news.

iv. Lay knowledge is idiosyncratic: Knowledge obtained from personal experience or personal inquiry is, in many ways, peculiar to the person that has that knowledge.