Perception

“In order to find out how things really are, one must understand the filters through which one
perceives the world.” Discuss and evaluate this claim.

Perhaps this means that a person has to know all the ins and outs of something in order to fully understand it. All of the things that influence how we see or interpret something are considered filters. Perception can vary from person to person. As a person grows from a youngster to an adult they go through various experiences which guide them into different directions and alter the way they perceive different things that are "outside" of what they usually encounter. Like with cultural clashes, there are lots and lots of disagreements between both parties usually because one culture is accustomed to doing things one way, and the other culture is accustomed to doing it another. For example, in Ghana, Africa, it is very displeasing to eat food with the left hand because the right hand is clean and is okay to eat with and the left hand is used to perform dirty "deeds" such as wiping after yourself after using the restroom. Here in America, we live to eat and nobody really cares about which hand is okay and which hand is not okay to eat with.
I remember my mom telling me a story about when her best friend, who is a native to Ghana, gave birth to her second American son. Me and my best friend Sarpong (sappz) were only about four and five years of age when his mom Vida was nearing the time to give birth once again. It was summer time and i was visiting Sappz house like i did every day. We were probably snacking on some good ol' fashioned hot dogs and enjoying cartoons when Vida came out of her room and discreetly told us we needed to leave. We walked outside and followed Vida into the car where she buckled us up and drove off. Me and my "cousin" didn't know what was going on, we probably thought we were just making a quick trip to the store.

Truth

Different cultures have different truths.” “A truth is that which can be accepted universally.”
What are the implications for knowledge of agreeing with these opposing statements?

The idea of truth is just like that old garbage saying. "Ones mans trash, is another man's treasure". So, this means that, One person can believe in a certain truth while another either does not, or he believes in the total opposite.
So what I'm saying is the "truth" is very versatile. Truth ties into lots of things; religious beliefs, laws, and just basic personal views.
In my opinion truth can & will never be applied universally. There is always someone who will not agree with something regardless if the rest of the world does. For example, there are millions of people across the nation that do not believe in the heavenly father like i do. I do not hate these people, or look down upon them because of that. It is just a disagreement. Another example would be the politics, or government in the U.S. This is why we vote, because some people may not like the policies and/or views of one presidential candidate but they may just absolutely love every word that comes out of the other candidate's mouth. So one person might say John McCain would be a better president and others might believe Barack Obama would be better. These are both factual truths from that person's point of view.

too much temper can cloud reason

Evaluate the ways in which emotion might enhance and/or undermine reasoning as a Way of Knowing.

The Godfather once said, "too much temper can cloud reason." Which is exactly how i might have answered this question. Emotion is the key to reasoning or how someone learns and/or thinks. For example, a person with a bad temper would most likely avoid any type of contact with someone which means he would not have a chance to hear what the person has to say. If this is not making too much sense, maybe i should describe it better.
Here is a better example. Early Monday morning, Marcus wakes up from his sleep, he stretches and prepares for school. Thinking today is going to be a good day he wears his plain white tee shirt and some nice shoes. He gets to school and attends breakfast as usual in the cafeteria. He gets the pancakes and sits with his friends. He begins eating them and suddenly a piece of pancake falls onto his shirt. The syrup leaves a sticky stain he has to deal with for the entire day. Moments after that, someone ridicules him about the mess on his white tee and feeling humiliated he charges after him and a fight breaks out. A few periods later, he receives a text message from his girlfriend, "it's over". Marcus sits in his next class with his head down not paying attention to the valuable lesson that is being given during class because he is too busy thinking about all the events that occurred today.
The next day Marcus walks into class and the teacher gives the students a pop quiz! He fails miserably because he was too angry the previous day to completely register everything he was taught and did not have the opportunity to take notes.
Understand that Marcus is a student who participates actively in school and gets good grades. Imagine what the outcome would have been if the syrup, fight, and the break up would have never happened.
So when i say "too much temper can cloud reason" i mean all of the events which may have caused stress on an individual are still lingering around in ones mind leaving no room for the ability to reason.

Who Decides What I Should, and Shouldn't Learn?

How can you or your society decide ethically which knowledge should or should not be pursued?

I believe that the society, or community you live in has the right to choose whichever type of education is to be given to students in that area. Every community is cultured differently from the rest of the world, therefore, i expect the education to be tailored to what's going on around that specific community. For example, because i live in the United States, you better believe i am getting plenty of education about America. Its, past, future, and its involvements with other countries, are topics i have been "forced" to study since elementary school. This is not all we learn about, but it is knowledge which is thoroughly given to us daily.
On the other hand, i, myself makes the decision of what i want to learn. Just because the community i live in teaches something i don't wish to learn, doesn't mean i have to stay there and accept it. I can always move to a different location, and choose classes in a different educational facility. Its as simple as that.

That goes for everybody, especially students. Once they decide on what type of career path or what exactly they want to do with their life, the choice on what they learn is entirely up to them. For example, if one wants to be a actor, they would probably join some type of drama/performing arts school that involves acting. An up and coming scientist just might participate in higher level science classes. The list goes on. So you see, in my opinion, no one but yourself decides what type of studies we should pursue. Of course or decisions might be influenced but never chosen for us. Atleast they shouldn't be.
Back in the old days of America, when the puritans thrived on this land, many of the children had no other choice but to learn one subject in their education. And that was of course, their religion. But that was ok because there actually was nothing else they could do, and there most likely was no choosing of the career they wanted. They grew up exactly how their parents would raise them. But since i obviously do not know to much about the puritan way of life, or culture, i will stop talking about them, hoping i got my point across anyway.
To smooth everything i just said out so that it hopefully makes more sense, i will close with my conclusion.
Once a person decides how the rest of their life will be lived, it is their duty to prepare for it. To prepare for the future, you must be taught. No one is going to give you the information you need, you must find it, and by any means necessary, TAKE IT! Then you must wield it as best you can, to achieve your goals.