Diana Ghinea
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to give a contemporary perspective to the much-debated question “how do we get to know the world?” or “how do we decipher the world?” Interestingly enough, this question has been at the centre of scientific knowledge because, as long as we see ourselves as rational beings who are trying to discover the way in which our world works, we get to the point where we need certain theories or patterns which help us comprehend how the world around us works. In my paper I will first present two different models of “knowing the word” – the model of B. Barnes and D. Bloor and the Japanese model, presented by H. Takeuchi and I. Nonaka. These two models are extremely different and yet, they do seem to look alike. Both these theories are functional and manage to be successful, as long as we take into consideration the important differences between them: the geographical space, their different cultures and attitude towards science and also their historical background. Secondly, I will argue that nowadays, as long as we see these two theories not only working together without interfering, but also being extremely realistic for our society, we could either accept or deny Hans Blumenberg’s ideas concerning the presence of metaphors which lead out knowledge. The important thing here is to accept a certain type of knowledge, where his ideas could easily work, because the cultural and traditional backgrounds accept them.