George's "Mr. Burke"

In George’s “Mr. Burke,” I thought the section about epistemology and theories of language was interesting. Basically it says that Keller’s critics thought she shouldn’t write about controversial subjects because she had no first-hand account of them. She only knew what she had been told and what had been put in front of her. George says that Keller thought she “gains knowledge and creates a reality the same way most people do most of the time―through text” (346) and that makes her as qualified as any other person to write about it.

From what we read/discussed last week about terministic screens I would have to agree with her. Her critics argued that she was “duped” (344) by people who were motivated to persuade her to think a certain way, and thus she couldn’t see the whole truth.

I think this is true of everybody, in that our world is shaped by what is put in front of us. We don’t get to choose everything that we experience. Some experiences are forced upon us. We chase after others and never find them. We read history books about events we weren’t alive for, and they are written with a biased lens. We watch the news, and even though we can flip through a few channels and choose what spin we want on it, the information we receive is still shaped by other people.

So even if any other writer were to write about the subjects that Keller’s critics have a problem with, they would only be able to write based on their own experiences and their experiences would be limited by their opportunities. What she writes about is her “reality” and it shouldn’t be judged against any “reality” that someone else has.