“There are only two ways in which humankind can produce knowledge: through passive observation or through active experiment.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

The most direct way of answering this question would be Yes, this statement is strongly agreeable. This is because producing new knowledge requires a person to use one or more of the Ways of Knowing, and the Ways of Knowing include: Language, Sense Perception, Reason, Emotion, Imagination, Memory, Intuition, and Faith. Analyzing each individual WoK, it is possible to group it as a “Passive observation,” an “Active Experiment,” or sometimes both. For instance, emotion is a strong example for one that falls under passive observation only, since it is not something you can control, or would intentionally experiment with most times.  Language is a WoK which can identified as both, since you can experience language through other peoples’ conversations making the experience a Passive observation. You can also alter the way you communicate your ideas to see people's reactions making it an active experiment. 

But, when looking closely at how the question is structured, we realize it states “[either] through passive observation or through active experiment.” These two overlap significantly, and if the things we look closely at what we take under an active experiment, we realize the knowledge initiated by a passive observation. An active experiment would be manipulating different factors to reach a concluding result. Almost always, what you are curious about exploring is either something you have been exposed to, or in some ways dealt with what you had experienced previously making active experiments a type of passive observation. The action of carrying out an experiment takes you through an experience where you observe the different factors, meaning the duration of an experiment also involves a passive observation. This is because the person does not have a very significant role after manipulating his/her desired factors, and becomes an observer. 

So, the initial curiosity and the duration of an active experiment are both a type of passive observation. Many might argue a passive observation, you have no intention or control and your only an observer, whereas in an active experiment you consciously go through an experience that you have control over. However, the truth is whether or not we humans intentionally set up an experiment, we will always be an observer and even if we manipulate the factors to get the results we want, those factors are previously set in the world we live in. The only difference between a passive observation and an active experiment would than be the way we, as individuals, pay attention to our surroundings….which is just changing the quality of us as an observer.