1) Should a knower`s personal point of view be considered an asset in the pursuit of knowledge, or an obstacle to overcome? .
In my belief a knower's personal point of view is relative and should be taken into account while pursuing knowledge as well as it should be considered an obstacle to overcome. I think it is something to consider as an asset since it is the opinion of someone familiar with the subject who presumably has studied it deeply and is well informed about it. On one hand I believe it could be helpful for people who aren't as well prepared as the knower is, to consider this person's point of view in order to expand their own knowledge in such matter. On the other hand I believe that this knowledge pursued from the "knower- should be analyzed and not taken as a universal truth. People should be able to take this knowledge into account objectively and try to achieve from it a personal opinion but not be determined by it. It is of utter importance for sources to be considered as ways of acquiring knowledge, but it is as important to question these sources in order to really acquire it. .
There are many ways and many sources to take into account in the acquisition of knowledge, and all of them are reliable to some extent. Science, for example, is considered by our western civilization as an extremely reliable source and is sometimes not questioned by regular citizens, which blindly believe in it. Marx said that religion was the opium of the masses; I personally think that nowadays we could consider that science, because of its accuracy and precision, has the same impact in society that Marx saw in religion at his time. Everything is and should be questioned, if in the past science was unquestioned we would probably continue to believe that the earth was flat. .
Concerning the knower we might say it represents a source of knowledge in the form of authority. This person is known for being an expert in his area and therefore his opinion is usually highly estimated by others and thought of as true.