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Revision as of 19:03, 21 July 2005 by 67.182.157.6 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Knowledge is the awareness and understanding of facts, truths or information gained in the form of experience or learning (a posteriori), or through introspection (a priori). Knowledge is an appreciation of the possession of interconnected details which, in isolation, are of lesser value.
Knowledge is a term with many meanings depending on context, but is (as a rule) closely related to such concepts as meaning, information, instruction, communication, representation, learning and mental stimulus.
Knowledge is distinct from simple information. Both knowledge and information consist of true statements, but knowledge is information that has a purpose or use. Philosophers would describe this as information associated with intentionality. The study of knowledge is called epistemology.
A common definition of knowledge is that it consists of justified true belief. This definition derives from Plato's Theaetetus. It is considered to set out necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for some statement to count as knowledge.
What constitutes knowledge, certainty and truth are controversial issues. These issues are debated by philosophers, social scientists, and historians. Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote "On Certainty" - aphorisms on these concepts - exploring relationships between knowledge and certainty. A thread of his concern has become an entire field, the philosophy of action.
Systematic-summarizing Approach
From this point of view knowledge is seen as the relevant set of data. Data (see Data (disambiguation)) is raw information such as an observation or measurement, the plural form of datum.
Distinguishing knowing that from knowing how
Suppose that Fred says to you: "The fastest swimming stroke is the front crawl. One performs the front crawl by oscillating the legs at the hip, and moving the arms in an approximately circular motion". Here, Fred has propositional knowledge of swimming and how to perform the front crawl.
However, if Fred acquired this propositional knowledge from an encyclopedia, he will not have acquired the skill of swimming: he has some propositional knowledge, but does not have any procedural knowledge or "know-how". In general, one can demonstrate know-how by performing the task in question, but it is harder to demonstrate propositional knowledge.
See Michael Polanyi and tacit knowledge.
A short definition: Knowledge is the ability to take action, or in some cases, not take action. In Fred's case, above, after jumping in the pool - he 'knows' to take action by swimming or he risks drowning. Jumping in the pool with information about swimming or propositional knowledge about swimming may not be applied in time to save Fred's life. Presumably, beyond knowledge, comes wisdom - should Fred have jumped in the deep end of the pool so soon after eating lunch?
A priori versus a posteriori knowledge
Western philosophers have distinguished between two kinds of knowledge: a priori and a posteriori knowledge.
A priori knowledge is knowledge gained or justified by reason alone, without the direct or indirect influence of experience (here, experience usually means observation of the world through sense perception.)
A posteriori knowledge is any other sort of knowledge; that is, knowledge the attainment or justification of which requires reference to experience. This is also called empirical knowledge.
One of the fundamental questions in epistemology is whether there is any non-trivial a priori knowledge. Generally speaking rationalists believe that there is, while empiricists believe that all knowledge is ultimately derived from some kind of external experience.
The fields of knowledge most often suggested as having a priori status are logic and mathematics, which deal primarily with abstract, formal objects.
Empiricists have traditionally denied that even these fields could be a priori knowledge. Two common arguments are that these sorts of knowledge can only be derived from experience (as John Stuart Mill argued), and that they do not constitute "real" knowledge (as David Hume argued).
Adoption of knowledge
Through experience, observation, and inference, individuals and cultures gain knowledge. The spread of this knowledge is examined by diffusion. Diffusion of innovations theory explores the factors that lead people to become aware, try, and adopt new ideas and practices -- this can help to explain development of knowledge.
Skepticism
When scientists or philosophers ask "Is knowledge possible?", they mean to say "Am I ever sufficiently justified in believing something in order to have knowledge?" Adherents of Philosophical skepticism often say "no". Philosophical skepticism is the position which critically examines whether the knowledge and perceptions people have is true; adherents of this position hold that one can never obtain true knowledge, since justification is never certain. This is a different position from Scientific skepticism, which is the practical stance that one should not accept the veracity of claims until solid evidence is produced.
Other definitions
Knowledge is "information combined with experience, context, interpretation, and reflection. It is a high-valueform of information that is ready to apply to decisions and actions." T. Davenport et al., 1998
"Explicit or codified knowledge refers to knowledge that is transmittable in formal, systematic language. On the other hand, tacit knowledge has a personal quality, which makes it hard to formalize and communicate." I. Nonaka, 1994
See also
- Analytic proposition/Synthetic proposition
- A priori/A posteriori
- Belief
- Epistemology
- Knowledge creation
- Knowledge engineering
- Knowledge management
- Knowledge relativity
- Knowledge representation
- Philosophical skepticism
- Propositional knowledge
- Truth
External links
- The Gettier problem: Justified true belief?
- Theory of Knowledge: The Gettier problem
- The Duality of Knowledge
- Philosophy of Knowledge Glossary
References
- Creath, Richard, "Induction and the Gettier Problem", Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Vol.LII, No.2, June 1992.
- Feldman, Richard, "An Alleged Defect in Gettier Counterexamples", Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 52 (1974): 68-69.
- Gettier, Edmund, "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?", Analysis 23 (1963): 121-23.
- Goldman, Alvin I., "Discrimination and Perceptual Knowledge", Journal of Philosophy, 73.20 (1976), 771-791.
- Hetherington, Stephen, "Actually Knowing", The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol.48, No. 193, October 1998.
- Lehrer, Keith and Thomas D. Paxon, Jr., "Knowledge: Undefeated Justified True Belief", The Journal of Philosophy, 66.8 (1969), 225-237.
- Levi, Don S., "The Gettier Problem and the Parable of the Ten Coins", Philosophy, 70, 1995.
- Swain, Marshall, "Epistemic Defeasibility", American Philosophical Quarterly, Vol.II, No.I, January 1974.