We explain what knowledge is, the types that exist and how it is obtained. Also, what are its characteristics and why is it important.
Knowledge comes from experiences, reasoning and learning.
What is knowledge?
Knowledge is the result obtained from the process of knowing. Knowing is what happens when a “knowing” subject (who knows) apprehends an object “of knowledge” or “knowable” (to be known). From this arises the need for there to be, in every act of knowing, two elements that coexist and are given in a copresence: the subject and the object.
The subject and the object, as unavoidable elements of the cognitive act, have different degrees of necessity depending on which philosophy they subscribe to. Realists maintain that there is a primacy of the object over the subject.. Idealists, on the other hand, put the emphasis on the subject. Since the publication of the Critique of pure reason (1778), by Immanuel Kant, there is a third group of thinkers who places both elements in a situation of epistemological parity.
Knowledge is itself an object of study. Some thinkers believe that knowledge is possible. Others consider it not. The discipline that studies knowledge “in general” is gnoseology. The epistemologyfor its part, studies knowledge in scientific terms.
See also: Philosophical knowledge
How is knowledge acquired?
Knowledge is acquired through the act of knowing. This constitutes an apprehension, that is, an act by which a subject apprehends an object. “To grasp” means, in this sense, the intellectual or sensory understanding of any object.
For a subject to be able to apprehend a knowable object, it must be transcendent to the subject: it must be something external. If this were not the case, the subject would “apprehend” himself. This act of capturing the subject to the object can be translated as the incorporation of the object, through its representation, into the subject’s consciousness. This does not mean that the object “is” physically or mentally in the subject, but rather as a representation. Apprehending an object is equivalent to representing itTrue knowledge (even if partial) of the object depends on the plausibility of the generated representation.
Types of knowledge
According to the order in which knowledge and experience are given
- Knowledge a priori. It is knowledge independent of experience. “Independent” does not mean that it is not related, but that it can be dispensed with. Mathematical knowledge is a type of knowledge a priori.
- Knowledge a posteriori. It is the knowledge that derives from experience. This means that knowledge is produced from having experienced something or, in any case, from observing the results of another’s experience. Scientific knowledge is a type of knowledge a posteriori.
According to its scope and field of study
- Empirical knowledge. It is the knowledge that is acquired through experience and that, in most cases, has practical, everyday use. It can also occur in other areas that, however, intervene in everyday life, such as ethics or politics. Technical knowledge is another form of empirical knowledge.
- Rational knowledge. It is the knowledge that is acquired through the use of reason. This means that it is given through cognitive processes, mediated, according to logical laws. It can be:
Modes of apprehension
There are various ways of apprehending objects. The history of philosophy usually repeats the same structures, generally known as sensible apprehension and intellectual apprehension.
- Sensitive apprehension. This mode of apprehension occurs through sensitivity. It is the senses that directly capture the object by coming into immediate contact with it. The result is sensible knowledge. Hume’s philosophy is an exemplary case.
- Intellectual apprehensionThis mode of apprehension occurs through the intellect. The faculty of reason or understanding comes into contact with the object through intellectual perception. The result is intellectual knowledge. Descartes’ philosophy is an exemplary case.
Difference between knowing and knowing
Although these are verbs that are used very similarly, they are not applied to the same idea indiscriminately, but rather they differ in a subtle way that is explained below:
- Know. It is obtaining a product of knowledge, that is, incorporating an experience or evidence into a previous set of accepted knowledge, using memory or experience to do so. This is equivalent to saying that we know something when we experience it and encounter it again, or when we refer to it as part of the memories we have of something experienced.
- Know. Add to the above a justification that incorporates the experience or evidence into an ordered system of knowledge, based on reality and that exceeds the specific conditions of the moment. In simpler terms, we know something when we not only know it, but we can explain it, account for it and know to a certain extent the reasons why it occurs, or we can link it with other aspects that apparently would not have anything to do with it, for example.
Possibility of knowledge
Is knowledge possible? Many answers have been given to this question. There are two opposing positions: skepticism, which denies the possibility of knowledge, and dogmatism, which affirms its possibility.
However, these positions are radical responses. In general, the responses adopt moderate positions, either scepticism or moderate dogmatism, which, moreover, coincide on many points. Both positions share the idea that knowledge is possible but only relativelyThis means that there are limits to what can be known and that, in addition, what is known is located within a series of theoretical assumptions, relative to each school in which the thinker is framed.
exist other possible responses that escape skepticism and dogmatism or that, in any case, they combine them taking the best of each position. One case is the Cogito ergo sum (“I think, therefore I am”) by Descartes, who seeks to start from an evident and intuitive proposition from which possible knowledge must be constructed. Another case is that of Kant, for whom knowing is “constituting” the object, that is, giving the conditions of possibility of its appearance to consciousness.
Scientific knowledge
The body of knowledge of science It is often referred to as scientific knowledge: it is distinguished from other types of knowledge in that it is verifiable, rational, objective and universal.
The steps of the scientific method guarantee its veracity, since they force the generators of new knowledge or new knowledge to verify their theories and demonstrate their conclusions. This is done through the reproduction of their experiments by a third party or by the validation of their mental procedures by a specialist jury.
Continue in: Scientific knowledge
Philosophical knowledge
Philosophical knowledge contains the series of conclusions that the human being is capable of reaching through philosophical reasoning, that is, through reflective, critical and deductive methods that philosophy proposes.
Philosophical knowledge is different from scientific or theological knowledge, both in its procedure and in its purposes, since does not apply the experimental scientific method like the firstnor does it focus on proving the existence or nature of God, like the second.
Epistemology and gnoseology
Gnoseology is a branch of philosophy that studies the nature, origin and possibility of knowledgewithout going into the particularities of each type of knowledge or the branches of knowledge that exist. It is a central branch of philosophy and one to which all philosophers in history have contributed.
For many, gnoseology and epistemology are the same thing. However, many others emphasize that epistemology is a theory of knowledge applicable to sciencethat is, a theory of scientific knowledge. This means that epistemology studies the methods of validation and legitimation of knowledge applicable to science, while gnoseology opts for a general view of knowledge, without judging its validity or invalidity.
Continue with: Relativism
References
- Ferrater Mora, J. (1978). Abridged Dictionary of Philosophy v. 1: ak. South America.
- Hessen, J., Gaos, J., & Romero, F. (1981). Theory of knowledge. Espasa-Calpe.
- Descartes, R. (1904). Metaphysical Meditations (Vol. 22). Direction and Administration.