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Knowledge

Knowledge is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding of someone or something, such as facts

(descriptive knowledge), skills (procedural knowledge), or objects (acquaintance knowledge). By
most accounts, knowledge can be acquired in many different ways and from many sources,
including but not limited to perception, reason, memory, testimony, scientific inquiry, education,
and practice. The philosophical study of knowledge is called epistemology.

The term "knowledge" can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. It can be
implicit (as with practical skill or expertise) or explicit (as with the theoretical understanding of a
subject); formal or informal; systematic or particular.[1] The philosopher Plato famously pointed
out the need for a distinction between knowledge and true belief in the Theaetetus, leading many
to attribute to him a definition of knowledge as "justified true belief".[2][3] The difficulties with this
definition raised by the Gettier problem have been the subject of extensive debate in epistemology
for more than half a century.[2]

Contents
Theories of knowledge
Self-knowledge
The value of knowledge
Scientific knowledge
Situated knowledge
Partial knowledge
Religious concepts of knowledge
Christianity
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
See also
References
External links

Theories of knowledge

The eventual demarcation of philosophy from science was made possible by the notion
that philosophy's core was "theory of knowledge," a theory distinct from the sciences
because it was their foundation... Without this idea of a "theory of knowledge," it is
hard to imagine what "philosophy" could have been in the age of modern science.

— Richard Rorty, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature

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and why knowledge and true belief are different. Socrates

responds that knowledge is more valuable than mere true
belief because it is tethered or justified. Justification, or
working out the reason for a true belief, locks down true
belief.[10]

The problem is to identify what (if anything) makes knowledge

more valuable than mere true belief, or that makes knowledge
more valuable than a mere minimal conjunction of its
components, such as justification, safety, sensitivity, statistical
likelihood, and anti-Gettier conditions, on a particular
analysis of knowledge that conceives of knowledge as divided
into components (to which knowledge-first epistemological
theories, which posit knowledge as fundamental, are notable
exceptions).[11] The value problem re-emerged in the
philosophical literature on epistemology in the twenty-first
century following the rise of virtue epistemology in the 1980s, Los portadores de la antorcha (The
partly because of the obvious link to the concept of value in Torch-Bearers) – Sculpture by Anna
ethics.[12] Hyatt Huntington symbolizing the
transmission of knowledge from one
In contemporary philosophy, epistemologists including Ernest generation to the next (Ciudad
Sosa, John Greco, Jonathan Kvanvig,[13] Linda Zagzebski, and Universitaria, Madrid, Spain)
Duncan Pritchard have defended virtue epistemology as a
solution to the value problem. They argue that epistemology
should also evaluate the "properties" of people as epistemic agents (i.e. intellectual virtues), rather
than merely the properties of propositions and propositional mental attitudes.

Scientific knowledge
The development of the scientific method has made a significant
contribution to how knowledge of the physical world and its
phenomena is acquired.[14] To be termed scientific, a method of
inquiry must be based on gathering observable and measurable
evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning and
experimentation.[15] The scientific method consists of the collection
of data through observation and experimentation, and the
formulation and testing of hypotheses.[16] Science, and the nature of
scientific knowledge have also become the subject of philosophy. As
science itself has developed, scientific knowledge now includes a
broader usage[17] in the soft sciences such as biology and the social
sciences – discussed elsewhere as meta-epistemology, or genetic
epistemology, and to some extent related to "theory of cognitive
development". Note that "epistemology" is the study of knowledge
and how it is acquired. Science is "the process used everyday to
Sir Francis Bacon, logically complete thoughts through inference of facts determined by
"Knowledge is Power"
calculated experiments." Sir Francis Bacon was critical in the
historical development of the scientific method; his works established
and popularized an inductive methodology for scientific inquiry. His
famous aphorism, "knowledge is power", is found in the Meditations Sacrae (1597).[18]

Until recent times, at least in the Western tradition, it was simply taken for granted that
knowledge was something possessed only by humans – and probably adult humans at that.
Sometimes the notion might stretch to Society-as-such, as in (e. g.) "the knowledge possessed by

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where all data is given and one is given a complete

understanding of formulas necessary to solve them
(False consensus effect).

This idea is also present in the concept of bounded

rationality which assumes that in real-life
situations people often have a limited amount of
information and make decisions accordingly.

Religious concepts of
knowledge
The parable of the blind men and the elephant
suggests that people tend to project their partial
Christianity experiences as the whole truth

In many expressions of Christianity, such as

Catholicism[27] and Anglicanism,[28] knowledge is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

"The knowledge that comes from the Holy Spirit, however, is not limited to human knowledge; it is
a special gift, which leads us to grasp, through creation, the greatness and love of God and his
profound relationship with every creature." (Pope Francis, papal audience May 21, 2014)[29]

Hinduism

विद्या दान (Vidya Daan) i.e. knowledge sharing is a major part of Daan, a tenet of all Dharmic
Religions.[30]
Hindu Scriptures present two kinds of knowledge, Paroksh Gyan and Prataksh
Gyan. Paroksh Gyan (also spelled Paroksha-Jnana) is secondhand knowledge: knowledge
obtained from books, hearsay, etc. Pratyaksh Gyan (also spelled Pratyaksha-Jnana) is the
knowledge borne of direct experience, i.e., knowledge that one discovers for oneself.[31] Jnana yoga
("path of knowledge") is one of three main types of yoga expounded by Krishna in the Bhagavad
Gita. (It is compared and contrasted with Bhakti Yoga and Karma yoga.)

Islam

In Islam, knowledge (Arabic: ‫علم‬, ʿilm) is given great significance. "The Knowing" (al-ʿAlīm) is one
of the 99 names reflecting distinct attributes of God. The Qur'an asserts that knowledge comes
from God (2:239 (https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2002.02.
0006%3Asura%3D2%3Averse%3D239)) and various hadith encourage the acquisition of
knowledge. Muhammad is reported to have said "Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave"
and "Verily the men of knowledge are the inheritors of the prophets". Islamic scholars, theologians
and jurists are often given the title alim, meaning "knowledgeble".[32]

Judaism

In Jewish tradition, knowledge (Hebrew: ‫ דעת‬da'ath) is considered one of the most valuable traits a
person can acquire. Observant Jews recite three times a day in the Amidah "Favor us with
knowledge, understanding and discretion that come from you. Exalted are you, Existent-One, the
gracious giver of knowledge." The Tanakh states, "A wise man gains power, and a man of
knowledge maintains power", and "knowledge is chosen above gold".

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9. "Self-Knowledge" (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/self-knowledge/). Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
10. Plato (2002). Five Dialogues (https://archive.org/details/fivedialogueseut00plat/page/89).
Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. Co. pp. 89–90, 97b–98a (https://archive.org/details/fivedialogue
seut00plat/page/89). ISBN 978-0-87220-633-5.
11. Pritchard, Duncan; Turri, John. "The Value of Knowledge" (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kno
wledge-value/). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
12. Pritchard, Duncan (April 2007). "Recent Work on Epistemic Value". American Philosophical
Quarterly. 44 (2): 85–110. JSTOR 20464361 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/20464361).
13. Kvanvig, Jonathan L. (2003). The Value of Knowledge and the Pursuit of Understanding (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=ILTIEjvbeLoC). Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 9781139442282.
14. "Science – Definition of science by Merriam-Webster" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/diction
ary/science). merriam-webster.com.
15. "[4] Rules for the study of natural philosophy", Newton 1999, pp. 794–796, from the General
Scholium, which follows Book 3, The System of the World.
16. scientific method (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/scientific%20method), Merriam-Webster
Dictionary.
17. Wilson, Timothy D. (12 July 2012). "Stop bullying the 'soft' sciences" (http://articles.latimes.co
m/2012/jul/12/opinion/la-oe-wilson-social-sciences-20120712). Los Angeles Times.
18. "Sir Francis Bacon – Quotationspage.com" (http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/2060.html).
Retrieved 8 July 2009.
19. There is quite a good case for this exclusive specialization used by philosophers, in that it
allows for in-depth study of logic-procedures and other abstractions which are not found
elsewhere. However this may lead to problems whenever the topic spills over into those
excluded domains – e. g. when Kant (following Newton) dismissed Space and Time as
axiomatically "transcendental" and "a priori" – a claim later disproved by Piaget's clinical
studies. It also seems likely that the vexed problem of "infinite regress" can be largely (but not
completely) solved by proper attention to how unconscious concepts are actually developed,
both during infantile learning and as inherited "pseudo-transcendentals" inherited from the trial-
and-error of previous generations. See also "Tacit knowledge".
Piaget, J., and B.Inhelder (1927/1969). The child's conception of time. Routledge & Kegan
Paul: London.
Piaget, J., and B. Inhelder (1948/1956). The child's conception of space. Routledge &
Kegan Paul: London.
20. "philosophy bites" (http://philosophybites.com/2007/12/barry-stroud-on.html).
philosophybites.com.
21. "Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial
Perspective (https://philpapers.org/archive/HARSKT.pdf)". Haraway, Donna. Feminist Studies
Vol. 14, No. 3. pp. 575–599. 1988.
22. "Introduction: Development and the Anthropology of Modernity". Escobar, Arturo. Encountering
Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World.
23. Chapter 1. Haraway, Donna. Modest_Witness@Second_Millennium. FemaleMan©
Meets_OncoMouse2. Feminism and Technoscience. 1997.
24. Braidotti, Rosi (2006). "Posthuman, All Too Human" (https://doi.org/10.1177%2F02632764060
69232). Theory, Culture & Society. 23 (7–8): 197–208. doi:10.1177/0263276406069232 (http
s://doi.org/10.1177%2F0263276406069232).
25. Stanley Cavell, "Knowing and Acknowledging", Must We Mean What We Say? (Cambridge
University Press, 2002), 238–266.
26. "The Subject and Power". Foucault, Michel. Critical Inquiry Volume 9, No. 4. pp. 777–795.
1982

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