**[[start|<< Up]]**

====== What is Knowledge? ======
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===== Kinds of Knowledge =====

if we consider different ways of using the verb "to know", we can distinguish:

  - knowledge __that__ ... [+ a proposition/statement expressed in a sentence]\\ = 'propositional knowledge'\\ including:
    * "I know __when__ the sun rises" <- "I know __that__ the sun rises at 5.58"
    * "I know __where__ Nairobi is" <- "I know __that__ Nairobi is in Kenya"\\ \\ 
  - knowledge __how to__ ... [+ a skill/activity expressed by a verb]\\ \\ 
  - knowledge ... [+ an object/place/person represented by a noun]\\ = 'knowledge by acquaintance'

cf. in French: //savoir// v. //connaitre//, or in German: //wissen// v. //kennen//

BUT the different kinds of knowledge are not completely separate:

  * "I know __how to__ ride a bike" => "I know __that__ one puts the feet on the pedals" etc.

  * "I know John" (or similarly: "I know Kigali")\\ => "I know __that__ John is a boy"\\ => "I know __how to__ make him laugh"\\ etc. (-- need enough information to uniquely identify him, but what that is depends)

in different areas, such as History, Science, ..., even Ethics:
  * "I know __that__ ...":\\ "... WW2 ended in 1945", "... sodium is a metal",
  * "I know __how to__ ...":\\ "... analyse original sources", "... use atomic numbers to place elements in the periodic table",
  * in the course of our education, we move from the former to the latter.
===== Kinds of Knowers =====

the knower's perspective:\\ 
just as what I perceive depends on where I stand,\\ 
the knowledge I can have depends on who I am, my past experiences, etc. -- e.g.
  * in science: different scientists can have different theories,
  * in history: bias may be unavoidable.

distinguish

  * __personal knowledge__,\\ based on a person's own experience -- e.g.
    * much of knowledge how to ... is personal knowledge;
    * what I see, what I remember, what I feel.

  * __shared knowledge__,\\ publication **+** acceptance by others:\\ BUT what that acceptance is based on depends on the area of knowledge -- e.g.
    * in science:\\ experiments must be repeatable, by others, in other places,
    * in history:\\ new evidence must be credible, a new 'story'/account must make sense of the evidence.
===== A Definition =====

===== The Eastern Conception of Knowledge =====