Knowers and knowing: Nature of knowledge Theory of knowledge Knowers and knowing: Nature of knowledge

Introduction Knowledge can be defined as justified true belief There are different levels of knowledge depending on one’s depth of understanding There are three main types of knowledge: knowledge by acquaintance, practical knowledge ( or « know-how ») and knowledge by description

Knowledge as justified true belief Truth Belief Justification

Truth Distinguishes knowledge from belief If we know something, what we claim to know must be true Simply believing that something is true does not make it true How can we be sure that what we think we know really is true Knowledge requires something less than certainty (beyond reasonable doubt)

Belief If we know something we must also believe it to be true Truth is an objective requirement for knowledge Belief is a subjective requirement Belief – knowledge continuum Vague belief Well-supported belief Belief beyond reasonable doubt Importance of developing a set of reasonable and well-supported beliefs

Justification Belief must be justified in the right kind of way To be able to say that we know something, we must be able to justify our belief in the right kind We usually justify our knowledge claims by using one of the ways of knowing Reliability distinguishes acceptable from unacceptable justification Importance of the context When we say that we know something, we are taking responsibility for its being true There is an ethical element built into the pursuit of knowledge

Levels of knowledge Difference between a superficial grasp, a good understanding and a complete mastery of a subject Most of what we claim to know is second-hand knowledge acquired from other people and that we don’t understand in great detail Superficial nature of our understanding When we study a subject in depth, our understanding of it is likely to grow and develop with time

Knowledge and information Drilling random facts into someone’s mind does not lead to genuine understanding Acquiring a genuine knowledge of a subject requires understanding how the various parts are related to another to form a meaningful whole We cannot have knowledge without information but an area of knowledge is more than a heap of information To understand something, we must think about the acquired information and see how it hangs together We can sometimes acquire knowledge just by reflecting on the information we have without looking for more (Internet)

Types of knowledge Knowledge by acquaintance Practical knowledge Knowledge by description

Knowledge by acquaintance First-hand knowledge based on perceptual exerience, which can be thought of as knowledge of. Acquaintance with things is one of the basic ingredients out of which knowledge is constructed Knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description are related to each other in various ways: description depends on acquaintance (empiricism); acquaintance spills beyond description; description colors acquaintance (verbal overshadowing); acquaintance fades with time. Knowledge by acquaintance is connected not only with sense perception but also with emotion and intuition

Try to describe the following experiences to someone who has never had them: The taste of an onion Toothache The smell of freshly cut grass Hunger

Practical knowledge Skilled-based knowledge which can be thought of as knowledge how Abstract knowledge is generally held in higher esteem than practical knowledge Know-how across the curriculum: school sstems stress the value of acquiring skills rather than memorising facts Doing and explaining: practical know-how if often difficult to put into words Theory and practice: one cannot acquire know-how without practice. However skill can benefit from theory Analysis paralysis: theory can disrupt practice Assessing know-how: genuine know-how requires a successful performance (justification) judged against a standard of excellence (truth) with some kind of conscious awareness (belief)

Which of the following would you say are genuine examples of know-how and which are not? Give reasons: I know how to digest food I know how to play the guitar Birds know how to fly Leo Messi knows how to play soccer I know how to speak English Calculators know how to multiply I know how to write a TOK essay

Write a paragraph explain as clearly as you can how to do one of the following: How to turn left on a bicycle How to use chopsticks How to roll your Rs How to catch a ball How to whistle

Knowledge by description Second-hand knowledge which comes in the form of language and which can be thought of as knowledge that

Conclusion Knowledge can be defined as justified true belief The difference between knowledge and belief is one of degree rather than kind Knowledge consists of more than a jumble of isolated facts To gain a deeper understanding of an area of knowledge, we need a mixture of detail and context There are three main types of knowledge: knowledge by acquaintance, practical knowledge ( or « know-how ») and knowledge by description The first two make up experiential knowledge

Key points A good preliminary definition of knowledge is to say that it is justified true belief According to the traditional picture, truth is independent, and simply believing that something is true does not make it true Rather than say that belief and knowledge are two completely different things, it may make more sense to think of there being a belief-knowledge continuum Knowledge is more than true belief, for your belief must be justified in the right kind of way The main thing that seems to distinguish an acceptable from an unacceptable justification is reliability Whether or not you are justified in saying you know something depends on context

When you say you know something you are in a sense taking responsibility for its truth There are different levels of knowledge ranging from a superficial grasp of a subject to complete mastery of it The difference between knowledge and information is that knowledge is information organized into a meaningful whole Three different types of knowledge can be distinguished: knowledge by acquaintance, practical knowledge, knowledge by description (the first two make up experiential knowledge) Knowledge by acquaintance – that is, direct knowledge based on personal experience – is held by empiricists to be the basis of all knowledge Although it is often overlooked, we might argue that practical « know-how » is prior to, and more fundamental that, knowledge-that