In our last post we talked about what is Philosophy, what kind of questions do philosophers ask themselves, and what is the link between philosophy and knowledge.
Today we’ll focus a bit more on knowledge itself. I'll try to be more concise than on my last posts, so as not to make this a heavy(er) reading.
What is Knowledge?
Let’s then focus on describing, not a determined knowledge and whatever characterises it, but that which is essential to every knowledge, let’s try to figure out in what consists its general structure.
I find it really interesting that the word for "know/knowing" in Spanish, "conocer", does not share the same origin however holds more or less the same meaning. While the origins of the English workd "know" are (proto)germanic, the origins of the Spanish word "conocer" come from Latin and Greek. The French version "connaître" shares that origin, because it also belongs to the Romance Languages family.
The word (to) know originates from the latin “cognoscere”, composed by co (with) y gnosco (to have notion of). It also has a Greek origin, linked to the word γνϖσις (gnósis), that also means aknowledging, having notion of, knowing.
We state that we know something when:
- We perceive an object as something different from everything that the object is not.
- We are aware or familiar with the object, be that by direct or indirect experience, by physical or theoretical understanding of said object.
- We acquire and accumulate a series of data, facts or information in general about an object, that have been obtained by diverse means (education, instruction, experience, practice, skills, intuition, theoretical understanding, etc.)
- We comprehend in some measure the origin, composition, behaviour and/or essence of the object that we say we know, just as its qualities, faculties and links to other objects.
- We are in possesion of a justified true belief.
The Subject-Object Relation
In knowledge, the consciousness and the object face each other, the subject and the object. Knowledge presents itself as a relationship between these two elements that remain in it, eternally separated from one another. The subject-object dualism belongs to the essence of knowledge. – J. Hessen.
The relationship between the two elements is at the same time a correlation. The subject is only a subject to the object, and the object is only an object in relation to a subject. They both are what they are in so far as they are to each other. – J. Hessen.
The relationship is not necessarily irreversible, it is possible to consider that a subject of knowledge is at the same time an object, when the object of knowledge is also a subject-knower.
FOR EXAMPLE: a psychologist's object of knowledge is the human psyche, to be able to study someone's psyche and know it, understand it, a psychologist (subject-knower) must establish a relationship with a pacient-person that has a particular notion of reality. In so far reality is this person's object of knowledge, the patient-person is also a subject-knower.
An object of knowledge can be a text, a field of study, an idea, God, the world, reality… or ourselves.
Philosophy begins with an imperative
Source: Vox Dictionary English/Spanish
Recognizing that we do not know is also very difficult, that is why to Socrates, the truest knowledge is that which starts from the "Learned Ignorance" (Docta Ignorantia), that is, from the awareness that one does not know everything. Only by admitting that (in fact) we do not know, can we truly enter the path of knowledge.
The statement "I know that I know nothing" is often attributed to Socrates, based on a statement in Plato's Apology. The conventional interpretation of this is that Socrates's wisdom was limited to an awareness of his own ignorance. Socrates considered virtuousness to require or consist of phronēsis, "thought, sense, judgement, practical wisdom, [and] prudence."- Source: Wikipedia
The theory of knowledge
As a branch of Philosophy, Theory of Knowledge poses questions such as:
Can the subject really apprehend the object? Are they really separate consciousness? This is the question of the possibility of knowledge.
Is reason or experience the source and basis of human knowledge? Or are there other sources of knowledge? This is the question of the origin of knowledge.
Is the subject determined by the object or vice versa? This is the question of the essence of knowledge.
What criteria could tell us if knowledge is true or false? What could we understand by "true knowledge"?
These questions still have no answer or concrete solution. I usually think that both in Philosophy and in life, asking questions is more important than getting answers. It keeps us critical.
More than looking for answers, I intend to present you with the most important solutions that have been found in the course of the History of Philosophy, the most relevant positions that some philosophers have taken on the subject and the direction that each one of us could take to be able to direct it to our own personal search for knowledge.
Well, that's all for today. I hope I didn't bore you to death and that you found this reading somewhat interesting.
Consulted sources:
J. Hessen, Theory of Knowledge
Wikipedia article about Socrates
What do you think? What is/was your opinion on Knowledge? Has your way of thinking about it changed after reading this? Share it with me on a comment below! I welcome any kind of constructive feedback.
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