We explain what the theory of knowledge is within philosophy. Also, what is knowledge and its different definitions.
What is Theory of Knowledge?
The Theory of Knowledge It is a branch of philosophy, focused on the study of human knowledge. Depending on the specific academic perspective, this term can be considered synonymous with epistemologydedicated to the study of the nature of knowledge, its origin and its limits.
In other cases can be used synonymously with epistemologywhich focuses on the study of the historical, psychological or sociological circumstances in which knowledge is obtained, as well as the strategies used to justify or invalidate it.
Human knowledge is a topic that can be approached from many possible angles and whose nature is difficult to grasp, although much easier to classify. In this way, the study of knowledge, on the one hand, reflect on its characteristics and conditions of appearance.
On the other hand, this discipline organizes knowledge based on its limitations, formal requirements or mechanisms that we use to validate them and differentiate knowledge from faith, fantasy or error.
Thus, it is possible to speak of scientific knowledge, for example, when it is governed by the demands of the scientific method; of theological knowledge, when it comes to knowledge about religion; of artistic knowledge, when it is acquired through the exercise of talent and representation mechanisms known to human beings.
The possibility of distinguishing between them, of ordering and schematizing them as if they were concrete objects, is the result of the Theory of Knowledge.
What is knowledge?
Generally, by knowledge we mean:
- Facts or information that a person acquires through experience or through education, and thanks to whose understanding he is able to refer to a specific issue in reality.
- The intellectual content that a person can accumulate with respect to an area of knowledge, a specific topic or the entire universe.
- All kinds of cognitive certainty that answers the questions: what?, how?, when? and where?
The very definition of what knowledge is is already part of knowledge and therefore of the disciplines that study it.
Certain forms of knowledge have been more valued than others in each era of history, such as religious knowledge in medieval Europe, or scientific knowledge in post-industrial times. However, the underlying philosophical question regarding what knowledge is continues to challenge us and give us much to think about.
Continue with: Thought
References
- “Gnoseology” in Wikipedia.
- “Theory of knowledge” in Dictionary of contemporary philosophy.
- “Epistemology” on Wikipedia.
- “Theory of knowledge” (study material) in Perspective of contemporary thought II, at the University of Zaragoza.
- “Theory of knowledge” on the website of Enrique Sepúlveda Torres, prof. of Philosophy.
