Types of Knowledge

We tell you what the types of knowledge are, their characteristics and different examples. Furthermore, classifications according to scientific discourse, Aristotle and Kant.

What are the types of knowledge?

Knowledge is what is obtained after a learning process, in which we seek to understand a specific object. There are different ways of classifying knowledge and, consequently, different types of knowledge.. However, in all its forms, knowledge, or the process of knowing, involves an active subject (who exercises the action of knowing) who seeks to apprehend a passive object (which is known by the subject).

Some of the main ways of classifying knowledge are:

• According to experience. It is classified as “a posteriori”, if it occurs in relation to experience, and “a priori”, if it occurs independently of it.
• Depending on your scope and field of study. It is classified into empirical knowledge and rational knowledge. In turn, rational knowledge can be divided into philosophical knowledge and scientific knowledge.
• According to its relationship with scientific discourse. It is classified into unscientific, pre-scientific, scientific and meta-scientific knowledge.
• According to Aristotle (384-322 BC). Four types of demonstrable knowledge are distinguished: empirical, scientific, technical and intuitive.

There are other ways to classify knowledge. Some combine different criteria and others are reformulations of already established criteria, as is the case with Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), for whom knowledge is divided into analytical and priori, synthetic and posteriori, and synthetic a priori. The logical positivists, on the other hand, maintained that knowledge could only be analytical and a priori or synthetic and a posteriori.

Types of knowledge according to experience

One of the most common ways when classifying knowledge has to do with its relationship with experience.. To distinguish between the different possibilities, the terms “a priori” and “a posteriori” are used.

• Knowledge a priori. It is the knowledge that has autonomy with respect to experience. This means that it does not depend on it, although it may be related. An example of knowledge a priori It is mathematical knowledge.
• Knowledge a posteriori. It is the knowledge that is derived from experience. This means that knowledge depends on the experiences that may have occurred. An example of knowledge a posteriori It is scientific knowledge, which needs experiments to verify its hypotheses.

Knowledge for logical positivism

For logical positivism, which was an Austrian school of thought at the end of the 19th century, there is only knowledge a priori and the knowledge a posteriori. Furthermore, the positivists, relying on Kant, who distinguished between analytical and synthetic propositions, stated that there is only analytical knowledge a priori and synthetic a posteriori.

• Analytical knowledge a priori. It is the knowledge formed by analytical propositions, which are true declarative sentences because they express an idea that is already contained in the meaning of their terms (words). For example, in the sentence “All singles are not married”, the idea expressed by the predicate (not being married) is already implicitly contained in the subject (single) and there is no need to go to experience to verify its truth. .
• Synthetic knowledge a posteriori. It is the knowledge formed by synthetic propositions, which are those that express information that is not contained in the subject. In these cases, the truth or falsehood is verified a posteriori, since they express new data that must be corroborated. For example, in the sentence “Some ducks in the zoo are yellow,” the idea of ​​being yellow is not implicit in the concept of a duck or in the concept of belonging to the zoo. In this case, it is necessary to refer to experience to verify its truth.

Although logical positivism was inspired by Kant to establish this distinction, it did not take into account the philosopher's entire idea, and discarded an important part of his theory. Kant maintained that there could be propositions, which he called judgments, that were synthetic and a priori at the same time.

These types of judgments were sentences where, even though the content of the predicate was not within the subject, they were universal and necessary. The example that Kant gave is that of “Every effect has a cause”, which he considered necessary and universal (a requirement, in his theory, to be a priori), but synthetic, because it expanded knowledge.

Types of knowledge according to their scope and field of study

Another way to classify knowledge is according to its scope and the field of study to which it belongs. According to this classification, knowledge can be divided into empirical knowledge and rational knowledge.

• Empirical knowledge. It is the knowledge that is obtained thanks to experience or through the senses. This type of knowledge is what is used in daily life, whether in a practical sense or in an abstract sense. For example, knowing how to use a hammer responds to practical empirical knowledge, while politics is abstract knowledge that is, however, empirical. In the case of the hammer, as with different tools and other devices that involve a technique, we speak of technical knowledge.
• Rational knowledge. It is the knowledge that is obtained through the use of reason. Rational knowledge occurs as a result of a cognitive process. In general, this type of knowledge is expected to act according to the laws of logic, such as the principle of non-contradiction, which maintains that any statement, named “A”, and its opposite, named “A”, cannot occur simultaneously. Not A.” Rational knowledge is divided into:
  • Philosophical knowledge. It is the knowledge that is obtained through the exercise of philosophy. It involves reflective, critical and essential rationing. For example, metaphysics, as a branch of philosophy, is a type of philosophical knowledge.
  • Scientific knowledge. It is the knowledge that is obtained through the exercise of scientific discourse. It involves deductive and inductive processes, as well as experiments, hypotheses, field work and systems of thinking. For example, astronomy is a type of scientific knowledge.

Types of knowledge according to scientific discourse

According to its relationship with scientific discourse, and science in general, knowledge can be divided into unscientific, pre-scientific, scientific and meta-scientific.. Each of these types corresponds to different approaches related to science, as well as different moments of scientific discourse.

• Unscientific knowledge. It is knowledge that is made up of beliefs, ideas or concepts that are not supported by the scientific method or empirical evidence. This type of knowledge can include superstitions, myths, unfounded beliefs and approaches that are not based on systematic observation or empirical verification but are nevertheless in force simultaneously with scientific knowledge.
• Pre-scientific knowledge. It is knowledge that refers to the explanations and beliefs about the natural world that existed before the formal development of science. In these early stages, societies were often based on myths, traditions and concepts that did not conform to modern scientific methods.
• Scientific knowledge. It is the knowledge acquired through the use of the scientific method. It involves systematic observation, hypothesis formulation, controlled experimentation, data collection and analysis, and formulation of theories supported by evidence. Scientific knowledge seeks to understand the world through rigorous and objective methods.
• Metascientific knowledge. It is knowledge that focuses on reflection and critical analysis of science itself. It explores how research is developed, how theories are validated, how standards of evidence are established, and how sociocultural factors can influence research. Metascientific knowledge addresses questions about the nature and processes of science.

Types of knowledge according to Aristotle

Aristotle, who was a disciple of Plato and is one of the most important philosophers in history, believed that there were four types of knowledge: empirical knowledge, scientific knowledge, technical knowledge and intuitive knowledge. Although this classification is still used in some contemporary systems, the original meaning it had in Aristotle's thought was slightly different.

• Empirical knowledge or would empierize. It is the knowledge that is obtained from the familiarity of things in an immediate, concrete way, and it cannot be taught.
• Scientific knowledge or episteme. It is the knowledge that organizes and systematizes knowledge in different specialties, and allows us to know the causes and first principles of things.
• Technical knowledge or tekhne. It is the knowledge that allows us to do things, build them or carry them out, and it is teachable.
• intuitive knowledge or nous. It is the knowledge that corresponds to the intellect, which intuits the non-demonstrable principles of reason, which appear thanks to illumination.

In addition to these four types of knowledge, Aristotle believed that there was one superior to all of them, which was sophia, true wisdom.which was composed of the essences of things that were obtained from scientific knowledge and intuitive knowledge.

Other types of knowledge

From the different classifications of knowledge, throughout history, other ways of organizing knowledge emerged. Many of them relied on existing classifications, while others used new ways of categorizing knowledge.

An example of another way of classifying knowledge was the work of Saul Kripke (1940-2022), a 20th century American philosopher. Using the concepts of a priori and posteriori, Kripke separated knowledge into contingent a priori and necessary a posteriori.

Another American philosopher, WVO Quine (1908-2000), criticized the distinction between analytical knowledge and synthetic knowledge. According to this thinker, a priori synthetic propositions were not even real.

There are many other ways to classify knowledge. For example, One of the most famous philosophers of all time, the Frenchman René Descartes (1596-1650), believed that knowledge could only be divided into sensible knowledge and rational knowledge..

References

• Kuhn, Thomas (1971). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Economic Culture Fund.
• Ferrater Mora, J. (1978). Abridged Dictionary of Philosophy v. 1: ak. South America.
• Hessen, J., Gaos, J., & Romero, F. (1981). Theory of knowledge. Espasa-Calpe.
• Descartes, R. (1904). Metaphysical Meditations (Vol. 22). Direction and Administration.
• Not, L., & Bèz, SRM (1983). The pedagogies of knowledge. Medellín: Economic Culture Fund.