The Nature of Knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Nature of Knowledge - Essay Example In the seventeenth century, Western scientists started deeper inquiry into earlier postulates. Thus ,it was only when Copernicus came and gave them proof that the earth goes round the sun , that the scientists' opinion changed into knowledge. America was discovered when opinion that the earth was flat, changed into knowledge that it was round, Epistemology is the study of the nature, origin and limits of human knowledge. We come to the question, "What is Knowledge" Is it something concrete or is it something abstract To define knowledge, we must study the uses of knowledge. Knowledge can be 'know him' or 'know that' or 'know how.' It is the task of philosophy to discuss this question- what is knowledge Is it intuitive or acquired through experience How is knowledge different from opinion While Plato answers the enigma of knowledge in his Republic, Aristotle refutes Plato's theories in his writings. Although Aristotle 's empirical theories have been the basis of modern science, I think that Plato is right when he says that knowledge involves true belief, since no one can know what is false. Now, the question, "What is knowledge " poses a conundrum which needs a lot of thinking. To understand the concept of knowledge, we must look at the language. Language is the medium in which a concept can be formed. By studying how the words are used, we can get a fair idea of a concept. To answer the question 'What is knowledge' , we should go to the uses of knowledge. Knowledge is 'know that', or ' know how' or ' know where'. There is an important difference between ' know that' and ' know how'. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "'Know that 'denotes the possession of specific pieces of information , and a person who has knowledge of this sort can generally convey it to others."(p. 473) Epistemology is focused on 'knowing that'. On the other hand, 'know how' is knowledge related to a skill or ability. A person can have a knowledge of swimming and be a good swimmer , but he may not be able to convey this skill to others. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, 'know how' is a knowledge or ability, "One can have knowledge without being able to explain to other people what it is that one knows"(p. 473) Plato explains knowledge in many of his books including The Republic and the Theaetetus .His works are in the form of dialogues between the pupil and the preceptor The Republic is the most famous of his works. The Theaetetus is one of Plato's greatest works on epistemology probably written in 369 B.C. In this work which is the form of a dialogue, Plato discusses the question "What is knowledge" The question and answer exchange takes place between Socrates, the main questioner , and two of his young pupils. The key question of the dialogue is "What is knowledge" When Socrates asks this question, the pupils are bewildered. The one of them comes out with the answer that it is a knowing something such as geometry or astronomy. Socrates objects to this saying that examples are not definitions. At Socrates' prompting, the young pupil comes out with a proposal that , "Knowledge is perception". When Socrates criticizes this proposal, the pupil comes up with a second proposal that "Knowledge is true belief"., which provokes Socrates to say "What is false