The Nature of Knowledge

Thick ConceptWhen a short

definition is not enough, it is called a thick concept word.

It can only be understood through experience and reflection.

Examples: knowledge, love, betrayal

Justified True BeliefI think he is a brave man. A true belief must be justified in the right way

to be knowledge. I know he is a brave man because he got my

iPod back from a thief. - Well, what if he just happened to find the iPod on the bus because the thief lost it the day after he stole it?

Sufficient Conditionroughly means

“good enough” to be justified; your belief has sufficient conditions to be true and justified

Trutha thick concepttruth is independent of what anyone happens to believe

is truesimply believing that something is true, does not make it

trueeven if EVERYONE believes that something is true… it

may turn out to be falseHow can we ever be sure that what we think we know

really is true?

When we say that something is true, we usually mean that it is “beyond reasonable doubt”.

BeliefWhen you know something, then what you claim to

know must not only be true, but you must also believe it to be true.

If you have no conscious awareness of something, then it makes little sense to say that you know it.

When you know something you are certain of it, and when you merely believe it you are not certain.

It is important to develop a reasonable and well-supported set of beliefs

Belief-knowledge continuum (page 25)

3 examples of various kinds of belief

vague belief I may vaguely believe that drinking coffee helps to

reduce the risk of heart disease, but have no idea where I came across this idea and readily abandon it in the light of counter-evidence.

well-supported belief I may believe that Drew Peterson killed Kathleen Savio,

and be able to give evidence for my belief, but still be unwilling to say that I know that this is the case.

belief that is beyond reasonable doubt I may find the evidence that there is no such thing as

aliens so convincing that the counter-evidence of people finding signs of alien existence to be untrue

Justification In order to say that you know something you must be able to

justify your belief, and your justification must be of the right kind We usually justify our knowledge claims by appealing to one of

the 4 ways of knowing… If someone asks you how you know, you might reply…

Someone told me (language) I saw it (perception) I worked it out (reason) It’s intuitively obvious (emotion)

The key thing that distinguishes acceptable from unacceptable justifications seems to be reliability.

When you say you know something you are, in a sense, taking responsibility for it being true.

Levels of KnowledgeYou may have…

a superficial grasp a good

understandingcomplete mastery

of a subject

Knowledge and InformationThere is a difference between knowledge and

understandingDrilling random facts into someone’s mind

may be good for a quiz show, but it does not lead to genuine understanding.

A person with genuine knowledge of a subject does not merely have information about it, but understands how the various parts are related to one another to form a meaningful whole. Information = knowledge: bricks = a building

Second-hand knowledgeOur ability to communicate with one another

also means that we are able to pass on our beliefs and practices from one generation to another in the form of culture. Progressing by accumulating achievements of past

generations

Primary knowledge: is not common in most learning situations. We mostly get second hand knowledge.

Authority Worshipblindly accepting

what we are told without thinking about it

Knowledge by authority/ testimony

also known as second hand knowledge where truth is based on what another says

Main sources… Cultural tradition School The Internet Expert opinion The news media

Cultural TraditionThe culture we grow up in

has a strong influence on the way we see the world

We have a natural attachment to our own beliefs and practices

Our culture is what we consider as normal or rational

Living traditions change over time

SchoolWhat is the difference

between education and indoctrination?

Education is what is taught.

Indoctrination is the way something is taught to you

the hallmark of a good school is on that encourages you to question things and think for yourself

The Internet The advantage of the internet

is its speed and accessibility It can be a source for

information and disinformation

Urban legend: disinformation – A story/belief that is passed along when there is no quality control. Nostradamus predicted the

attack on the World Trade Center

Waterproof sun-screen can cause blindness in children

Expert OpinionKnowledge derived from experts, but they

can be fallible

We have to rely on expert opinion to justify many of our knowledge claims

Accept that sometimes they are wrong and that they are experts in only certain topics within their field (no science experts but there are photosynthesis experts)

The News MediaThere is some bias in both the selection and

presentation of news storiesThere seem to be 3 common criteria for

deciding what to put into a news bulletinBad news

Crimes, wars and natural disasters Bad news bias: gives people a pessimistic view of the

state of the planet and creates a climate of fearExtraordinary news It’s relevant news

The limitations on second-hand knowledge

Talking with people with different opinions may help us to improve our self-knowledge and develop a more balanced picture of the world.