What is Knowledge?

A definition: Knowledge…

• the body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time;

• certain understanding (as opposed to opinion)

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Different kinds of KnowledgeKnowing How (Skills) …

• To swim• To dance• To solve maths problems• etc…

Knowing That (Information)…• It is cold• 2+2=4• Obama is US President• etc…

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

ToK is most concerned with “Knowing that….”

Different kinds of KnowledgeKnowing How(Knowledge by acquaintance)

Gaining skills

Tacit*

Subjective

Private

Can be shown

Can originate in experience

May give certainty

Baking bread

Knowing That(Knowledge by description)

Gaining information

Articulated*

Objective

Public

Must have reasons/evidence/proof

Can originate in experience

May give certainty

Recipe for baking bread

*Tacit: understood without being openly expressed*Articulated: can be clearly expressed in words

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Beliefs Reality

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Beliefs Reality

KnowledgeKnowledge = justified, true belief

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Knowledge is not static – it has a history and changes over

time.

Examples?

What guarantee is there that our current understanding is correct?

What of our current ‘shared knowledge’ will stand the test of time?

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

• Knowledge is true belief that has been arrived at by a ‘reliable process’ (by observation, experiment, reasoning etc).

• Not just ‘true for me’, but ‘true for all’(Validity of the justification – ‘poor, unreliable justification’ or ‘excellent,

reliable justification’ leading to ‘weaker’ or ‘stronger’ forms of knowledge)

Knowledge = justified, true beliefBelief-knowledge continuum

-10|

Impossible

-5|

Unlikely

0|

Possible

+5|

Probable

+10|

Certain

Belief KnowledgeDoubt

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

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1. Christopher Columbus arrived America in 14922. Human beings are descended from apes3. Murder is wrong4. Aliens have visited earth at some time in its history5. All metals expand when heated6. Human beings have an immortal soul7. If A is bigger than B and B is bigger than C, then A is bigger than C

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Belief-knowledge continuum

-10|

Impossible

-5|

Unlikely

0|

Possible

+5|

Probable

+10|

Certain

Belief KnowledgeDoubt

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Impossible to convince Easy to convince

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Will believe almost anything…

Easy to convince

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Impossible to convince

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Impossible to convince

Will believe almost nothing…

Easy to convince

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

GoodJudgement

We need to find a balance between being open to new ideas that challenge our ways of thinking,

while keeping in mind than human beings are sometimes willing to believe strange things on

the basis of little evidence

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Extras

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

The Problem of Certainty

How can you be certain that:

• The sky is blue?• Neil Armstrong walked on the moon?• Snow is cold?

Origins of Knowledge

observation

thought

family

television

internet

books

intuition

teachers

friends

religion

etc

“What do I know?”“What can I know?”

“What should I believe?”“How can I be sure?”

etc dreams

feelings

experience

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion

Truth Tests

Different kinds of Knowledge

Different personal characteristics and experiences affect what people know.

There are different levels of knowledge:

• A superficial grasp

• A good understanding

• A complete mastery

Examples?

TaK – Knowledge, Belief & Opinion