Is there a common definition that we can accept for the term? One dictionary definition(1) defines knowledge as "acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition: knowledge of manythings." From this it seems that knowledge is merely information, such as memorizing facts and figures. However this seems inadequate to cover the concept. A secondary definition from the same source is "familiarity or conversance, as with a particular subject or branch of learning: A knowledge of accounting was necessary for thejob." This is closer to the common idea that knowledge implies skill or applicability. Merely possessing facts without understanding them or being able to interpret them cannot be considered true knowledge. On the other hand, describing a book as knowledge seems valid if we are understood to be speaking of potential knowledge prior to it's integration into an understanding.
One way to describe knowledge is as organized and applied information that is contained in a persons brain. It is distinct from information in that it’s active and known by a person, while information alone can be static facts recorded on some medium. Knowledge has a verb form in the word “to know”. The sentence “I know where the library is.” is equivalent to “I have the knowledge of where the library is”. When someone says “I need to get some information about where the library is.” it implies that they do not have that information inside their brain and they have to find it either by researching it in books or the Internet or asking friends to tell them verbally. When people want to take knowledge from themselves and give it to another person, they can then teach that person or give them some information on a medium. Since thoughts are the electrical signals and nerve connections within a persons’ brain, it is not really tangible.
One possible interpretation of knowledge is that it confers the ability to affect either the physical world or the minds of others. In this way knowledge has lead to several commonly held beliefs about the concept.
Knowledge as truth
Plato defined knowledge as "justified true belief"(2), and it's common to think of knowledge as truth. However there have been many instances through history where entire bodies of what was commonly held to be truthful knowledge has been discredited by modern science. An example might be Astrology, which despite some proponents is generally dismissed as false by modern society. Even so, a person could be said to have a knowledge of Astrology even by someone who held that the knowledge was false.
Knowledge as power
Power can be defined in many different ways, but in the context of knowledge, we will define power as the ability to influence the process of change in a system, the minds of people, or other organizational structure/frameworks. The power here is an understanding of how something can be done better, or simply how something can be done at all. If one discovers for example that if they applied the right amount of pressure to the right place at the right time to influence an overall reaction, then they are given the power of that knowledge and the results that it entails. Knowledge and the use of that knowledge has the ability to empower people to make better decisions and/or to alter results that were seemingly intangible prior to the discover of that knowledge. Power may also then be considered knowledge in action.
Knowledge is in books
Information may be available in books, but knowledge is the extraction of information that comes about from the absorption of books. Similarly, knowledge can be found in the unlikeliest of places, such as in nature or interactions between humans and nature or human to human. Knowledge may be potentially available in books, but it is far from exclusive to the dispensation of knowledge.
Skill and Understanding
A skill is the ability do something repeatedly at the same level. It can as simple as pressing a button to get food out of a vending machine, to as complex as reading, walking and dancing. Most of the time a skill has considerable amount of knowledge behind it and if a person doesn't have the knowledge behind a skill they usually cannot execute that skill.For example if you don't understand and know about the various systems of a car and what will happen to a car after you do something to it's parts you wont be able to consistently execute the skill of repairing a car. In the same vein, you do not need to know how to repair a car to perform its basic function of driving it. Likewise, you may know how to repair an automobile but that dosn't necessarily mean you will have the ability to drive the vehicle. The varying of skills and understandings often result in different types of knowledge but often there can be overlap.
Understanding is closely related to knowledge. A good metaphor for understanding something is trying to record some information on a piece of paper that is hard to write on. If someone doesn't understand something, then it hasn't been recorded properly and the knowledge in their brain is incomplete or unclear. If someone understands something, then it is written clearly. Understanding is also related to the amount of knowledge that someone has about specific topic, and having a deep understanding of something often implies having a lot of knowledge about a topic or knowing things about a topic that is often hard to 'record' onto the brain.
Do We Share A Common Understanding?
Since books talking about the same topic can write different or nearly identical things about it, similarly people can have different or nearly identical contents in their mind about the same topic. Therefore people can share a common understanding about a topic or differ
Is Knowledge Misused?
Knowledge is a neutral thing, like a chair. You can sit in a chair or use it as a weapon. Since knowledge can be misused towards negative things, like knowing that stabbing where the heart will kill a person, knowledge can be misused. If something can happen without many barriers, it will most likely will happen, so knowledge is misused. When a person withholds specific details that can cause disagreements, hurt feelings, or mislead others, this would be an abuse of knowledge. Similarly in statistics, one can mislead people with numbers and facts by leaving out important factors. Benjamin Disraeli once said "There are three types of lies:lies, damned lies and statistics."
Knowledge is also being familiar or acquainted with facts, truths, or principles, either from studies or from investigations of that particular topic or branch of learning. Knowledge can be gained by sight, experience, exposure, or report. For example a person can learn and see what inconveniences there are to have a broken leg without having to experience and live the pain by listening to the story of another person who has.
What is knowledge?
Is there a common definition that we can accept for the term? One dictionary definition(1) defines knowledge as "acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition: knowledge of many things." From this it seems that knowledge is merely information, such as memorizing facts and figures. However this seems inadequate to cover the concept. A secondary definition from the same source is "familiarity or conversance, as with a particular subject or branch of learning: A knowledge of accounting was necessary for the job." This is closer to the common idea that knowledge implies skill or applicability. Merely possessing facts without understanding them or being able to interpret them cannot be considered true knowledge. On the other hand, describing a book as knowledge seems valid if we are understood to be speaking of potential knowledge prior to it's integration into an understanding.
One way to describe knowledge is as organized and applied information that is contained in a persons brain. It is distinct from information in that it’s active and known by a person, while information alone can be static facts recorded on some medium. Knowledge has a verb form in the word “to know”. The sentence “I know where the library is.” is equivalent to “I have the knowledge of where the library is”. When someone says “I need to get some information about where the library is.” it implies that they do not have that information inside their brain and they have to find it either by researching it in books or the Internet or asking friends to tell them verbally. When people want to take knowledge from themselves and give it to another person, they can then teach that person or give them some information on a medium. Since thoughts are the electrical signals and nerve connections within a persons’ brain, it is not really tangible.
One possible interpretation of knowledge is that it confers the ability to affect either the physical world or the minds of others. In this way knowledge has lead to several commonly held beliefs about the concept.
Knowledge as truth
Plato defined knowledge as "justified true belief"(2), and it's common to think of knowledge as truth. However there have been many instances through history where entire bodies of what was commonly held to be truthful knowledge has been discredited by modern science. An example might be Astrology, which despite some proponents is generally dismissed as false by modern society. Even so, a person could be said to have a knowledge of Astrology even by someone who held that the knowledge was false.
Knowledge as power
Power can be defined in many different ways, but in the context of knowledge, we will define power as the ability to influence the process of change in a system, the minds of people, or other organizational structure/frameworks. The power here is an understanding of how something can be done better, or simply how something can be done at all. If one discovers for example that if they applied the right amount of pressure to the right place at the right time to influence an overall reaction, then they are given the power of that knowledge and the results that it entails. Knowledge and the use of that knowledge has the ability to empower people to make better decisions and/or to alter results that were seemingly intangible prior to the discover of that knowledge. Power may also then be considered knowledge in action.
Knowledge is in books
Information may be available in books, but knowledge is the extraction of information that comes about from the absorption of books. Similarly, knowledge can be found in the unlikeliest of places, such as in nature or interactions between humans and nature or human to human. Knowledge may be potentially available in books, but it is far from exclusive to the dispensation of knowledge.
Skill and Understanding
A skill is the ability do something repeatedly at the same level. It can as simple as pressing a button to get food out of a vending machine, to as complex as reading, walking and dancing. Most of the time a skill has considerable amount of knowledge behind it and if a person doesn't have the knowledge behind a skill they usually cannot execute that skill.For example if you don't understand and know about the various systems of a car and what will happen to a car after you do something to it's parts you wont be able to consistently execute the skill of repairing a car. In the same vein, you do not need to know how to repair a car to perform its basic function of driving it. Likewise, you may know how to repair an automobile but that dosn't necessarily mean you will have the ability to drive the vehicle. The varying of skills and understandings often result in different types of knowledge but often there can be overlap.
Understanding is closely related to knowledge. A good metaphor for understanding something is trying to record some information on a piece of paper that is hard to write on. If someone doesn't understand something, then it hasn't been recorded properly and the knowledge in their brain is incomplete or unclear. If someone understands something, then it is written clearly. Understanding is also related to the amount of knowledge that someone has about specific topic, and having a deep understanding of something often implies having a lot of knowledge about a topic or knowing things about a topic that is often hard to 'record' onto the brain.
Do We Share A Common Understanding?
Since books talking about the same topic can write different or nearly identical things about it, similarly people can have different or nearly identical contents in their mind about the same topic. Therefore people can share a common understanding about a topic or differ
Is Knowledge Misused?
Knowledge is a neutral thing, like a chair. You can sit in a chair or use it as a weapon. Since knowledge can be misused towards negative things, like knowing that stabbing where the heart will kill a person, knowledge can be misused. If something can happen without many barriers, it will most likely will happen, so knowledge is misused. When a person withholds specific details that can cause disagreements, hurt feelings, or mislead others, this would be an abuse of knowledge. Similarly in statistics, one can mislead people with numbers and facts by leaving out important factors. Benjamin Disraeli once said "There are three types of lies:lies, damned lies and statistics."
Knowledge is also being familiar or acquainted with facts, truths, or principles, either from studies or from investigations of that particular topic or branch of learning. Knowledge can be gained by sight, experience, exposure, or report. For example a person can learn and see what inconveniences there are to have a broken leg without having to experience and live the pain by listening to the story of another person who has.
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References
1) knowledge. (n.d.). Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Retrieved July 09, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/knowledge
2) Kelley L Ross, Ph.D., KLR. (2010). Knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.friesian.com/knowledg.htm