Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D
Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India
Epistemology, from the Greek words episteme (knowledge) and logos (word/speech) is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, origin, and scope of knowledge. It deals withthe Theories of the nature of knowledge-like Agnosticism ( the doctrine that holds tha one can not know the existence of anything beyond the phenomenon of experience.) Skepticism (challenge to accepted views in science ,morals, and religion. A questioning attitude toward the possibility of having any knowledge.)
Epistemology is important because it is fundamental to how we think. Epistemology is based on:
Empiricism( knowledge is obtained through experience. The position, or sense-perceptual experience, is the medium through which knowledge is gained.)
Rationalism ( knowledge can be acquired through the use of reason.
Intuitionism-(A position that knowledge is gained through immediate insight and awareness ).
Authoritarianism (The position that much important knowledge is certified to us by an indisputable authority.)
Reveleation –( The position that God presently reveals himself in the holy books or holy places. A communication of God,s will to man from some external source.)
In medieval period the main formula for knowledge was KNOWLEDGE= SCRIPTURES x LOGIC. If people wanted to know the answer of an important question, they would read scriptures and use their logic to understand the exact meaning of the text. For example, scholars who wished to determine the shape of the earth scanned the Bible looking for relevant referaences. One pointed out that in job 38:13, it says that God can take hold of the edges of the earth and wicked be shaken out of it. This implies- reasoned the pundit- that because the earth has ‘ edges’ the God can ‘take hold of’, it must be flat square. Another sage rejected this interpretation, calling attention to Isaiah 40:22, where it says that God sits enthroned above the circle of the earth. Isn’t that proof that the earth is round? In practice, this meant that scholars sought knowledge by spending years in school and libraries, reading more and more texts, and sharpening their logic so they could understand the texts correctly.
The Scientific Revolution proposed a very different formula for knowledge: Knowledge = Empirical Data x Mathematics. If we want to know the answer to some question, we need to gather them. For example, in order to gauge the true shape of the earth, we can begin by observing the sun, moon and planets from various locations across the world. Once we have amassed enough observations, we can use trigonometry to deduce not only the shape of the earth, but also the structure of the entire solar system. In practice, this means that scientists seek knowledge by spending years in more and more empirical data, and sharpening their mathematical tools so they can interpret the data correctly.
Humanism offered an alternative. As humans gained confidence in themselves, a new formula for acquiring ethical knowledge appeared: Knowledge = Experiences x Sensitivity. If we wish to know the answer to any ethical question, we need to connect to our inner experiences, and observe them with the utmost sensitivity. In practice, this means that we seek knowledge by spending years collecting experiences, and sharpening our sensitivity so we can understand these experiences correctly.
Experiences and sensitivity build up one another in a never-ending cycle. I cannot develop sensitivity unless I undergo a variety of experiences. Sensitivity is not an abstract aptitude that can be developed by reading books or listening to lectures. It is a practical skill that can ripen and mature only by applying it in practice.
Human beings over time have evolved many bodies of knowledge, which include a repertoire of ways of thinking , of feeling and of doing things, and constructing more knowledge. All children have to re-create a significant part of this wealth for themselves, as this constitutes the basis for further thinking and for acting appropriately in this world. It is also important to learn to participate in the very process of knowledge creation, meaning making and human action, i.e. work.
“‘Knowledge’ is defined as what we know: knowledge involves the mental processes of comprehension, understanding and learning that go on in the mind and only in the mind, however much they involve interaction with the world outside the mind, and interaction with others.” Wilson
According to Wilson, knowledge can only be in the minds of people. Although not directly expressed, the definition includes the empiricist (“interaction with the world) and the rationalistic (“comprehension, understanding and learning”) viewpoint on the creation of knowledge. Adding to his knowledge definition, Wilson says that knowledge is bound to the thinking structures of each individual and when these wish to share it, they compose messages which are then decoded by another individual. However, “the knowledge built from the messages can never be exactly the same as the knowledge base from which the messages were uttered”.
Allee (1997 ) has the viewpoint that “we literally cannot know anything without a word to describe it” and therefore binds knowledge exclusively to information. Her view on knowledge is very limited as language is only one out of many information channels such as visuals, sounds or practical demonstration. “Knowledge is experience or information that can be communicated or shared”.
Knowledge is human faculty resulting from interpreted information; understanding that germinates from combination of data, information, experience, and individual interpretation. Facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.
Knowledge is the acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique. It is the sum of what is known : the body of truth, information, and principles acquired by humankind. The sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned .
In medieval period the main formula for knowledge was KNOWLEDGE= SCRIPTURES x LOGIC. If people wanted to know the answer of an important question, they would read scriptures and use their logic to understand the exact meaning of the text. For example, scholars who wished to determine the shape of the earth scanned the Bible looking for relevant referaences. One pointed out that in job 38:13, it says that God can take hold of the edges of the earth and wicked be shaken out of it. This implies- reasoned the pundit- that because the earth has ‘ edges’ the God can ‘take hold of’, it must be flat square. Another sage rejected this interpretation, calling attention to Isaiah 40:22, where it says that God sits enthroned above the circle of the earth. Isn’t that proof that the earth is round? In practice, this meant that scholars sought knowledge by spending years in school and libraries, reading more and more texts, and sharpening their logic so they could understand the texts correctly.
The Scientific Revolution proposed a very different formula for knowledge: Knowledge = Empirical Data x Mathematics. If we want to know the answer to some question, we need to gather them. For example, in order to gauge the true shape of the earth, we can begin by observing the sun, moon and planets from various locations across the world. Once we have amassed enough observations, we can use trigonometry to deduce not only the shape of the earth, but also the structure of the entire solar system. In practice, this means that scientists seek knowledge by spending years in more and more empirical data, and sharpening their mathematical tools so they can interpret the data correctly.
Humanism offered an alternative. As humans gained confidence in themselves, a new formula for acquiring ethical knowledge appeared: Knowledge = Experiences x Sensitivity. If we wish to know the answer to any ethical question, we need to connect to our inner experiences, and observe them with the utmost sensitivity. In practice, this means that we seek knowledge by spending years collecting experiences, and sharpening our sensitivity so we can understand these experiences correctly.
Experiences and sensitivity build up one another in a never-ending cycle. I cannot develop sensitivity unless I undergo a variety of experiences. Sensitivity is not an abstract aptitude that can be developed by reading books or listening to lectures. It is a practical skill that can ripen and mature only by applying it in practice.
Human beings over time have evolved many bodies of knowledge, which include a repertoire of ways of thinking , of feeling and of doing things, and constructing more knowledge. All children have to re-create a significant part of this wealth for themselves, as this constitutes the basis for further thinking and for acting appropriately in this world. It is also important to learn to participate in the very process of knowledge creation, meaning making and human action, i.e. work.
- Acquaintance or familiarity gained by sight, experience, or report:
- Acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation;
- Awareness, as of a fact or circumstance:
- General erudition familiarity or conversance, as with a particular subject or branch oflearning:
- In an organizational context, knowledge is ;
- Something that is or may be known; information:
- The body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time.
- The fact or state of knowing; the perception of fact or truth; clear andcertain mental apprehension.
Thus knowledge is the sum of what is known and resides in the intelligence and the competence of people.
Types of Knowledge
There is so much disagreement over what are, exactly, the different types of knowledge that an agreed upon “master list” simply does not exist.
Here is a master list of the different types of knowledge and theories of knowledge that are out there
1. A Priori
A priori literally means “from before” or “from earlier.” This is because a priori knowledge depends upon what a person can derive from the world without needing to experience it. This is better known as reasoning.
2. A Posteriori
A posteriori literally means “from what comes later” or “from what comes after.” This is a reference to experience and using a different kind of reasoning (inductive) to gain knowledge. This kind of knowledge is gained by first having an experience and then using logic and reflection to derive understanding from it. In philosophy, this term is sometimes used interchangeably with empirical knowledge, which is knowledge based on observation.
3. Explicit Knowledge
Explicit knowledge is similar to a priori knowledge in that it is more formal or perhaps more reliable. Explicit knowledge is knowledge that is recorded and communicated through mediums. The defining feature of explicit knowledge is that it can be easily and quickly transmitted from one individual to another.
4. Tacit Knowledge
Whereas explicit knowledge is very easy to communicate and transfer from one individual to another, tacit knowledge is precisely the opposite. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to communicate tacit knowledge through any medium.
The biggest difficult of tacit knowledge is knowing when it is useful and figuring out how to make it usable. Tacit knowledge can only be communicated through consistent and extensive relationships or contact.
5. Propositional Knowledge (also Descriptive or Declarative Knowledge)
Propositional and non-propositional knowledge, share similarities with some of the other theories already discussed. Propositional knowledge has the oddest definition yet, as it is commonly held that it is knowledge that can literally be expressed in propositions; that is, in declarative sentences or indicative propositions.The key attribute is knowing that something is true.
6. Non-Propositional Knowledge (also Procedural Knowledge)
Non-propositional knowledge (which is better known as procedural knowledge, is knowledge that can be used; it can be applied to something, such as a problem. Procedural knowledge differs from propositional knowledge in that it is acquired “by doing”; propositional knowledge is acquired by more conservative forms of learning.
Knowledge in Indian Context
In Indian context,the words knowledge, buddhi, and consciousness are used synonymously. Four means of valid knowledge are admitted: perception, inference, comparison, and verbal testimony. Perception is defined as the knowledge that arises from the contact of the senses with the object, which is nonjudgmental, or unerring or judgmental. Inference is defined as the knowledge that is preceded by perception (of the mark) and classified into three kinds: that from the perception of a cause to its effect; that from perception of the effect to its cause; and that in which knowledge of one thing is derived from the perception of another with which it is commonly seen together. Comparison is defined as the knowledge of a thing through its similarity to another thing previously well-known.
Areas of Knowledge in Indian Context
The term ‘Jnana’( gyaan ) mean the same as education in its wide sense in Indian philosophy. In Indian philosophies, the term ‘Jnana’ is not used for only information or facts, though in the west, this sense is quite prevalent. In the Amarkosha, the terms ‘Jnana’ and ‘Vijnana’ (Vigyaan) have been distinguished saying that is related with emancipation while ‘Vijnana’ is reated with crafts. In other words,Jjnana or knowledge is that which develops man and illuminates his path to emancipation, while whatever is leant and known in practical life is called Vijnana or science.
The Indian concept of education can be understood from the prescribed list of subject on the concept of reality.
Vidya and Avidya
The terms Vidya and Avidya represent opposites. Vidya refers to knowledge ,learning, and to the different sciences – ancient and modern. So Avidya would mean the opposite – ignorance, absence of learning, and illiteracy
The Mundakopanised says :
Tasmai sa uvacha ha –dve vidye veditavye eti hasma yad brahmavido vadanti, para chaivapara cha
“…..There are two kinds of knowledge worthy to be known, namely, the higher(para) and the lower (Apara).”
The Sanskrit words Vidya is a shortened of forms of Para Vidya. The root Vid means to know. Para Vidya is knowledge of the Absoute or spiritual knowledge.
Avidya
Apara Vidya or it shortened from Avidya is knowledge of any sector or worldly knowledge in the wider sense.
Etymologically avidya is the antithesis of knowledge, ie., the absence of knowledge. But the word is not used in the negative concept. All knowledge or Apara Vidya which envelopes the phenomenal world is turned Avidya.
Isa – Upanishad explains the idea in the following verse:
Vidyam Cha avidyam cha
Bah tad veda upayam saha
Avidyaya mrutyum tirtva
Vidyaya-amrutam-asnute
It is through Avidya that one crosses the great stream of death which through Vidya one attains immortality.
In the Mundaka Upanishad, a student reverentially questions a Rishi about Truth: ‘Revered Sir, what is that by knowing which everything (in this universe) becomes known?’ The Rishi begins his reply by classifying knowledge or Vidya into two categories: Para(higher) and Apara (lower). Apara Vidya refers to the four Vedas and the six accessories of Vedic knowledge (the vedaigas): phonetics, the ritual code, grammar, etymology, prosody, and astrology. in short, religious or scriptural knowledge and the ways of living prescribed by different religions are all subsumed under Apara Vidya. Para vidya, the Rishi informs his student, is that ‘by which the immutable Brahman (akshara) is attained’. This Brahman is imperceptible, eternal, omnipresent, imperishable, and the source of all beings. Scriptural study is Apara Vidya, secondary knowledge. To know Brahman (or God) directly and in a non-mediate fashion is the primary aim of life, and is therefore termed Para Vidya. The Apara Vidya that comprises scriptural knowledge helps us know that this world is not the only world, that there are other divine worlds accessible to human beings.
The Upanishads remind people with dogmatic and fanatic tendencies that scriptural injunctions also lie in the domain of ‘lower knowledge’. The Mundaka Upanishadsays that people devoted to mere scriptural ritualism are ‘deluded fools’: ‘dwelling in darkness, but wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain scholarship, [they] wander about, being afflicted by many ills, like blind men led by the blind’. They think of their way as the best and delude themselves into believing that they have attained fulfilment, and so continue to suffer the ills of life .
Sri Ramakrishna explicates the nature of Avidya: ‘Avidya consists of the five elements and the objects of the five senses – form, flavour, smell, touch, and sound. These make one forget God’ So Avidya is nothing but human ignorance about God’s nature, by which one is perpetually deluded into doing the rounds of Samsara, the cycle of transmigration. This Avidya again is nothing but misidentification of real knowledge, which is one’s real nature. Therefore, religious scriptures ask humans to purify their heart, mind, intellect, and ego. Real human nature is pure and divine; each soul is potentially divine. Maya personifies our illusory perception. This phenomenal world is the longest dream come out of cosmic mind, of which the individual is a part.
‘According to the Advaita philosophy,’ says Swami Vivekananda, ‘there is only one thing real in the universe, which it calls Brahman; everything else is unreal, manifested and manufactured out of Brahman by the power of Maya. To reach back to that Brahman is our goal. We are, each one of us, that Brahman, that Reality, plus this Maya. If we can get rid of this Maya or ignorance, then we become what we really are.’ While lecturing on ‘The Real Nature of Man’ Swamiji dwelt upon the nature of ignorance, Avidya.