~ Knowledge Defined ~
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The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines knowledge as the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience; the fact or condition of being aware of something; the fact or condition of having information or of being learned; of cognizance, itself defined as having an awareness. But it does not stop here. Knowledge is an umbrella term that includes many different types of knowledge and is part of philosophical epistemology.
The different types of knowledge include a priori, a posteriori, explicit, tacit, propositional or declarative, non-propositional or procedural, implicit, and situated. Let's take a look at each of them. |
A priori knowledge translates to 'from before'. A priori is knowledge that is based upon reasoning without experience. It is generally the type of knowledge we refer to as information that is already known. A priori reasoning is deductive, meaning that it begins with a premise that is known or observable. Deductive reasoning is utilized in the Scientific Method. A priori knowledge is thus considered a more reliable method of reasoning and a more certain knowledge. For example, that water is wet is a priori knowledge. That water is composed of one hydrogen and two oxygen molecules is not readily known and is therefore not a priori knowledge.
A posteriori knowledge translates from the Latin to mean 'from what comes after', and uses inductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion. In contrast to a priori knowledge, a posteriori knowledge is based upon knowledge acquired through experience and makes use of reflection as a means to dive further into understanding. Knowing where you live is an example of a posteriori knowledge since it cannot reasonably be known or deduced, but rather, can only be known through the experience of having lived there. Therefore, a posteriori knowledge is less reliable a measure of knowledge then a priori, since a posteriori knowledge is not something that can readily be known without experience or outside knowledge.
Explicit knowledge is similar to a priori knowledge in that no observable is necessary, making explicit knowledge a reliable form of knowing. Explicit knowledge is arrived at through books, databases, and other forms of formal learning and knowing. Experience is not necessary. Knowing that water contains one hydrogen and two oxygen molecules is an example of explicit knowledge.
Tacit knowledge is the opposite of explicit knowledge in that tacit knowledge, while only knowable through experience, is often difficult to communicate or translate. Examples of tacit knowledge might include the transferring of knowledge through being a apprentice, or leadership skills, or acquiring a skill in general. Tacit knowledge can be thought of knowledge that because it is difficult to explain is better (and perhaps only) acquired through the participation of that knowledge. In many professions especially in those that deal with helping or teaching other people, a clinical or shadowing component is required. Student teachers may need to 'shadow' a teacher or a surgical resident will need to spend a great deal of time in the surgical environment watching surgical procedures and then assisting the surgeon before ever being able to acquire the knowledge necessary to become a surgeon.
Implicit Knowledge is oftentimes confused with tacit knowledge. While both forms of knowledge are the opposite of explicit knowledge, implicit and tacit knowledge are close, but no cigar. In the examples of tacit knowledge stated above, we see that tacit knowledge is difficult to communicate and is therefore acquired through the conscious experience of shadowing, following, or assisting those that have already acquired that knowledge and we therefore learn through conscious transference. Implicit knowledge, while also difficult to communicate verbally or visually, is also acquired through practicing, but is done so without conscious awareness. For example, learning to ride a bicycle is not necessarily conscious, it is our body learning to acquire the skill through going through the physical motions. In fact, when first learning to ride a two-wheeler bicycle without any training wheels or someone holding the bike as one rides, the moment there is conscious awareness of riding that bicycle all by oneself, is usually the moment when that first spill occurs.
Propositional or Declarative knowledge is knowledge based on the three essential components of what is referred to as justified true belief. That in order for something to be known, it must be based upon these three components, that the information is true, that one believes it to be true, and that it is not based upon something that requires justification. Until 1963, this was the long-standing assumption, challenged when Edmund Gettier came up with a set of propositions we now call the Gettier problem. Through counterexamples, Gettier maintained that justified true belief is not essential in order for something to be based upon propositional knowledge.
Non-Propositional or Procedural knowledge refers to knowledge or statements that describe a process (or procedure) or the knowledge attained in the performance of a skill. Propositional or declarative knowledge is similar to explicit knowledge in the same way that non-propositional or procedural knowledge is similar to implicit knowledge. Non-propositional knowledge can also include knowledge about cognitive processes.
Situated knowledge is knowledge that by default comes from someone, somewhere, or what Donna Haraway, refers to as the God Trick, that knowledge has context relative to the personal, social and the geographical. Haraway challenged the idea that knowledge is something that must be based upon a masculine objectivity. In her 1988 book Situated Knowledge: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective, she delineates her theory of how and why knowledge can be partial, located, and embodied.
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A posteriori knowledge translates from the Latin to mean 'from what comes after', and uses inductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion. In contrast to a priori knowledge, a posteriori knowledge is based upon knowledge acquired through experience and makes use of reflection as a means to dive further into understanding. Knowing where you live is an example of a posteriori knowledge since it cannot reasonably be known or deduced, but rather, can only be known through the experience of having lived there. Therefore, a posteriori knowledge is less reliable a measure of knowledge then a priori, since a posteriori knowledge is not something that can readily be known without experience or outside knowledge.
Explicit knowledge is similar to a priori knowledge in that no observable is necessary, making explicit knowledge a reliable form of knowing. Explicit knowledge is arrived at through books, databases, and other forms of formal learning and knowing. Experience is not necessary. Knowing that water contains one hydrogen and two oxygen molecules is an example of explicit knowledge.
Tacit knowledge is the opposite of explicit knowledge in that tacit knowledge, while only knowable through experience, is often difficult to communicate or translate. Examples of tacit knowledge might include the transferring of knowledge through being a apprentice, or leadership skills, or acquiring a skill in general. Tacit knowledge can be thought of knowledge that because it is difficult to explain is better (and perhaps only) acquired through the participation of that knowledge. In many professions especially in those that deal with helping or teaching other people, a clinical or shadowing component is required. Student teachers may need to 'shadow' a teacher or a surgical resident will need to spend a great deal of time in the surgical environment watching surgical procedures and then assisting the surgeon before ever being able to acquire the knowledge necessary to become a surgeon.
Implicit Knowledge is oftentimes confused with tacit knowledge. While both forms of knowledge are the opposite of explicit knowledge, implicit and tacit knowledge are close, but no cigar. In the examples of tacit knowledge stated above, we see that tacit knowledge is difficult to communicate and is therefore acquired through the conscious experience of shadowing, following, or assisting those that have already acquired that knowledge and we therefore learn through conscious transference. Implicit knowledge, while also difficult to communicate verbally or visually, is also acquired through practicing, but is done so without conscious awareness. For example, learning to ride a bicycle is not necessarily conscious, it is our body learning to acquire the skill through going through the physical motions. In fact, when first learning to ride a two-wheeler bicycle without any training wheels or someone holding the bike as one rides, the moment there is conscious awareness of riding that bicycle all by oneself, is usually the moment when that first spill occurs.
Propositional or Declarative knowledge is knowledge based on the three essential components of what is referred to as justified true belief. That in order for something to be known, it must be based upon these three components, that the information is true, that one believes it to be true, and that it is not based upon something that requires justification. Until 1963, this was the long-standing assumption, challenged when Edmund Gettier came up with a set of propositions we now call the Gettier problem. Through counterexamples, Gettier maintained that justified true belief is not essential in order for something to be based upon propositional knowledge.
Non-Propositional or Procedural knowledge refers to knowledge or statements that describe a process (or procedure) or the knowledge attained in the performance of a skill. Propositional or declarative knowledge is similar to explicit knowledge in the same way that non-propositional or procedural knowledge is similar to implicit knowledge. Non-propositional knowledge can also include knowledge about cognitive processes.
Situated knowledge is knowledge that by default comes from someone, somewhere, or what Donna Haraway, refers to as the God Trick, that knowledge has context relative to the personal, social and the geographical. Haraway challenged the idea that knowledge is something that must be based upon a masculine objectivity. In her 1988 book Situated Knowledge: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective, she delineates her theory of how and why knowledge can be partial, located, and embodied.
Want to know more? You can follow my blogs, attend a webinar or seminar, or take an e-course.