Continued from Knowledge (Part I)
Knowledge is the gathered understanding or awareness derived from accumulation of information, facts, concepts or skills by means of learning and experience. It provides us with the ability to utilise information and skills for making decisions, solving problems and also understanding the world.
Besides of what was revealed in the Holy Quran about knowledge (in Part 1), early Western philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes and many more have defined knowledge in their own terms.
Socrates was born circa 470 BCE in Athens and died 399 BCE. He had a unique perspective on knowledge. Despite being credited as the founder of Western philosophy, Socrates had written nothing and all information about him was gained second-hand. His thoughts were obtained through dialogues with his pupils.
Socrates had emphasised on knowledge all his life. He believed that true knowledge could only be obtained through a process of inquiry, questioning, and self-reflection. He believed that “the ability to distinguish between right and wrong lies in people’s reason not in society.” At his trial, Socrates said, “The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing.”
Socrates believed that knowledge was not just a matter of accumulating information, but it was more about understanding the underlying concepts and ideas behind that information. He believed that true knowledge was not just memorization of facts or information, but it was the ability to understand and apply that information in a meaningful way.
Socrates famously claimed that "I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing." This statement reflects his belief that true wisdom comes from recognizing one's own limitations and the extent of one's own ignorance.
For Socrates, the pursuit of knowledge was a lifelong endeavor, and the ultimate goal was not just to accumulate knowledge but to gain a deeper understanding of oneself and the world around us. He believed that by questioning and examining our own beliefs and assumptions, we could arrive at a deeper understanding of truth and meaning.
Plato was a student of Socrates. He had a deep and complex understanding about knowledge. To Plato, knowledge is not simply a collection of facts or information. Knowledge is an innate understanding of the fundamental and eternal truths that underlie the world that we perceive through our senses.
Plato's Dialogue on Knowledge
Plato was a pupil of Socrates. Let us begin with one of Plato's dialogue about epistemology, Theaetetus. Epistemology is a branch of philosophy concerning knowledge.
In the dialogue Theaetetus, Plato discussed four answers to the question of, 'What is Knowledge?'. The dialogue played the conversations between Socrates, Theodorus and Theaetetus.
First, Theaetetus answered, "The Art of the cobbler and other craftsmen, each and all of them, are Knowledge"
To this answer, Socrates argued that they do not want to know the subjects; they want to know the nature of knowledge in the abstract. If someone were to ask what is clay, the answer is not "there is clay in the potters" nor "there is clay in the oven". Similarly, when the question is "What is knowledge?", the answer should not be "A knowledge of this or that". Someone may have knowledge of certain crafts and skills, but that is not the definition of knowledge.
Next, Theaetetus answered, "Knowledge is Perception".
"He who knows perceives what he knows", said Theaetetus. Socrates responded that such was also the opinion of Protagoras. But Protagoras put it differently. Protagoras said, "Man is the measure of all things, of the existence of things that are, and of the non-existence of things that are not."
Socrates commented that things that appear to one appears differently to another person. A wind blowing to a person who is cold is cold to him, but the same wind is not cold to a person who is not cold. Both Socrates and Theaetetus further agreed that appearance and perception is the same. How things are perceived is how things are likely to be for each person.
Socrates further explained to Theaetetus that something he said is large will also appear to be small; and if he said is heavy will also appear to be light.
Socrates quoted Protagoras who says, "So my perception is true for me, as it always belongs to my being. I am the judge of the things that are for me, that they are, and also of the things that are not, that they are not". Theaetetus agreed to it.
Socrates questioned Theaetetus whether he is certain that anything at all appear similar to him and to another person. Is "does not see" is the same as "does not know"? So it is impossible for knowledge and perception to be the same.
Then, Theaetetus gave the third answer, "that Knowledge is True Opinion: forming true opinions is, after all, a process which is supposedly free from error".
To this answer, Socrates pointed out that true opinion is not knowledge. He gave the example of when a jury is persuaded about matters that only an eyewitness, and no one else, could know. On such occasion they are judging from hearsay. They have caught hold of a true opinion, but they have judged without knowledge.
Finally, Theaetetus said, "True Opinion with an Account is Knowledge".
Socrates was still not satisfied with the answer. He argued with the elements and syllables of writing. The syllables have an account while the letters do not.
Yet, this last definition is being used by many today to describe knowledge as true judgment (opinion) with an account.
These definitions brought the four escalating definitions of knowledge according to Plato.
Plato distinguished knowledge and opinion. To him, opinions are based on appearances and subject to change. True knowledge is based on reason, and it is eternal and unchanging.
Plato believed that true knowledge is not just a matter of sensory experience. Plato argued that knowledge is not something that can be acquired through the senses, but rather it is something that the soul remembers from a previous existence. He believed that the soul existed before birth and that it had knowledge of the eternal forms or ideas that underlie the physical world. Thus, the acquisition of knowledge is, for Plato, a process of recollection or remembering what the soul already knows. True knowledge requires rational insight and intellectual understanding.
To be continued in Knowledge (Part III)
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