What do we mean by “knowledge”?
When you say you “know” something, you’re pointing to more than a simple fact in your head. Knowledge combines a few elements: a belief, a connection to reality, and some kind of reason or support that makes that belief reliable. That’s the core idea philosophers use: knowledge is a justified true belief, though philosophers have refined and challenged that definition over time. Practically speaking, knowing feels different from guessing or hoping , it’s having a mental state you can act on, explain, or teach to someone else with confidence.
Major types of knowledge
Knowledge comes in different forms, and separating those forms helps you see how it’s acquired and used. Here are the categories that matter most:
- Propositional knowledge (knowing-that): Facts and statements you can express in words, like “water boils at 100°C at sea level.”
- Procedural knowledge (knowing-how): Skills and procedures, like riding a bike or composing an email template. You might find it hard to fully explain how you do it, but you can perform it.
- Experiential or tacit knowledge: Subtle, practice-based understanding you pick up over time,an expert’s intuition, a craftsman’s touch, or the feel of a good negotiation. It often resists full verbalization.
- Explicit knowledge: Information that’s recorded, codified, and easy to share,books, manuals, datasets, and documents.
Where does knowledge come from?
Knowing how you get information helps you judge how much to trust it. There are several common sources:
- Perception: What you see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. Perception gives immediate data but can be misleading if conditions are poor or senses are biased.
- Memory: Your store of past experiences and learned facts. Memory lets knowledge survive over time, but it can fade or distort.
- Reason and logic: Drawing conclusions from principles or evidence. This is central in math and philosophy and helps connect facts into coherent explanations.
- Testimony and social learning: What others tell you,teachers, experts, books, and media. Much of what you know likely came this way, so judging the source’s credibility matters.
- Intuition and insight: Sudden understanding or a sense that something fits. Intuition can point you in the right direction, especially when backed by experience, but it needs checking.
How we justify knowledge and why that matters
Justification is the bridge between belief and knowledge. If you hold a belief but can’t explain why it should be true, we tend to treat it as a guess rather than knowledge. Justification can come from direct evidence, consistent experience, logical reasoning, or trustworthy testimony. Different disciplines accept different standards for justification: science relies on evidence and repeatability, law emphasizes admissible evidence and precedent, while everyday life often leans on credibility and practicality. Understanding the standard of justification matters because it affects decisions: building a bridge, publishing a claim, or choosing a career all require different levels of certainty.
How context changes what counts as knowledge
What you accept as knowledge in one situation may not hold in another. A quick, practical belief can be good enough in daily life,like knowing how to cook spaghetti,while scientific research demands controlled experiments and peer review. Cultural norms and institutions also shape what is treated as knowledge: medical guidelines, historical narratives, and technical standards vary by community. Being aware of context helps you decide when to accept a claim and when to ask for stronger evidence.
Reliability, bias, and the limits of knowledge
No source is perfect. Perception can be fooled, memory can be reconstructed, experts can be wrong, and groups can reinforce falsehoods. Bias creeps in through selective attention, motivated reasoning, and social pressures. To handle this, practice checking sources, seeking independent confirmation, and being willing to revise beliefs when new evidence arrives. Accept that some questions may remain open or uncertain,complex systems, future outcomes, and personal experiences often resist final answers.
Applying and sharing knowledge
Knowing something is only useful when you can apply or communicate it. That means translating abstract facts into practical steps, tailoring explanations to different audiences, and packaging knowledge so others can use it. Documentation, teaching, mentorship, peer review, and storytelling are all ways to transfer knowledge. When sharing, be transparent about the limits of your understanding and highlight the evidence or experience that supports your claims.
Managing and preserving knowledge
In organizations and communities, preserving knowledge prevents loss and enables growth. Good practices include written records, standardized procedures, training programs, and systems for feedback and revision. Digital tools make storage easy, but they don’t guarantee accessibility or usefulness,organization, metadata, and curation matter. Encourage practices that capture both explicit instructions and tacit insights, such as interviews with experienced staff or collaborative problem-solving sessions.
Ethical issues around knowledge
Knowing brings responsibility. Is it right to share certain information? Who benefits from a piece of knowledge, and who might be harmed? Issues like privacy, consent, misinformation, and intellectual property are part of the ethical landscape. When you generate or pass on knowledge, consider both accuracy and impact: correct information can empower, while poorly handled knowledge can mislead or hurt people.
Practical tips for growing reliable knowledge
If your goal is to build dependable understanding, these habits help more than chasing certainty:
- Cross-check: Look for independent sources that agree for the same claim.
- Ask for methods: Prefer explanations that show how a conclusion was reached.
- Test ideas: Whenever you can, try things out and see whether they work in practice.
- Record lessons: Write down what you learn and how you learned it so memory doesn’t have to carry everything.
- Talk with others: Discussion reveals blind spots and exposes assumptions you didn’t notice.
How to tell good knowledge from shaky claims
Look for consistent, reproducible evidence, transparent methods, and accountability from the person or institution making a claim. Beware of appeals to authority without explanation, claims that shift when challenged, and information that lacks clear sources. Simple rules of thumb: check the date, verify the origin, and seek corroboration. Over time you’ll develop a sense for when to accept a claim provisionally and when to demand stronger support.
Summary
Knowledge isn’t a single thing you either have or lack; it’s a cluster of types, sources, standards, and practices. It includes facts, skills, and lived experience; it comes from perception, reason, memory, and others; and it survives only when justified, communicated, and cared for. By understanding the different aspects of knowledge and adopting habits that check bias and preserve insight, you’ll make better decisions and help others learn more reliably.
FAQs
What’s the difference between belief and knowledge?
A belief is any idea you think is true. Knowledge is a belief that is true and supported by good reasons or evidence. You can believe something without it being knowledge if it’s false or unsupported.
Can intuition count as knowledge?
Intuition can point you toward useful ideas, especially when it comes from experience. On its own it’s not always reliable; to count as knowledge, intuition should be checked against evidence, tested in practice, or supported by other reasons.
How do I know when to trust an expert?
Trust experts who are transparent about their methods, have a track record of reliable predictions or results, and are accountable to peer review or public scrutiny. Prefer consensus across independent experts rather than relying on a single voice.
Is some knowledge beyond reach?
Yes. Certain questions,like definitive answers about the distant past, some human motivations, or unpredictable complex systems,may remain uncertain. That doesn’t stop progress, but it does mean learning to live with provisional answers and refining them over time.
How can I make my knowledge easier to share?
Translate tacit insights into explicit steps, document assumptions, give examples, and provide opportunities for practice. Use clear language and organize information so others can find and test what you’ve recorded.
