what is knowledge

Question 1

what are the three branches of knowledge

Answer 1

1. ability knowledge
2. acquaintance knowledge
3. propositional knowledge

Question 2

what is ability knowledge

Answer 2

knowing how to do something

Question 3

what is propositional knowledge

Answer 3

knowing that some proposition is true or false (knowing that)

Question 4

what is acquaintance knowledge

Answer 4

knowing through direct contact

Question 5

proposition

Answer 5

• what is being asserted by a declarative sentence
• anything that can follow I believe/know or it is true or false that

Question 6

knowledge is important because:

Answer 6

• important for survival and meeting our needs
• it is central to science and technology
• plays an important role in society and communication (the want to identify people with knowledge)
• satisfies instinctive curiosity

Question 7

Linda Zagzebski

Answer 7

• Zagzebski said that defining something involves finding necessary and sufficient conditions
• she refers to Locke’s distinction between real definition and nominal definition
• Zagzebski is not sure that knowledge has a real definition but believes we should try and find one because that is likely to be the only way prove it doesn’t have one

Question 8

real definition

Answer 8

something with real essence, a particular thing (eg gold)

Question 9

nominal definition

Answer 9

something without real essence (eg an adult, the concept of adulthood is a social construction)

Question 10

Zagzebski’s pitfalls to avoid when questioning theories

Answer 10

• circular: defining something in terms of itself
• obscure: the definition is less well understood than what is being defined
• negative: defining something by what it is not
• ad hoc: the definition (or part of it) is only there to meet a particular problem

Question 11

necessary

Answer 11

• A is necessary for B
• means you must have A in order to have B
• eg potatoes are necessary for a roast dinner
• only if A then B = A is necessary for B

Question 12

sufficient

Answer 12

• A is sufficient for B
• if you have A, you are guaranteed to have B
• eg being the eldest child of the monarch is sufficient for being the heir to the throne
• if A then B = A is sufficient for B