what is knowledge?

ability knowledge

knowing ‘how’ to do something e.g. i know how to ride a bike

acquaintance knowledge

knowing ‘of’ something or someone e.g. i know my mother

propositional knowledge

factual knowledge - knowing ‘that’ something is the case e.g. i know that 1 + 1 = 2

nature of definition (5 m)

• zagzebski - types of definition depend on the natures of the concepts/objects involved

• some objects such as natural substances have a real essence (locke) - e.g. water is h2o. if it were not h2o it would not be water. so water must necessarily h2o - if an object has a real essence, it can have a real definition

• some concepts can only have conceptual definitions - defined by necessary truths but are not objectively investigable

  • e.g. a bachelor is an unmarried man - necessarily true but a bachelor is just a social construct - no objective reality

• knowledge is obviously dissimilar to natural substances - but philosophers often aim for a real definition of knowledge (often only implicitly)

• highlights possibility that “perhaps knowledge is not an ontological category for which a real definition is possible”

zagzebski - A CON

any definition of knowledge should not be:

• ad hoc - coming up with a definition specifically to meet a particular problem e.g. knowledge is a justified true belief that is not a gettier counter-example

• circular - including the term being defined e.g. justice is what happens when just acts occur

• obscure - terms in the definition should not be more obscure than the term being defined

• negative - defining a term by what it is not e.g. a good act is one that is not wrong