Understanding Knowledge: Epistemology and Truth
Knowledge 1.1: The Epistemology
Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that seeks to analyze what knowledge is. The interest in knowledge has been constant throughout history. From the seventeenth century, epistemology became the center of philosophical reflection.
Knowledge 1.2: The Concept of Knowledge
In philosophy, knowledge is used as a synonym for understanding. To approach its definition, we compare it with related concepts such as perception and belief.
Review
A subjective assessment, where we are not sure and cannot justify.
Belief
A subjective assessment, where we are not sure but can justify. Two types:
- Dubious Use: We are not sure of the truth of what we say.
- Assertive Use: We are sure even if we lack sufficient evidence.
Knowledge
An objective assessment of certainty that we can justify. Two types:
- Theoretical Knowledge: Information that describes and explains the natural and social world.
- Practical Knowledge: Manipulation of the environment, production of goods, works of art, or determining correct action.
1.3 Theoretical Knowledge
Theoretical knowledge is a disinterested contemplation of nature, where we discover and understand reality. It describes and explains reality by identifying causes and predicting future events.
2. Language and Knowledge
Knowledge would be impossible without language, which allows us to acquire, store, and transmit information.
2.1 Characteristics of Language
- Arbitrary or Conventional: Different languages use different terms for the same concept.
- Articulate and Creative: With 24 phonemes, we create all messages, ensuring creativity.
2.2 Language, Thought, and Reality
The relationship between language, thought, and reality is indisputable.
- Signifier: Sequence of phonemes (language area), e.g., “home”.
- Meaning: Idea or concept associated with the signifier (level of thought), e.g., the mental image of a house.
- Referent: Object, quality, or process we refer to (scope of reality), e.g., the actual house.
2.3 Propositional Knowledge
A proposition is a declarative sentence that affirms or denies something. Two types:
- Empirical Propositions: Assert or deny something about the world, with empirical content that can be tested.
- Formal Propositions: Say nothing about the world and have no empirical content, focusing on relationships between symbols.
A proposition must be true and justified.
3. The Problem of Truth
There are two kinds of truth: truth of facts and truth of propositions.
3.1 Truth of Facts
Truth of facts is what occurs in reality, whether stated or not. It is what appears to be, as opposed to deceptive appearances.
3.2 Truth of Propositions
Truth contributes to reality through claims we make about it.
- Truth as Correspondence (Aristotle): A proposition is true when it matches the reality it refers to.
- Truth as Coherence (Hegel): A proposition is true if it is not inconsistent with other accepted propositions.
- Truth as Success (James): A proposition is true when it is useful and leads to success.
Truth of Formal Propositions: Only truth as coherence applies.
3.3 Criteria to Recognize Truth
- Evidence: Knowledge is evident when it produces certainty, but this feeling is subjective.
- Intersubjectivity: Beliefs must be acceptable to any rational subject, requiring community consensus.
4. The Limits of Knowledge
4.1 Attitudes Towards the Possibility of Knowledge
- Dogmatism: We can acquire universal and certain knowledge.
- Skepticism: Moderate skepticism doubts to enable firm knowledge; radical skepticism denies possible knowledge.
- Criticism: Knowledge is possible but not absolute (Kant).
- Relativism: Denies absolute truth, only individual opinions (Sophists).
- Perspectivism: All perspectives are true, and their meeting would be the absolute truth (Ortega y Gasset).
4.2 The Conquest of Truth as an Ongoing Process
The conquest of truth is a continuous effort:
- Individually: Fight against ignorance and expand knowledge.
- Collectively: Recognize education as a universal right.