Truth and Knowledge in Everyday Life

Epistemology - How We Gain Knowledge
Kinds of Knowledge

Knowledge-How means knowing how to do and accomplish something. This involves skills or, at least, abilities.

Example: When I was younger I learned how to tie my shoe. I gained knowledge of how to accomplish something on my own.

Example: Today I learned how to create a MindMap. I have never tried before and it took prior technology experience to be able to complete it.

Knowledge-Wh includes the questions whether, who, why, what and is also a propositional knowledge.

Example: A question such as "What is the color of the sky?" requires prior knowledge. I would need to have seen the sky before to answer this question truly.

Example: A question like "Who is the current President of the United States?" also requires knowledge.

Knowledge-That is a propositional knowledge and a declarative knowledge. It is the kind of knowledge present whenever there is knowledge of fact or truth.

Example: This is knowledge of a fact such as "Paris is the capital of France".

Example: I also know for a fact that there are 50 states in the USA.

Knowledge by Acquaintance is obtained through a direct causal (experience-based) interaction between a person and the object that person is perceiving.

Example: I know for a fact that my friend Amanda is taking grade 12 Biology. This is because she has told me and I have seen her timetable.

Example: I know that my sister works at a Hilton hotel. I know this because she has told me and I have seen her at work there before.

Philosophy of Epistemology -
Theories of Truth

Correspondence: The correspondence theory of truth states that the truth or falsity of a statement is determined only by how it relates to the world and whether it accurately describes, or corresponds, with that world. This is as close as we come to "objective" knowledge, and knowledge of objects as “things in themselves.”

Example: "Grass is green". This can be proven by looking down at the ground to see if that corresponds with your statement. It is basically anything that can be true when conditions in our world are met

Example: "The dog is on the bed" This can be proven by seeing youself that the dog is on the bed. "No matter how theoretically elegant a possible scientific theory may be, it must be proven by experiments to demonstrate that it actually corresponds to reality as such" (Antony Matteo).

Coherence: The coherence theory of truth bases the truth of a belief on the degree to which it coheres - or aligns - with all other beliefs in a system of beliefs. One example would be a popular set of beliefs - if everyone else agrees that something is the truth, then it must be so.

Example: "The Earth is round". This is a popular opinion but many do have a different one as well (ex. Flat Earth Society who believe the Earth is flat).

This can also be said as... Example: "The Earth is not flat". These two statements are both stating the same belief, but in different ways.

Pragmatism: A pragmatic theory of truth contends that one cannot conceive of the truth of a belief without also being able to conceive of how, if true, that belief matters in the world. So, for example, if we say that an apple is red, we cannot say that without taking into account what ‘redness’ is, and how that would be understood in relation to other things that could be red, like a balloon or a clown’s nose. The discovery of truth occurs only through interaction with the world.

Example:"Maegan can run a 10K in under an hour". Basically, a person cannot know whether that proposition is right until the proposition is put into practice and tested.

Example: "Ethan can read 'The Kite Runner' in 5 hours". This has to be done to be proven, not just said or assumed.

點擊這裡將思維導圖置中。
點擊這裡將思維導圖置中。