Knowledge Recapped

Why is knowledge important?

Because knowledge matters.  If we are driving on a highway, and if there is a big hole in front, we want to know that.  If our life-savings is invested in the share market, and if the market is about to crash, we want to know that.  

When we say someone knows something, what does that mean?  

A definition proposed by Professor Jennifer Nagel in her video “PHILOSOPHY – Epistemology: Introduction to Theory of Knowledge” is that someone knows something when the person:

•     believes something to be true,
•     that something is actual true, 
•     that the person is confident about the belief, and 
•     the belief is formed on good basis.

What about Scepticism?

A philosopher, Pierre Le Morvan, advocates the "Health Approach"—that explores when skepticism is healthy and when it is not, or when it is virtuous and when it is vicious.  

Some scepticism is vicious, like the Trump supporters who did not believe in the US election result and stormed the Capitol building.  Some scepticism may be virtuous, like a monk who lives a simple meditative life.

What do we mean when we say something is true?  

We discussed the following theories of truth:

•     Correspondence theory,
•     Coherence theory, and 
•     Pragmatic theory.

As pointed out in the video “Theories of Truth”, the three theories should compliment each other.  

When we say something is true, we mean that something:

•     corresponds with reality (when it is verifiable),
•     coheres with our comprehensive view of the world, and 
•     is of practical use to us.

The last dot point above (i.e. the pragmatic theory) takes us back to our original question “why knowledge is important?”  We said because it matters.   The following diagram illustrates the relationship of reality, knowledge, truth and action.

Sometimes, it matters whether something is true or not true, and we have to take appropriate actions.  

Other times, it does not matter whether something is true or otherwise, and we put up with things like Santa Claus, unicorns and fairies.   The monk who lives a simple meditative life does not need to worry about whether the news of the impending share market crash is true or not.