What counts as knowledge?

Kamakshi Balasubramanian

The first article in this series (on Theory of Knowledge) introduced personal and impersonal knowledge. Impersonal knowledge is also called shared knowledge, although that expression can be misleading.¹ In this article, we shall explore the kind of evidence or justification that claims in those two kinds of knowledge (personal and impersonal) require in order to be accepted as knowledge.

Let the class look at some of the claims from the previous lesson.
1. I know that I am hungry.
2. I know that there are bacteria in my gut.
3. I know that things fall when dropped in this room.
4. I know that my friend is going to be sad today.

When one makes these claims, is it reasonable to ask how one recognizes a sensation (hunger), knows a fact (bacteria in the gut), explains a phenomenon (things fall when dropped), or understands an emotional state.

Let the students write down answers to the questions below.

1. How do you know that you are hungry? (Answers could include the following: My stomach is rumbling; I am getting sleepy; I feel tired; I am dreaming of food, etc.)
2. How do you know that there are bacteria in your gut? (From my biology class or science textbook; because I can digest my food; because we can see the bacteria through a microscope, etc.)
3. How do you know that things fall when dropped in this room? (Anyone can see it, if I drop something here; because gravity is acting on the objects when dropped, etc.)
4. How do you know that your friend is going to be sad today? (I know my friend well; she lost her …; she did not..; etc.)

Once students have come up with their several answers, plausible and implausible – it is best to continue to be open in this exercise – it is time to group the responses. I am deliberately adding ‘implausible’ answers, because, following Edward de Bono, I believe that every response is useful at this stage, if only to show how far the human mind can stretch logic.²

Once again, students should be guided to recognize which are personal knowledge claims here, and which are impersonal knowledge claims.

In discussing those responses, be sure to emphasize that impersonal knowledge (as demonstrated in the examples) requires justification by authority (textbook, science lesson, etc.) and/or observation (anyone can see it). Impersonal knowledge thus relies on authority and observation of phenomena; it can also rely on memory and logic.

Personal knowledge claims, by contrast, generally require only assertion of the individual’s own personal acquaintance. Such claims need not, and often cannot, be supported by evidence outside the experience of the individual making a claim. Thus, personal knowledge claims we make rely generally on intuition, introspection, faith, natural ability, feeling, practice of a skill, and to some extent memory and authority.

Here are two suggested activities to reinforce what Ways of Knowing help establish impersonal knowledge claims. Later, in a similar fashion, we shall explore Ways of Knowing related to personal knowledge.

Activity 1

Ask students to identify which of the four Ways of Knowing we use in each of the following claims.

I can quench my thirst, if I drink water.
Authority, Observation, Memory, Logic

Last year, our class won the Sports Day trophy.
Authority, Observation, Memory, Logic

Indians can vote upon attaining 18 years of age.
Authority, Observation, Memory, Logic

Activity 2

Let students create images or icons for authority, observation, memory, and logic.

A brief discussion on why these images came to mind is likely to offer thought-provoking material to explain what associations we make with these Ways of Knowing.

Is the authority icon a scientist? Or a parent, divine being, religious figure, a judge, a religious book, or perhaps a dictionary?

Similarly, consider the icons that depict observation, memory, and logic.

This discussion would suggest what kind of authority we associate with what kind of knowledge (scientific, religious, etc); what we perceive as obvious ways of observing (visual, auditory, touch, smell, taste); what we think of as memory (brain, diaries, documentation, newspaper, etc); and where we think we apply logic as a way of knowing (mathematics, problem-solving, law, etc.)

At this point, students might begin to gain a sense of how we apply different ways of knowing in different spheres of our life in the process of acquiring, and even building, knowledge. It is sufficient at this stage to acknowledge that ways of knowing sometimes function together, and that each of these ways of knowing has a greater or lesser role in justifying impersonal knowledge claims.³

Now let us consider what Ways of Knowing help us gain personal knowledge.

Here are a few personal knowledge claims
.
I know that God answers prayers. (How do you know? I believe in religion, etc.)

I know that capital punishment should be abolished. (How do you know? My conscience tells me that killing is wrong; my religion forbids killing; ethical principles condemn killing, etc.)

I know what it is to fail. (How do you know? I have failed or someone I know well has failed, and I know the feeling, etc.)

I know it is wrong to plagiarize. (How do you know? Plagiarism is punishable, plagiarism is stealing, plagiarism hinders independent thinking, etc.)

I know how to roller-skate. (How do you know to roller-skate? I practiced on the sidewalk, etc.)

I know what the teacher will say. (How do you know? From long acquaintance, etc.)

I know how to swallow. (How? By instinct, by physical reflex, etc.)

In all the examples above, the answer to the question, “how do you know”, involves the “knower” having experienced something personally by practice, or having a personal conviction by adhering to some principle, or sensing something personally by instinct or introspection, or by having personal faith or total belief.

Often, such claims cannot be challenged by asking for evidence. Let’s say someone claims to have seen God in a dream. What evidence can that person provide to convince me, if I challenge that claim? Yet, that person might feel the effects of such a dream and act on them.

The point is that personal knowledge claims are important: they make us human and create our world of unique experiences, but these knowledge claims – and the ways of knowing we use in the process of making them – do not always use the same kind of support or evidence that is used in gaining impersonal knowledge.

To sum up, then, impersonal knowledge represents knowledge that is accessible to all, just so long as we have the tools to acquire it. Personal knowledge, by contrast, is closed knowledge. Individuals or groups of individuals lay claim to such knowledge, making it exclusive.

In the next article in this series, we shall look at some definitions of knowledge. We shall also introduce an important concept: that of justification of knowledge claims and how it works in different disciplines, or areas of knowledge, such as the humanities, mathematics, sciences, religion, ethics, art, etc.

Notes

1. When entire communities believe in an idea or concept based completely on faith, it is shared knowledge; that does not make it impersonal knowledge.
2. Also, I might add that very occasionally, a completely fanciful idea can yield practical knowledge. You only have to consider how the human mind has invented such things as weaving or photography. The list is endless. You might like to take a look at http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/mcvmagazine/young_naturalists/young-naturalists-article/wild_ideas/wild_ideas.pdf
3. A fuller elaboration of knowledge claims and justification, along with ideas for learning activities, will follow in a future article.

The author is an educator and writer with significant experience teaching at secondary and tertiary levels. She can be reached at papukamakshi@gmail.com.