Knowledge, colloquially, denotes a familiarity with or an understanding of different ideas, events, objects, or ways to do things. Among the most ancient and venerated traditions regarding the concept of knowledge portrays knowledge in the form of "validated true belief." While all philosophers do not agree that this statement adequately expresses knowledge's nature, it is still the most prevalent notion regarding knowledge (Henriques, 2013). The history of philosophy's thoughts on knowledge is one of theories and theses, as also of concepts, questions, syntheses, taxonomies and distinctions (Stephen, n.d.).
Generally, knowledge is divided by philosophers into three domains: 1) Personal; relating to direct experience, autobiographical truths and idiosyncratic predilections; 2) Procedural; denoting knowledge on how something is to be done (e.g. riding a bike or playing basketball); and 3) Propositional; knowledge referring to universal facts regarding the world, as well as how we see it. A key difference between psychology and philosophy can be viewed in the above different types of knowledge (Henriques, 2013).
What are the mechanisms through which knowledge is acquired? This question has two main answers, given by the empiricists and rationalists. The former contend that our most elementary knowledge concerning the world originates through our senses, our direct observations of the world. On the other hand, rationalists maintain that we make use of reasoning for arriving at deductive inferences on the most reasonable claims. Rationalists think more with respect to propositions, obtaining truths from reason, and constructing logical systems which correspond to natural order (Henriques, 2013). Differences between empiricist and rationalist principles are, in some respects, similar to modern...
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