Philosophers' View of Knowledge

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 differences between science and philosophy. With the emergence of scientific methodology and its increasing distinction from the philosophy discipline, the central difference between them was that initial philosophical traditions (such as Aristotle) were based more on employing reason for developing knowledge systems, while science was built upon empirical observation (Henriques, 2013).

Question List:

Plato

1. Who authored the long and legendary discourse "The Republic"?

1. Who gave the suggestion that democracy meant more than just an appealing government format?

1. Which Greek philosopher declared that knowledge resides inherently in the human brain since birth?

1. Who examined epistemological issues pertaining to illusion, reality and knowledge?

1. Who understood that Athens and its direct democracy were incapable of realizing its grand ideals?

1. Name the philosopher of ancient Greece who discussed, in detail, the material world's reality.

1. Who put forth the idea that appetite, spirit, reason and other elements of soul reside in our body?

1. Who viewed philosophers as kings?

1. At what age did Plato institute a school to educate Athenian children?

1. Who states that citizens represent the government's least desired participants (Florida Atlantic University, n.d.)?

Aristotle

1. Name the Greek philosopher with a modern epistemology.

1. Who was Plato's most distinguished student?

1. Which philosopher from ancient Greece is believed to be a polymath (i.e. who had considerable knowledge on everything)?

1. Name the Greek philosopher who was a self-styled biologist.

1. Name the Greek philosopher who contested Plato's idea that humans possessed knowledge since birth, instead suggesting that experience was the source of knowledge.

1. Name the founder of The Lyceum, a prominent Greek institute.

1. Name the philosopher from ancient Greece who gave emphasis to practical and experiments for life-long education.

1. Which philosopher's student was the Macedonian king, Alexander the Great?

1. Whose philosophical aspects remain, even now, an area of active research?

1. Name the philosopher to whom the first formal logical analysis is ascribed (Florida Atlantic University, n.d.).

Sparta

1. Name the ancient Greek, military, and authoritarian city state whose educational goal was making soldiers out of citizens.

1. Name the society wherein every female and male had to possess the perfect body.

1. Which city-state of ancient Greece regarded activities such as art, literature, reading, and writing as unbefitting the soldier citizen?

1. In which city-state of ancient times were newborns checked by soldiers for judging whether or not they were could become useful to society?

1. In which city-state of ancient Greece were boys forced, at seven years of age, to go away from home and enroll in a strictly disciplined school?

1. Name the ancient city-state that prohibited soldiers from residing with their families until they turned 60?

1. Name the city-state of ancient Greece that encouraged its boys to steal food without getting caught in the act?

1. In which civilization of ancient Greece were girls provided training beyond domestic arts?

1. In which ancient city-state were girls trained just as much as the boys (Ancient Greek Culture, n.d.)?

1. Name the ancient Greek city-state wherein boys were to enlist in the state military, which was a permanent reserve force ready to take up duty in case of emergency, from an age of twenty years, and serve in it until reaching sixty years of age.