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The
topic of knowledge is fascinating. The term
'knowlege' appears to
be intuitively obvious - but is it?
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate
Dictionary provides this
setof definitions:
Main Entry: knowl·edge
Pronunciation:
'nä-lij
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English knowlege,
from knowlechen to acknowledge, irregular from knowen
Date: 14th
century
1 obsolete : COGNIZANCE
2 a (1) : the fact or
condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through
experience or association (2) : acquaintance with or understanding
of a science, art, or technique b (1) : the fact or condition of
being aware of something (2) : the range of one's information or
understanding <answered to the best of my knowledge> c : the
circumstance or condition of apprehending truth or fact through
reasoning : COGNITION d : the fact or condition of having
information or of being learned <a man of unusual
knowledge>
3 archaic : SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
4 a : the sum of
what is known : the body of truth, information, and principles
acquired by mankind b archaic : a branch of learning
synonyms
KNOWLEDGE, LEARNING, ERUDITION, SCHOLARSHIP mean what is or can be
known by an individual or by mankind. KNOWLEDGE applies to facts or
ideas acquired by study, investigation, observation, or experience
<rich in the knowledge of human nature>. LEARNING applies to
knowledge acquired especially through formal, often advanced,
schooling <a book that demonstrates vast learning>. ERUDITION
strongly implies the acquiring of profound, recondite, or bookish
learning <an erudition unusual even in a scholar>. SCHOLARSHIP
implies the possession of learning characteristic of the advanced
scholar in a specialized field of study or investigation <a work
of first-rate literary
scholarship>.
For our purposes here -- I will use 4 a :
the sum of what is known : the body of truth, information,
and principles acquired by mankind.
If
we take KNOWLEDGE as the SUM of ALL THAT IS
KNOWN ... then clearly KNOWLEDGE changes over time.
For the most part, we can state that knowledge increases with
time. Perhaps somtimes KNOWLEDGE decreases when some knowledge
is lost ... this can happen when catastrophic natural
(fires,floods,...) or cultural events (wars, holocaust,
deliberate killing and book burning, ...) completely obliterate
only copies of records of knowledge.
There are many question regarding
KNOWLEDGE:
How is KNOWLEDGE obtained?
How and where is KNOWLEDGE preserved and
transmitted?
Is there any way to measure KNOWLEDGE?
What is KNOWABLE?
What is NOT KNOWABLE?
What is it that we know?
What is it that we don't know?
What is it that we know that we know?
What is it that we know that we don't
know?
These categories leave a set of knowledge of which
we don't know that we don't know - the only thing that we do know
about it, is in a meta-knowledge kind of way, is that based on s set
theoretic approach, there is that set of knowledge. [Terms
associated with discourse about knowledge have to be sharpened - add
to the todo list].
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