Philosophy 202: Knowledge (Part One): Sorts, Values and Disvalues

Contents:

Introduction
Section 1: Sorts of knowledge
Section 2: The ends (values) and disvalues of knowledge
Appendix: The Three Groups in this article

Introduction

This article is the first in a group of five about knowledge. It outlines the sorts of knowledge and the positive and negative values of knowledge.

The three articles after this one expand upon the positive and negative values. A fifth article outlines the means (or methods) of knowing and the main answers to the problem of the justification of claims to know.

Technical note: The term philosophers use for philosophy about knowledge is 'epistemology'.

My use of G1, G2 and G3 refers to my thesis that most philosophical concepts fall naturally into three groups (see Philosophy 103a, 103b).

Section 1: Sorts of knowledge

There are three main sorts of knowledge. I call them knowing as, knowing that, and knowing how.

G1. Knowing as. This is usually called perceptual knowledge, or, in a word, perception. We sense, for example, some patches of green and brown, but we know them as a tree.

It's important to note that sensation is distinct from perception. (You are in a dark room. You reach out and feel sensations of roundness, hardness, heaviness, yay-bigness, and three-holedness. Then suddenly you perceive you are holding a bowling-ball.)

Perception is pre-cognitive, which means it occurs before thought and is ingredient to it.

G2. Knowing that. For example, knowing that George W.Bush is President of the United States of America is called propositional knowledge. A proposition is the content of whatever can be held to be true or false – a belief, a statement, a claim, an intuition, etc.

Propositional knowledge is cognitive, which means it is the content of thinking. This is perhaps the reason why it is the sort of knowledge that has received the most attention from philosophers.

G3. Knowing how. Claimed to be the forte of good old Americans, 'know how' or practical knowledge is basically knowledge of causes and effects.

There are several levels of practical knowledge. First there is somatic (bodily) skill – knowing how to do basic things with your body, such as eating and walking. Then there is skill in the use of technology, such as knowing how to drive a car. These two levels are non-cognitive, which means we can use them without thinking. A third level of practical knowledge is propositional knowledge about how to do things (for example, the propositions in a book on how to drive a car).

It's important to note, however, that practical knowledge does not reduce to (is not basically a sort of) propositional knowledge. You might have studied and memorized a dozen books on how to drive a car, but, even so, you might not be able to drive a car. Practical knowledge, the possession of skills, requires practice, practice, and more practice.

Section 2: Ends (values) and disvalues of knowledge

Each of the three main sorts of knowledge has its own end or ideal, something that is (ideally) essential to having that sort of knowledge.

G1. The end of 'knowing as' is the real. The disvalue associated with 'knowing as' is the unreal. For more about the real and the unreal see Philosophy 203.

G2. The end of 'knowing that' is the true. The disvalue associated with 'knowing that' is the non-true For more about the true and the non-true see Philosophy 204.

G3. The end of 'knowing how' is the effective. The disvalue associated with 'knowing how' is the ineffective. For more about the effective and the ineffective see Philosophy 205.

Appendix: The Three Groups in this article

Sorts of knowledge:

G1: Perceptual (knowing as)
G2: Propositional (knowing that)
G3: Practical (knowing how)

Knowledge values and disvalues:

G1: The real and the unreal
G2: The true and the non-true
G3: The effective and the ineffective