knowledge is the act of knowing, is to have idea Or the notion of something through information presented to it.
The word knowledge comes from the Latin know, which means the act of knowing. Knowledge is basically looking at the world and its elements and representing them from ideas.
O knowledge consists of 3 elements basics:
- O subject (or knowing): the person capable of obtaining knowledge;
- O object (or knowable): what or what can be known;
- The representation: which is the subject's understanding of the object.
For you to understand in a practical way, these elements work as follows: you are the subject, this text you are reading is the object and the representation is what you are understanding of him.
There are also two main theories that explain the origin of knowledge, that is, how it arises:
- Empiricism: explains that knowledge is acquired from experience, from the subject's contact with the world;
- Rationalism: explains that all knowledge comes through reason, the simple act of thinking.
There are different types of knowledge:
- sensitive knowledge: is knowledge based on the 5 senses of human beings;
- intellectual knowledge: is linked to logic and reason;
- empirical knowledge: is one based on practical day-to-day experience;
- Scientific knowledge: is knowledge based on evidence that rationally explains and proves a fact;
- philosophical knowledge: is linked to questioning reality itself, creating ideas and concepts;
- theological knowledge: which is the knowledge gained from faith, which cannot be explained.
Main types of knowledge
Empirical (or common sense) knowledge
It's the spontaneous way of knowing, it's the knowledge acquired in everyday practice and handed down from generation to generation.
Empirical knowledge is not intended to be experimentally or theoretically proven to be true or false, because it is knowledge that simply happens in everyday life.
Example: fire, which is considered one of the first knowledge of human beings.
The act of making fire was passed down from generation to generation, without worrying too much about how or why it happened. The important thing is the result of knowledge: having the fire.
Read more about empirical knowledge and common sense.
Religious (or theological) knowledge
It states that phenomena that we cannot explain rationally, or that we are unaware of the explanation, are supernatural causes.
Generally, religious knowledge is one that attributes supernatural actions to one or more divine entities, such as gods, spirits or God, for example.
See more about knowing and religious knowledge.
Philosophical (or rational) knowledge
It consists in questioning reality in a rational way, to create ideas and concepts. It arises from the passage from mythological thinking to rational thinking.
Philosophical thinking is the one that questions its own reality in a rational way, and not necessarily looking for answers.
See more about philosophical knowledge.
Scientific knowledge
Scientific knowledge is that which is analyzed and based on scientifically proven facts.
Hypotheses or prepositions in scientific knowledge have their veracity proven through experimentation and not just by reason, as in philosophical knowledge.
The main characteristic of scientific knowledge is its methodological basis.
Read more about others Types of knowledge.
See too:
- meaning of wisdom;
- What is information?;
- meaning of intelligence;
- Scientific knowledge.