Aaron J. Powner, M.Ed.
High School Science Teacher
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təˈmɒlədʒi/etymology - circa 1856, "theory of knowledge," coined by Scottish philosopher James F. Ferrier (1808-1864) from Greek episteme "knowledge" + -ology "branch of knowledge, science." The branch of philosophy concerned with the origin, acquisition, scope, and validity of knowledge. -- Online Etymology Dictionary © Douglas Harper and Dictionary.com
A. Philosophy
- Etymology: from the Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophia), which literally means "love of wisdom."
- Many "schools" of philosophy have developed over thousands of years. Each has its own approach to gaining knowledge and defining reality.
1. Belief
- Definition -- an idea that is held to be true (with or without justification)
2. Justification
- Definition -- reason(s) to accept an idea as true (evidence)
3. Truth
- Limited Sense Definition -- A truth is a fact of reality.
- Ultimate Sense Definition -- Truth is the sum total of reality = all things as they really are, or really were, or really will be.
4. Knowledge
- The Latin word scientia means "knowledge"
- Common Definition -- familiarity with ideas and beliefs, along with associated justification and applications.
- Academic Definition -- knowledge is seen as the overlap of justified belief and truth, therefore knowledge is accepted as established truth.
B. Knowledge Theory
1. Formal Terminology: Epistemology
- etymology: from Greek episteme "knowledge" and -ology "the study of" -- we say "understand," but Iconic Greek epistasthai literally means "overstand"
- The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge.
- Epistemology has been evolving for thousands of years.
2. Main Questions of Epistemology
- What is knowledge?
- How is knowledge gained?
- To what extent can truth be known?
3. Construction of Knowledge - Prezi
- Subject - the perceiver of objects. Involves intelligence. A subject must possess senses and a means to process the same (the human brain is a powerful difference engine); one subject can perceive itself or other subjects as individual objects
- Object - that which is perceived. Involves interpretation of reality. An object possesses properties and relations to other objects that can be perceived by intelligent subjects
- Phenomenon (pl. Phenomena) - an event, a process or pattern of change in the properties of objects or relationships between multiple objects
- Stimulus (pl. Stimuli) - sensory input caused by any object or phenomenon. The human brain receives billions of bits of information per second from the senses, but it filters out most of this, focusing on processing only relevant information
- Perception - when the mind becomes aware of and pays attention to (focuses) a set of sensory information and begins to process it
- Intelligence - the ability to perceive objects, tell the difference between them, and react to them
- Memory - retained information about perceptions, ideas, symbols, and processes. The human brain has short-term and long-term memory, with a memory capacity of about 2,500 terabytes or 2.5 petabytes (ref).
- Concept / Idea - a mental image of an object or phenomenon. When a subject begins to process related perceptions, the imagination creates a mental model of reality and begins to analyze, interpret, remember, and react to objects or events in its surroundings. Etymology of these synonyms: the word concept is from the Latin concipere which means "to take in and hold" and the word idea is from the Greek idein which means "to see or know"
- Symbol - a practical representation of an object or phenomenon for communication [words (spoken, written, or signed), drawings, etc.]
- Concrete Ideas - a concept that relates only to direct physical perceptions, usually tied to external objects
- Abstract Ideas - more complex concepts which are made of frameworks of concrete (or less abstract) ideas -- often in the absence of an external object. Examples: love, faith, hate, etc. A concept/idea can itself be an object which can be perceived.
- Schema - a framework of related concrete and abstract ideas which represents a "big picture" understanding of a domain (theme) of knowledge
- Comprehensive World-View - the entire framework of all schemata that forms the basis of the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society. This framework encompasses the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point-of-view, including: (1) natural philosophy; (2) fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; (3) themes of values, emotions, and ethics; and (4) perception of reality.
- Cognition - all mental processes involved in thinking and learning. The human brain is capable of processing information at about 38 thousand trillion operations per second (ref); most of this is subconscious; the degree of conscious brain activity depends on the nature of the task, usually dealing with about seven bits of information at a time and processing a few dozen ideas per second (ref). Categories of cognitive processes include:
- Receiving Ideas - learning and communicating
- Perception - of information about objects via the senses
- Forming Ideas - imagining objects
- Remembering Ideas - short-term and long-term memory
- Symbolizing Ideas - words (spoken, written, or signed), drawings, etc. for communication purposes
- Responding to Ideas - deductive reasoning
- Analysis of Ideas - organizing, characterizing, and inferring meaning of ideas
- Evaluation of Ideas - testing, gathering evidence (justification), determining degree of certainty, and judging the truth value of ideas
- Application of Ideas - planning and problem solving with existing ideas (deduction)
- Adapting to New Ideas - adjusting prior knowledge or behavior to new information
- Levels of Deductive Response to Ideas - guided response, mechanical response, independent response, transferred response
- Creating New Ideas - inductive reasoning
- Abstracting more complex ideas from simpler ones
- Creating new applications of ideas (techniques)
4. Sources of Knowledge or Truth
- Authority - statement of ideas by recognized experts or by those having direct experience
- Physical Senses - direct personal experience. The traditional five senses include: vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch. In biology, the number and extent of senses is debated - see appendix for more details.
- Reason - logical cognitive processes used to manipulate ideas
Deductive Reasoning - using a generally accepted ideas to form specific observations ("top down thinking")
Inductive Reasoning - using specific observations to form a generally accepted idea ("bottom up thinking")
Abductive Reasoning - testing a "best guess" to form more substantial hypotheses ("trial and error")
- Intuition - gaining knowledge without any apparent use of the physical senses
Rational Intuition - subconscious mental processes involving memories and unattended sensory information to solve problems (often while daydreaming, sleeping, or busy with an unrelated task)
Irrational Intuition - receiving information that cannot have come from rational intuition. This is viewed with skepticism yet is studied profusely due to its profound impact on individuals and communities (e.g., spiritual experiences or ESP)
C. Truth Theory
1. Truth-Related Philosophies - approaches to truth
- Idealism - Reality is a product of the mind, no external reality exists, objects of perception are actually ideas in the mind
- Realism - Reality is independent of the mind. Because reality is external to one's self: (1) there is only one version of truth, no separate truths exist for scientific and non-scientific ways of knowing; (2) we can perceive or discover part of the whole truth, but we cannot know by scientific means whether our knowledge is correct or complete in the ultimate sense; and (3) truth does not have to be perceived, understood, believed, or justified to still be true. Realism-related ideas:
- Materialism - nothing beyond matter and energy can be proven to exist. This proposition clearly defines the limits of science, though some further chose to deny any separate existence of mind, spirit, deity, or other transcendent (supernatural) entities or realities.
- Empiricism - knowledge must be supported experimentally with evidence based on the physical senses (experimental science)
- Rationalism - knowledge may be derived from reason independently of the senses (theoretical science)
- Phenominalism - there is no way to prove external reality exists (ignore idealism vs realism debate), so the focus should be on interpretation of sensory perceptions
- Relativism - an individual or society's world view is influenced by culture, personal experience, emotions, values, ethics, and memories -- "your understanding of reality is different from my understanding of reality"
2. Truth Theories - how to tell if an idea might be true
The following list of truth theories assist in determining whether any particular idea or schema is likely to be true. This list has been evolving in formal philosophy studies for thousands of years.
- Correspondence Theory - true ideas match (correspond) to external reality (accuracy)
- Coherence Theory - true ideas must be consistently true in all situations (precision)
- Perspective Theory - ideas are true from a certain point of view (relativism)
- Consensus Theory - ideas are more likely to be true when they are believed by the majority of experts
- Construction Theory - perception of true ideas is shaped (or even limited) by culture and social conditions (world view)
- Tradition Theory - ideas are more likely to be true when they have been accepted for many generations
- Pragmatism Theory - true ideas are verified by successful practical application, and they will eventually be accepted by the majority via rational and scientific inquiry (the "test of time" or "time will tell" approach)
- Pluralism Theory - as more of the above truth conditions are met by an idea, the higher is the degree of certainty that the idea is true
Electromagnetic Fields and Waves
Vision (sight) - the eyes react to a range of visible wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation (ROYGBV; IR in reptiles and UV in insects and birds)
Electroreception - sensing changes in electrical fields by hair (e.g., sharks, eels, fish, dolphin, platypus)
Magnetoreception - sensing changes in magnetic fields by hair (e.g., migratory birds, bees, cattle, whales, and bacteria)
Chemoreception
Olfaction (smell) - external chemicals (odors) are perceived in the wet tissues of the nostrils (vomeronasal organ in salamanders, reptiles, and some mammals; antennae of insects)
Gustation (taste) - external chemicals (flavors) are perceived in the wet tissues of the tongue (apendages of insects; skin of some fish)
Internal Chemoreseption - oxygen and carbon dioxide receptors in brain (sense of suffocation), salt and sugar receptors in blood (thirst response), hormone receptors in brain
Mechanoreception
Audition (hearing) - air pressure waves (sound) is mechanically transmitted to inner ear where they vibrate sensory hairs
External Tactition (touch) - pressure, stretch, and strain of external tissue (skin)
Inernal Tactition (touch) - pressure, stretch, and strain of internal tissues
Lungs - autonomic respiratory rate and conscious breath control
Blood Vessels - blood pressure, local temperature changes (blush response), headaches
Sinuses (nose) - sneeze reflex to foreign debris
Pharynx (throat) and Trachea (wind pipe) - gag and cough reflexes to foreign debris
Esophagus - swallowing reflex to food
Stomach - full sensation and hunger
Intestines - sensations of gas and cramps
Bladder and Rectum - sensations of urge to void
Other Physical Senses
Equilibrioception (balance and acceleration) - body position and gravity sensed in the semi-circular canals of the inner ear (statocyst in plants and many invertebrates)
Thermoception (temperature) - sense of hot/cold and heat flux (rate of change)
Nociception (pain) - signals nerve-damage or damage to tissue; three types include cutaneous (skin), somatic (joints and bones), and visceral (body organs)
Proprioception (space) - kinesthetic sense of position of limbs and appendages
Chronoception (time) - sensing external passage of time and internal biological rhythms (e.g., sleep patterns, monthly menstrual cycles; migration, tidal behaviors, mating, and hybernation cycles in other species)