The study of knowledge is classified under a branch of philosophy called Epistemology (Kurtus, 2002). This study has several schools of thought describing how knowledge was developed or gathered. Up to date, people have certain varying perspectives about knowledge such as what is knowledge and how it helps people in perceiving the world. These schools of thought describe what various philosophers believed about knowledge. The information provided by these theories can be used to describe knowledge from a modern perspective. Some of the philosophies that were used to describe knowledge gathering and development include logic, empiricism, apriorism, and positivism (Holt, 2006). These theories use different perspectives to describe knowledge’s origin, structure, and validity (Kurtus, 2002). Generally, the traditional philosophers of knowledge addressed the logical structure of knowledge which they considered unchanging. The traditional philosophers also discussed the mental phenomena that are considered to play an important role in the development of the knowledge structure. The mental phenomena that can be addressed by analyzing these philosophies include perception, knowing, thinking, and understanding (Holt, 2006). In this paper, these philosophies will be used to elaborate on certain knowledge concerns such as justifying how environmental and behavioral studies contribute to knowledge development.
Empiricism one of the knowledge philosophies describes how human knowledge is generated from experience. According to this theory, observation and experiments are essential tools in knowledge-gathering. This theory describes how a special branch of knowledge called prior knowledge can be developed from experience with the logic rules (Holt, 2006). This theory describes how biological and physical systems differ in knowledge development (Kurtus, 2002). According to this theory, experience leads to knowledge development because the information about the past acts as a guide in shaping the future. The areas addressed by this theory can be used to describe how one is able to know and understand mathematical formulas which mostly only need the application of logic rules.
Apriorism theory describes how knowledge is an innate branch of philosophy. This theory describes how through noninductive means people can obtain knowledge (Kurtus, 2002). This theory describes that the mind has logical structures which are innate that enable human beings to acquire knowledge even before going through a particular experience. Unlike the empiricism philosophy, this theory does not support the idea that one has to go through a particular experience to understand a particular idea (Holt, 2006). This theory describes how the pre-adjusted sense helps the human mind to comprehend certain ideas even before having a first-hand experience (Kurtus, 2002). Apriorism philosophy can be used to describe how human knowledge has gradually been advancing in the past generations. Like a computer, the mind which generates knowledge can be stimulated by environmental conditions to develop solutions for problems the human has never experienced before (Holt, 2006).
Other philosophies that can be used to describe certain knowledge concerns such as why knowledge seems to change with generation include the compromise and positivism knowledge philosophies. Despite the human mind having a certain degree of inborn knowledge, to a certain degree, this knowledge is stimulated by environmental conditions (Kurtus, 2002). In order to address concerns on why human knowledge seems to change in generations, ethical, categorical, and moral vitals can be used. The categorical imperative avenue can be used to show if it is possible for past experiences to be used in shaping the future. The ethical imperative avenue can be used to show how social sharing of knowledge contributes to an improved level of knowledge. The ethical imperative avenue can be used to show how sharing of certain love ideas and elements such as love contributes to the improvement of these ideas.
Most of the traditional philosophies of knowledge to a certain level address certain concerns in the field. Despite the fact that some of these philosophies such as apriorism and empiricism are applicable in solving problems that develop about knowledge, some of the philosophies such as compromise are inapplicable especially in explaining certain knowledge concerns about how knowledge is achieved (Kurtus, 2002). Despite the fact that it is true that knowledge is mainly gained through life experiences, compromise philosophy suggests a knowledge acquisition avenue that is based on trial and error thus the reason I consider it inapplicable (Holt, 2006). The traditional philosophies of knowledge can be used to elaborate on what is meant by knowledge and how it is attained.
References
Holt, T. (2006). Theory of Knowledge. University of Liverpool: University press.
Kurtus, R. (2002). Epistemology: The philosophy of knowledge. The Schools of Champions publishers.