What is Knowledge and its limitations

When we say we know something, how much do we really know? Do we know what we claim?

Question to ask ourselves are –

• Do we only know what we have heard from someone or read somewhere?

• Have we experienced it ourselves?

• We have studied about it in detail OR are we an expert?

The answers will be interesting and revealing.

WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE

Cambridge dictionary states Knowledge as:

Understanding of or information about a subject that you get by experience or study, either known by one person or by people generally.

And the branch of philosophy which deals with knowledge is Epistemology.

There are 2 types of knowledge which are widely recognized:

•  a priori

It is the knowledge that is independent of experience.

For example: 2 + 2 = 4 OR All bachelors are not married

i.e. something which can be understood by analysis without the need to explicitly experience it.

• a posteriori

It is the knowledge that is derived from experience.  

For example: my car is blue.

i.e. something that is experienced from our senses.

There are 6 means of knowledge in Indian philosophy:

• Relying on senses – also known as “Pratyaksa”

It refers to knowledge acquired though our perception aided by our senses. Simply put, something we can quite literally see or hear ourselves.

• Inference – also known as “Anumana”

It refers to knowledge from Inferring based on something else. For example, a doctor treating a patient based on symptoms. He can infer by observing the body but cannot see the disease itself. Another example is: When you see smoke arising, you know there is a fire.

• Analogy – also known as “Upamana”

It refers to knowledge gained through Analogy i.e. derived from similarity.

For example, I have seen Mike run very fast and I have been told that Bob also runs like Mike. Now I know Bob also runs fast without ever meeting him.

• Words of a trustworthy person – also known as “Sabda”

It refers to knowledge gained through the statements of a trustworthy person. Applies to both verbal & written. And a person is considered trustworthy if he knows the truth and is conveying it correctly.

To a large extent, the education system is based on this. The teacher is considered to be a trustworthy provider of knowledge, and the students are referred to reading material which is considered to be reliable.

• Postulations & presumptions – also known as “Arthapatti”

It is derived from circumstances. The most common example give in ancient texts is: There is a man who is fat. That man does not eat in the day. Hence the statement "man eats in the night" must be true.

• Non apprehension / non-perception – also known as “Anupalabdhi”

It means that non-existence is known through non-perception and not by the perception of non-existence. Because for perception, there has to be a contact between the sense and the object. For example, there is no chair in the room.

LIMITATIONS OF KNOWLEDGE

The story goes that the Oracle of Delphi said Socrates was the wisest person in Athens. Socrates believed the Oracle but was also convinced that he knew nothing. He went around in Athens trying to find someone wiser than him and had discussions with people from different walks of life. He concluded that he was only wiser than others because he knew nothing nor did he pretend to know, while others also knew nothing great, but they fancied to know.

Perhaps it is wiser to admit that we really don’t know as much as we claim to know.

Knowing versus Being:

There is a difference between knowing and being what you know. A pertinent example here can be a someone who knows all about what is right and wrong, know all about ethics and morality, but he is still not able to become that righteous person. This is because he still lacks the foundation of self-discipline, focus, ability to rein in senses.

Similarly, a person on spiritual journey can read every text written in all the scriptures but still not attain enlightenment because he has no foundations of spiritual practices which will guide him step by step to the final destination.

Knowledge without experience and underlying foundation, can be useless at times.

Knowledge versus wisdom:

Wisdom simply is, being wise. i.e. knowing what the right thing is. Knowing what is sensible and what’s not. It is knowing how to apply the knowledge. It is the ability to discern between what appears to be true from what certainly looks false.

A person can have no knowledge in a traditional sense and still be wise. At the same time, someone with knowledge but lacking wisdom can be a disastrous combination. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Reality Check:

Fact is, Knowledge is a behemoth. There are so many things and knowledge areas that It is simply impossible to be an expert on every subject.

Furthermore, perception has its own limitation (sky is dark in the night and blue in the day, but reality is, there is just colorless space above us). Inference is anyways dependent on other facts. When we know anything through reading and listening, authenticity is needed. With advancement in technology, it is easy to spread misinformation at scale, so again there is need for caution.

It will not be wrong to say that what we know, at times, falls in the category of a highly educated guess. We skim the surface, form opinions and suppose to know it all. And some of us are better at pretending to know more.

Awareness is Key:

Be cognizant of the limitations of our knowledge.

When you experience something, be aware of the limits of perception.

When you read or hear something, be mindful of its authenticity. When authenticity is established, be mindful of the intent. Distinguish propaganda from information.

Lastly – If we don’t know something, let’s have the wisdom to acknowledge our own limitations.

A quote attributed to Confucius sums it all:

“To Know what you know and do not know, is true knowledge”