The 4 elements of knowledge
These are the elements involved in the process of obtaining knowledge.
Knowledge is a very broad concept, since it refers to everything that can be acquired regarding what reality is like and, in essence, everything is susceptible to be learned.
Although there are many things to learn and think about, every process in which new information is acquired has four parts, which are the elements of knowledge. Next we will see what they are and we will put examples of each one.
The main elements of knowledge
Before going more in depth about its elements, it is necessary to comment a little above the idea of knowledge, although its definition is somewhat complicated and depends on the philosophical perspective of each one. In fact, the philosophical branch that treats knowledge as an object of study and attempts to define it is the Theory of Knowledge.
Broadly speaking, knowledge is a spontaneous and instinctive phenomenon, a mental, cultural, and emotional process through which reality is through which reality is reflected and reproduced in thought. This process is based on experiences, reasoning and learning, which can be grasped with a greater or lesser degree of subjectivity by the subject who tries to assimilate them.
Regardless of the type of knowledge to be acquired, the following elements can be highlighted in any knowledge acquisition process: the subject, the object, the cognitive operation and the thought or mental representation.
1. Subject
In all knowledge acquisition there is a subject, that is, the person who captures information that constitutes reality.The subject, represented in the form of an object and, from it, carries out a cognitive operation in order to have an impression or thought about that object. In short, the subject is the one who knows new knowledge.
In a scientific research context, the subjects who acquire new knowledge of the world are the scientists themselves.. These researchers, by means of experiments and investigations, obtain results, which would be in essence the object of study. It is on the basis of these results that they draw conclusions, which help to shape science as we know it today.
Another example, perhaps clearer, would be to imagine a biology class. In it, the cell is being taught as a didactic unit and the subjects that must assimilate the knowledge related to this topic are the students.
2. Object
The object is that which is to be learned.whether it is a physical object, a person, an animal or an idea, or anything else that can be learned.
There is an interesting relationship between the subject, who learns, and the object, what is learned, since, when these two interact, they have very different effects on each other. While in most cases the object remains unchanged, the subject, by means of knowing this first one, changes his internal world, since he acquires new knowledge.by acquiring new knowledge.
However, it should be noted that there are certain exceptions. An example of this would be in many scientific investigations in which the participants, who would be the object of study, change their behavior when they feel watched by the researchers, who would be the subjects (not in the experimental sense) acquiring new knowledge.
It is here that we enter into the idea of objective knowledge and subjective knowledge.The latter is understood as that knowledge acquired by the subject that differs from what the object of knowledge actually is.
To understand it more clearly, regardless of what the object of knowledge is, the subject who tries to understand it may or may not grasp it in its totality. The subjectivity of the subject is the gulf between the knowledge he has acquired and the actual knowledge of the object. Actually, to arrive at totally objective knowledge is very difficult.
Taking again the example of the biology class, the object as an element of knowledge would be the didactic unit of the cell itself and all that is explained in it: parts, functions, types of cells, cell reproduction...
3. Cognitive operation
It is the act of knowing, a psychic processing that can not be directly observed.necessary for the subject to be able to know the object and have an impression of it.
It differs from thinking because the cognitive operation is instantaneouswhile thought, which would be the impression in the process of acquiring knowledge, lasts in time.
Although this operation is brief, the thought resulting from the action lasts in the subject's knowledge for some time.
In the example of biology classes, the cognitive operations would be the actions that students would perform to assimilate the contents, such as reading the textbook, listening and processing what the teacher explains, looking at the images of the cell...
4. Thinking or mental representation
The thought is the internal impression or imprint that is produced each time an object is known.. It is that which remains in the memory and is transformed into a series of thoughts that are evoked each time the object is glimpsed.
Thought, insofar as it is a representation, is always intramental. It can only be located in our mind, although we can express it by means of words or by writing it down.
However, the object can be located both outside our mind, i.e., be extramental, and within it, i.e., be intramental. This is because an idea, a political opinion or a belief are also objects as elements of knowledgeand can be studied by other people who will have their own thoughts about them.
As we have commented above with the example of the biology class, in that case the subjects are the students, the object is the subject of the cell and the cognitive processes would be reading the book, paying attention to what is said in class or taking notes.
The students' thoughts or impressions of the content would vary from person to person.The emotional component may be present. One may think that what is given in class is unnecessary, another may be apprehensive about seeing cells, and another may be passionate about the small cytological universe.
Types of knowledge
Although the acquisition of a given knowledge involves the four elements explained above, it is worth noting some differences according to the type of knowledge to be acquired.
Empirical knowledge
Empirical knowledge is obtained through direct contact with the object of study, usually being something physical or objective.usually being something physical or objectively measurable. This type of knowledge constitutes the basic framework of laws and rules on which it is intended to know how the world operates.
2. Theoretical knowledge
Theoretical knowledge is knowledge that comes from an interpretation of reality, i.e., in itself the object is an interpretation of something, whether or not it is external to the human mind. Of this type are usually many scientific, philosophical and religious beliefs.
For example, the idea of happiness is a mental construct, not something directly observable in nature, which, moreover, depending on the current of psychology and philosophy will have a different definition.
3. Practical knowledge
This is knowledge that allow to obtain an end or to carry out a concrete action.. The object to be acquired is an action, a way of behaving.
Bibliographical references:
- Habermas, J. (1987). Knowledge and Human Interests. Boston: Polity Press. ISBN 0-7456-0459-5.
- Blanshard, B., (1939), The Nature of Thought, London: George Allen and Unwin.
- Davidson, D., (1986), “A Coherence Theory of Truth and Knowledge,” Truth And Interpretation, Perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, Ernest LePore (ed.), Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 307–19.
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024)