Personal Exploration of Knowledge Paper-epistemological analysis Assignment

Personal Exploration of Knowledge Paper-epistemological analysis - Assignment Example This paper discusses various types of knowledge such as knowledge how, for instance how to drive; knowledge that, which is also known as propositional knowledge, such as knowing that P is P and knowledge by acquaintance, which is knowing a person or a place. Epistemology is mainly concerned with propositional knowledge. When trying to analyze knowledge, epistemologists often distinguish between a priori and a posteriori forms of knowledge. A priori form of knowledge that is independently known that is it does not come from ones experience or senses. This type of knowledge is acquired from sources outside experience such as reason and is usually arrived at beforehand. On the other hand, a posteriori knowledge refers to the type of knowledge that is acquired from experience. It is also known as empirical knowledge and is not known before hand from ones previous experiences. Most of the scientific knowledge is empirical in nature as it is based on previous experiences. Here are various sources of knowledge identified by philosophers. According to Feldman, a renowned philosopher, there are five major types of knowledge, which include perception, memory, expert testimony, introspection, and reasoning. (Feldman, 2003). Perception refers to the type of knowledge derived from one’s senses. It is based on ones sensual perceptions and on the view that the primary source of knowledge is one’s experience. Perception is also referred to as empiricism. Reason is the other source of knowledge. His type of knowledge is acquired a priori, that is outside the realm of senses. This source of knowledge is based on pure reason where truths are deduced based on existing knowledge, for instance mathematical truths. The opinion that reason is the primary source of knowledge is often referred to as rationalism. Introspection has also been widely acknowledged as a major source of knowledge among philosophers. This type of knowledge is acquired through personal internal sel f evaluation (Feldman, 2003). Through introspection, one can know that they are tired of hungry for instance. Some philosophers recognize the similarities between introspection and perception but have widely accepted it as an independent source of knowledge. The other source of knowledge is memory. This refers to knowledge acquired from information stored in one’s brain based on knowledge previously learnt either from current information of past events. Testimony on the other hand is a source of knowledge acquired through communication we get from others (Cooper, 1999). Some philosophers have raised concern about testimony as a source of credible knowledge and have proposed that knowledge derived this way must be verifiable in order for it to be trusted and believed as knowledge. All these sources of knowledge have gained support throughout epistemology and philosophy in general. However some