Knowledge Management

If there is one thing in the course of human history that has become a challenge to experts, it is on the writing and rewriting of the definition of knowledge. Scientists and human beings in general, in an effort to understand the world, sought to define the universe in the best way they could. The problem is that sometimes in our definitions, we really do not hit the word right at the core. Instead, we end up with multiple definitions such at what philosophers have encountered when they first asked the question, what is truth? This is a many-sided question. Depending on which angle you prefer to look at it, meanings vary.

The same thing is true when experts tried to find a definition of knowledge. By the very word itself, it is clear that we aim for a central, standard definition, something that would govern our usages and idioms whenever we use the word, regardless of culture, ethnicity, race, and gender. But this has not been the case with our philosophers for the past centuries. A centuries-old problem, we still find ourselves riddled by what knowledge really is, as it could mean many things. Nevertheless, we find answers, not to be taken as standard though, from reliable sources.

For instance, the Oxford English Dictionary defines knowledge as skills, facts, or information gained through education and experience. It is the practice of our learning, consciously and unconsciously, grounded from an understanding of a theory. It could refer to an existing body of what is known about a situation or a fact gained from familiarity or experience. Contemporary philosophers would even return to the classical definition of knowledge by Plato which is defined as justified true belief and exalt the merits of that definition. Utilitarians refer to it as the understanding of a subject to be used for a specific purpose. But for some, the definition remains insufficient. While philosophers consume their time on defining knowledge, psychologists, on the other hand, study the process of acquiring knowledge, thus, leading to findings that indicate knowledge as a product of complex cognitive process such as communication, reasoning, learning, perception, and association.

Aside from Plato, several philosophers who specialize on the epistemology, or the branch of philosophy that deals with the study of knowledge, have attempted to figure out the definition of knowledge. One notable definition is that by Robert Nozick who said that knowledge is a tracking of truth. His definition highlights the investigation of humankind to find the truth. Richard Kirkham is another philosopher who believed that evidence is what leads to the truth of the belief.

Wittgenstein, on the other hand, points that the definition of knowledge does not refer to different mental states but to the different ways of talking about conviction. He eased the difficulty of defining knowledge by studying how it is used in languages, where he found that knowledge is a case of family resemblance. The interconnection between knowledge and language is not to be overrated, as psychologists have found that knowledge is basically concept and action.

With advances in communication and information technology, the problem is not just the definition of knowledge, but the mass production of it. The problem is how we are going to choose from such huge body of information so that we could use it for specific purposes.

Knowledge Management |