Chapter 1: Understanding How We Know What We Know

It's fascinating to ponder the origins of our knowledge. This isn't limited to academic subjects or professional skills; rather, it encompasses everything we understand—from how we communicate to the latest celebrity news and even cultural stories.

We generally gain knowledge through our observations, personal experiences, and information received from our parents, society, educational institutions, and books. These sources can broadly be categorized into four main areas:

1. Authority: This includes family, societal norms, institutions, and literature, all of which serve as authoritative sources of knowledge.
2. Intuition: Occasionally, we rely on our instincts, often referred to as gut feelings. For example, we might sense when someone is being dishonest, even in the absence of clear evidence.
3. Senses and Experience: Our senses—tools for observation—along with our experiences, are fundamental to our understanding of the world.
4. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning: We can also expand our knowledge through reasoning, building upon what we already know.

Consider a scenario where you visit a village in Nepal and observe only herbivorous animals. Using inductive reasoning, you might conclude that all animals in that village are herbivores. This type of reasoning moves from specific observations to broader generalizations.

Now, imagine you've previously learned that all animals in that village are indeed herbivores. Each time you see an animal, you deduce that it must be a herbivore, even without direct evidence of its diet. This is an example of deductive reasoning, which moves from a general principle to specific instances.

There are additional ways to gain knowledge; for instance, many cultures acknowledge revelation, where individuals acquire insights through meditation. Yet, the four aforementioned methods are the most common pathways through which we claim to know things.

But wait, is it truly accurate to say we "know"? The phrase "at least we think we know" implies a caveat. Up to this point, I've used the term "knowledge" quite loosely, encompassing everything from our intuitive feelings about someone’s honesty to our inductive reasoning about animal diets.

So, what exactly is knowledge?

What Constitutes Knowledge?

Taking inspiration from philosophical discourse, knowledge is most aptly defined as "justified true belief." Allow me to clarify this with an example!

Imagine believing in the existence of Santa Claus. In this case, your belief alone does not equate to knowledge because it is not based on truth. Now, let’s say Santa actually exists but is hidden from everyone. Even then, your belief wouldn't qualify as knowledge since you lack evidence to support it. Only when you gather concrete proof of Santa's existence can you transform that belief into justified true belief—essentially, knowledge.

The philosophical definition of knowledge is a topic of extensive debate, but for now, we can leave those discussions to the philosophers, as that's their expertise!

How Do We Determine What's True?

Identifying the truth can be straightforward for statements such as "Paris is the capital of France." However, discerning the truth in more complex statements—like "How the Universe expanded from a condensed Singularity" or "How bacteria altered Earth's atmosphere"—is significantly more challenging.

This is where science becomes invaluable.

Science serves as humanity's most effective tool for understanding the world and determining truths. By employing the Scientific Method, we explore the reasons behind phenomena and search for truths. Much of what we learn from authoritative sources, especially in academia, is derived from scientific inquiry.

While the Scientific Method incorporates intuition, authority, observation, and induction to form hypotheses, it goes further by rigorously testing these ideas. This ongoing quest for truth and knowledge is what makes science remarkable.

It's important to note that even scientific knowledge is provisional, representing the best understanding we have at any given moment.

In our next discussion, I will delve into the Scientific Method, aiming to explain it in an engaging and detailed way!

Next Topic:

Scientific Method: Explaining Science to a 10-Year-Old Kid

Hypothesis, Falsification, and Why One Should Approach Science with Curiosity!