KNOWLEDGE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Definition of knowledge
3. Philosophical view of knowledge
4. Ordinary usage of knowledge
5. Religious meaning of Knowledge
6. Existence of knowledge
7. Process of obtaining Knowledge
8. Types of Knowledge
9. Forms of knowledge
10. How to minimize Knowledge Gap
11. Benefits of knowledge
12. Problems of knowledge
13. Conclusion
14. References.











1. INTRODUCTION
In this journal paper, we shall try to examine knowledge by first exploring its definition as put forward by different scholars.
We shall then embark on philosophical view on knowledge through examining the debate among the philosophers in the field of epistemology.
In this paper we shall also have a look at the ordinary usage of knowledge. This will have also a philosophical approach.
We shall give a room to the religious meaning of knowledge by considering Christian and Hindu denomination.
With the help of Patrick Reany essay on “what is knowledge” we shall explore the existence of knowledge and discuss the process of obtaining knowledge.
Types of knowledge, forms of knowledge, minimizing knowledge gap, benefits and problems of knowledge will also get a place in this paper.
Finally, we shall conclude the paper by trying to see the applicability of knowledge in developing society.

2. DEFINITION OF KNOWLEDGE
2.1.Patrick Reany, while writing on “what is knowledge?” defined knowledge as a relation between two or more concepts, where concepts are mental objects. But these concepts do not exist apart from a conceptualizer, an intelligent being. Thus human knowledge is subjective and has no absolute meaning.
2.2.According to the oxford English Dictionary, Knowledge is defined variously as:
(i) Expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education, the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject,
(ii) What is known in a particular field or in total, facts and information or
(iii) Awareness or situation.
2.3.Definition of knowledge on the Web:
2.3.1. It is the act or condition of knowing something with a familiarity gained through experience or association. It means to “Perceive directly”, to “have direct cognition”, to apprehend intellectual”, to “acquire facts”.2
2.3.2. Knowledge is part of hierarchy made up of data, information and knowledge. Data are raw facts. Information is data with context and perspective. Knowledge is information with guidance for action based upon insight and experience.3
2.3.3. Knowledge is what is known. Like the related concepts truth, belief, and wisdom, there is no single definition of knowledge on which scholars agree, but rather numerous theories and continued debate about the nature of knowledge.4
2.3.4. Knowledge can be considered as distillation of information that has been collected, classified, organized, integrated, abstracted and value added…5
2.3.5. Knowledge is data and information that has been value added into a form which is suitable to support decision-making. Knowledge involves the skilled use of information within an active purposeful process of selection and interpretation.6
2.3.6. Knowledge is the mental capacity for effective performance. Knowledge as defined here can be ascertained by paper-and-pencil testing. The pure unit of measure of knowledge is accurate answers, but in many situations we judge knowledge based on both speed and accuracy.7
2.3.7. Knowledge is the awareness and understanding of facts truth, or information gained in the form of experience or leaning (a posteriori) or through introspection ( a priori). Knowledge is an appreciation of possession of inter-connected details which, i isolation, are lesser value”.8
3. PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF KNOWLEDGE
The definition of knowledge is a matter of on-going debate among philosophers in the field of epistemology. The classical definition, described but not ultimately endorsed by, Plato, has it that in order for there to be knowledge at least three criteria must be fulfilled; that in order to count as knowledge, a statement must be justified, true, and believed. Some claim that these conditions are not sufficient, as Gettier case examples allegedly demonstrate. There are a number of alternatives proposed, including Robert Nozick’s arguments for a requirement that knowledge “tracks the Truth” and Simon Blackburn’s additional requirement that we do not want to say that those meet any of these conditions “through a defect, flaw, or failure” have knowledge.
Richard Kirkharm suggests that the definition of knowledge requires that the believer’s evidence is such that it logically necessitates the truth of the belief.
In Contrast to this approach, Wittgenstein observed, following Moore’s paradox , that one can say “He believes it but it isn’t so,” but not “He knows it, but it isn't so”. He goes on to argue that these do not correspond to distinct mental states, but rather to distinct ways of talking about conviction. What is different here is not the mental state of the speaker, but the activity in which they are engaged.
Wittgenstein sought to bypass the difficulty of definition by looking to the way “knowledge” is used in natural languages. He saw knowledge as a case of family resemblance.

4. ORDINARY USAGE OF KNOWLEDGE
In normal conversation we use knowledge to mean: knowing that (facts and information)
Knowing how (the ability to do something). Sometimes, we use the word knowledge to mean that we have some information; we know that Mary drinks lemonade, for example. When we have this type of knowledge then we are able to express it. I cannot say that I know when the Battle of Hastings took place, if I cannot, under any circumstances, say the date! This is not true of knowing how.

5. RELIGIOUS MEANING OF KNOWLEDGE
In many expressions of Christianity, such as Catholicism and Anglicanism, knowledge is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Hindu scriptures present two kinds of knowledge, Paroksha Gnyana and Aporoksha Gnyana. Paroksha Gnyana is second hand knowledge: knowledge obtained from books, hearsay e.t.c. Paroksha Gnyana is the knowledge borne of direct experience, i.e. knowledge that one discovers for oneself.
The Old Testament’s tree of knowledge of Good and Evil contained the knowledge that separated Man from God.

6. EXISTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE
Patrick Reany in his essay “what is knowledge”, convey the idea that knowledge has a different kind of existence than matter. For even if they allow that matter has an existence independent of intelligence, they can not say, the same for knowledge. The author emphasized that knowledge is very much, like sound and colour. When a tree falls, in the forest it is assumed to make a lot of sound waves, but if there is no creature nearby capable of hearing, then it makes no sound. Likewise, when light reflects off an object it produces characteristic wave lengths of light, but neither the object nor the light are coloured in themselves. Colour exists in the mind of the perceiver. Colour and sound are the brain’s method of making sense out of external signals packed up by our sensory organs. In like manner, knowledge does not exist without a knower, and there is no such a thing as “unknown” knowledge.

7. PROCESS OF OBTAINING KNOWLEDGE
Patrick Reany further considers in more detail the process of obtaining knowledge. He writes that, sometimes after conception, the normal fetus develops the rudiments of knowledge formation system (KFS). The KFS has two parts: the Semantic Analysis System (SAS) and the Program Enhancement System (PES).
The author further writes that by analogy to artificial intelligence, the SAS is both “software” and “hardware” that functions to convert raw sensory data, carried to the brain via the nervous system, and there produces meaningful concepts about the outside world ( i.e., the world “outside” of human consciousness). The PES serves to improve the SAS. He therefore defined the PES as a measure of intelligence and that intelligence is largely a function of erudition, open-mindedness, curiosity and mental stamina, which puts intelligence under the category of a development skill.
In brief, the author writes that the SAS works by intercepting sensory signals, converting these appropriate nervous impulses that are sent to the brain (the lower SAS), and there these impulses are transformed into meaningful SAS. Thus new knowledge is created by relating the new concepts to the old.

8. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE
There two main types of knowledge:
8.1 Implicit or tacit knowledge (unstructured)
This is the personal knowledge resident within the mind, behaviour and perceptions of individual members of the organization. This knowledge is embedded in individual experience and involves intangible factors, such as personal belief, perspective and the value system.
8.2 Explicit (structured) knowledge
This can be articulated into formal language (words and numbers) and normally readily transmitted and even processed by a computer to be transmitted electronically, or stored in data base. (Krough G. Ishijo, K. Nonak I (2000)).

9. FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE
There two forms of knowledge:
9.1 Situated knowledge
Situated knowledge is the knowledge specific to a particular situation. Some methods of generating knowledge, such as trial and error, or learning from experience, tend to create highly situational knowledge. Situational knowledge is often embedded in language, culture or traditions and is commonly termed as “a posteriori”, meaning afterwards. In this case, knowledge “a priori” means before.
9.2 Partial knowledge
In most realistic cases, it is not possible to have an exhaustive understanding of an information domain, so then we have to live with the fact that knowledge is always not complete, that is partial. Most real problems have to be solved by taking advantage of a partial understanding of a problem context and problem data.

10. HOW TO MINIMIZE KNOWLEDGE GAP
Knowledge gap though difficult to bridge, could be minimized through provision of education programmes tailored to empower local community with skills and techniques for sourcing for data and information about issues surrounding them.Govenment and development practitioners, on the other hand, are charged with the duties of creating conducive environment for the absorption of new knowledge through the use of user-friendly forms of communication knowledge.


11. BENEFITS OF KNOWLEDGE
· Scientific discoveries
· Industrial revolution
· Green revolution
· Scientific revolution
· Technological revolution

12. PROBLEMS OF KNOWLEDGE
· It is expensive
· It takes longer time
· Can be destructive like atomic bomb discovery
· Environmental degradation, for instance it may lead to global warming
· Increases the incidences of terrorism
· The discovery and usage of pesticides and insecticides is also harmful to the environment.
· Mining activities discovered through knowledge is also destructive to the environment.

13. CONLUSION
The success or failure of any society in terms of development depends on the knowledge they have so far acquired. This is a clear testimony that a well managed knowledge is quite essential for any given society. Knowledge management involves consciously and comprehensively gathering, organizing, sharing and analyzing knowledge in terms of resources, documents and people skills.
Knowledge generation should go hand in hand with knowledge transfer. While many would agree that one of the most universal and significant tools for the transfer of knowledge would by, the different systems of writing. But these written materials should be easily accessible and the society should develop the culture of reading otherwise such knowledge will have little impact on the society.
It is on the above argument that modern technology becomes the best means of knowledge transfer. But caution must also be taken such that people may avoid internalizing new information which may perceive to be knowledge when in essence they fill their mind with false information.

14. REFERENCE
14.1Patrick Reany (1988) “what is knowledge?” - An essay published in Arizona Journal of Natural philosophy, Vol. 2 March 1988. Pg.7- 14. Also available at: http:// ajnpx.com/html/ AJNP.html.
14.2. www.euro.-inf.eu/content/view/16/16/
14.3. www.digitalstrategy.govt.nz/temperates/page-60.aspx
14.4. wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
14.5. www.els.salford.ac.uk/urbanmature/living-city/concepts.html
14.6. www.vic.com/tscon/pelagia/htm/bol.en.a-mgt-in-the-desert-of-the-holy-mountain.09htm
14.7. cordis.europa.eu/ist/kal/adminitrations/publications/glossary.htm
14.8 www.wikipeacha.org