Knowledge by description
Encyclopedia
The contrasting expressions "knowledge by description" and "knowledge by acquaintance
" were promoted by Bertrand Russell
, who was extremely critical of the equivocal nature of the word know, and believed that the equivocation arose from a failure to distinguish between the two fundamentally different types of knowledge.
distinguished between what he described as "knowledge of acquaintance" and "knowledge-about". Grote noted that these distinctions were made in many languages. He cited Greek (γνωναι and ειδεναι), Latin (noscere and scire), German (kennen and wissen), and French (connaître and savoir) as examples.
Grote’s "knowledge OF acquaintance” is far better known today as “knowledge BY acquaintance” following Russell’s decision to change the preposition in a paper that he read to the Aristotelian Society
on 6 March 1911.
clearly distinguished between das Kennen, the knowledge that was “mere familiarity with phenomena”, and das Wissen, “the knowledge of [phenomena] which can be communicated by speech”. Stressing that the Kennen sort of knowledge could not “compete with” the Wissen sort of knowledge, Helmholtz argued that, despite the fact that it might be of “the highest possible degree of precision and certainty”, the Kennen kind of knowledge can not be expressed in words, “even to ourselves”.
, agreeing there were two fundamental kinds of knowledge, and adopting Grote's terminology, further developed the distinctions made by Grote and Helmholtz:
, but some of it is direct, which is when we have knowledge by acquaintance, and some of it is indirect, which depends on a description of a direct experience. Thus, for example, if someone feels a pain
, he is directly acquainted with it and knows that he has a pain, which is knowledge by acquaintance. If someone else reports that he is experiencing a pain, then one only knows this by virtue of his description of the pain, and not because one is directly acquainted with it: this is knowledge by description.
Knowledge by acquaintance
The contrasting expressions "knowledge by acquaintance" and "knowledge by description" were promoted by Bertrand Russell, who was extremely critical of the equivocal nature of the word know, and believed that the equivocation arose from a failure to distinguish between the two fundamentally...
" were promoted by Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
, who was extremely critical of the equivocal nature of the word know, and believed that the equivocation arose from a failure to distinguish between the two fundamentally different types of knowledge.
Grote
In 1865, philosopher John GroteJohn Grote
John Grote was an English moral philosopher and Anglican clergyman.The son of a banker, Grote was younger brother to the historian, philosopher and reformer George Grote...
distinguished between what he described as "knowledge of acquaintance" and "knowledge-about". Grote noted that these distinctions were made in many languages. He cited Greek (γνωναι and ειδεναι), Latin (noscere and scire), German (kennen and wissen), and French (connaître and savoir) as examples.
Grote’s "knowledge OF acquaintance” is far better known today as “knowledge BY acquaintance” following Russell’s decision to change the preposition in a paper that he read to the Aristotelian Society
Aristotelian Society
The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Square which resolved "to constitute a society of about twenty and to include ladies; the society to meet fortnightly, on Mondays at 8 o'clock, at the rooms of the Spelling...
on 6 March 1911.
Helmholtz
In a similar fashion, in 1868 Hermann von HelmholtzHermann von Helmholtz
Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a German physician and physicist who made significant contributions to several widely varied areas of modern science...
clearly distinguished between das Kennen, the knowledge that was “mere familiarity with phenomena”, and das Wissen, “the knowledge of [phenomena] which can be communicated by speech”. Stressing that the Kennen sort of knowledge could not “compete with” the Wissen sort of knowledge, Helmholtz argued that, despite the fact that it might be of “the highest possible degree of precision and certainty”, the Kennen kind of knowledge can not be expressed in words, “even to ourselves”.
James
In 1890, William JamesWilliam James
William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism...
, agreeing there were two fundamental kinds of knowledge, and adopting Grote's terminology, further developed the distinctions made by Grote and Helmholtz:
- I am acquainted with many people and things, which I know very little about, except their presence in the places where I have met them. I know the color blue when I see it, and the flavor of a pear when I taste it; I know an inch when I move my finger through it; a second of time, when I feel it pass; an effort of attention when I make it; a difference between two things when I notice it; but about the inner nature of these facts or what makes them what they are, I can say nothing at all. I cannot impart acquaintance with them to any one who has not already made it himself I cannot describe them, make a blind man guess what blue is like, define to a child a syllogism, or tell a philosopher in just what respect distance is just what it is, and differs from other forms of relation. At most, I can say to my friends, Go to certain places and act in certain ways, and these objects will probably come. (1890, p.221)
Russell
According to Russell, all knowledge is ultimately dependent upon experienceExperience
Experience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event....
, but some of it is direct, which is when we have knowledge by acquaintance, and some of it is indirect, which depends on a description of a direct experience. Thus, for example, if someone feels a pain
Pain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...
, he is directly acquainted with it and knows that he has a pain, which is knowledge by acquaintance. If someone else reports that he is experiencing a pain, then one only knows this by virtue of his description of the pain, and not because one is directly acquainted with it: this is knowledge by description.
External links
- Knowledge by Acquaintance vs. Description. Entry from the Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyStanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyThe Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a freely-accessible online encyclopedia of philosophy maintained by Stanford University. Each entry is written and maintained by an expert in the field, including professors from over 65 academic institutions worldwide...
.