Meaning of Knowledge and Knowing

Knowledge

Knowledge is always concerned about knowing something. Knowledge is the sum of human understanding of the world, be it physical, biological, social, mental and spiritual. 

In generalised way we can say that the knowledge is sum of human understanding of material and mental reality - given and constructed. 

Having knowledge of a phenomenon means both being aware of that phenomenon and also stating that the awareness is true. 

Since knowledge is sum total of definitions and explanations of phenomena, it is not possible to define knowledge. In spite of this difficulty, philosophers have made attempts to define knowledge. 

The process of understanding the meaning of knowledge direct us to identify, at least, three aspects associated with knowledge. These aspects are - 

Knowing

Knowing is both a process and a product. As a process, it refers to the method of coming to know the phenomenon. Whereas, as a product, it refers to the resultant of knowing - the process. 

Knowing happens through perception, reason and emotion. There are means or sources of every way of knowing. These sources are the knower's senses and mind. 

Different sources of knowing construct different forms of understanding and different types of knowledge. 

Knowing and Knowledge 

Knowing and Knowledge, both can be said to be opposite to each other as well as interrelated in the following ways - 

Characteristics of Knowledge 

The various characteristics of knowledge are -