Declarative knowledge
But in many cases, it is advantageous to foster a deeper understanding that integrates the new information into wider structures and connects it to pre-existing knowledge.
It can be expressed through spoken and written language using declarative sentences and can thus be acquired through verbal communication.
[1] Examples of declarative knowledge are knowing "that Princess Diana died in 1997" or "that Goethe was 83 when he finished writing Faust".
[2] Declarative knowledge involves mental representations in the form of concepts, ideas, theories, and general rules.
It may also be processed using computers and plays a key role in various forms of artificial intelligence, for example, in the knowledge base of expert systems.
[15][16][17] A traditionally influential view states that declarative knowledge has three essential features: it is (1) a belief that is (2) true and (3) justified.
[21][22] This view faced significant criticism following a series of counterexamples given by Edmund Gettier in the latter half of the 20th century.
[23][24][25] Some theorists, like Timothy Williamson, reject the idea that declarative knowledge can be deconstructed into various constituent parts.
[27] A few epistemologists, like Katalin Farkas, claim that, at least in some cases, knowledge is not a form of belief but a different type of mental state.
One argument for this position is based on statements like "I don't believe it, I know it", which may be used to express that the person is very certain and has good reason to affirm this claim.
Truth is an objective factor of knowledge that goes beyond the mental sphere of belief since it usually depends on what the world outside the person's mind is like.
For example, Joseph Thomas Tolliver argues that some mental states amount to knowledge only because of the causes and effects they have.
For example, a compulsive gambler flipping a coin may be certain that it will land heads this time without a good reason for this belief.
Coherentists also reject the idea that an infinite chain of reasons is needed and argue that different beliefs can mutually support each other without one being more basic than the others.
Gettier claims that, because of this coincidence, Smith's belief that the successful candidate has 10 coins in his pocket does not amount to knowledge.
The reason is that reliable belief-formation processes may also be present in other animals, like dogs, apes, or rats, even if they do not possess justification for their beliefs.
For example, Richard Kirkham argues that the justification required for knowledge must be based on self-evident premises that deductively entail the held belief.
Such a position leads to a form of skepticism about knowledge since the great majority of regular beliefs do not live up to these requirements.
Knowing that the door of one's house is green is one example of a posteriori knowledge since some form of sensory observation is required.
[70] In this context, experience means primarily sensory observation but can also include related processes, like introspection and memory.
And knowing that 7 + 5 = 12 is a priori knowledge even though some form of consciousness is involved in learning what symbols like "7" and "+" mean and in becoming aware of the associated concepts.
Knowledge of facts pertains to the association of concrete information, for example, that the red color on a traffic light means stop or that Christopher Columbus sailed in 1492 from Spain to America.
Knowledge by acquaintance can be articulated using a direct object without a preposition, as in "Emily knows Obama personally".
According to Russell, knowledge by acquaintance covers a wide range of phenomena, such as thoughts, feelings, desires, memory, introspection, and sense data.
It also has a central role to play since it extends the realm of knowledge to things that lie beyond the personal sphere of experience.
[101][102][103] Due to its context-independence, declarative knowledge can be used for a great variety of tasks and because of its compact nature, it can be easily stored and retrieved.
[104][105][106] A related issue in the field of epistemology concerns the question of whether declarative knowledge is more valuable than true belief.
For example, Maxwell's equations linking magnetism to electricity were considered useless at the time of discovery until experimental scientists discovered how to detect electromagnetic waves.
[104] A similar process is described by John V. Dempsey, who stresses that the new information must be organized, divided, and linked to existing knowledge.
Learning organized discourse encompasses not discrete facts or items but a wider comprehension of the meaning present in an extensive body of information.
