(June 6, 2012 at 7:41 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote:(June 6, 2012 at 6:58 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: Wait a minute, you are saying because I can't define knowledge, I don't know what knowledge is. This is not fair. Knowledge is when I know something. I know what it means to know something. I just can't define it.
I can't define religion but I can still know what religion is.
Not exactly, and I think I was not as clear as I could have been, and your objection I think illustrates how amorphous the meaning of the word "know(ledge)" can be.
You say you know what religion is. Do you? I have no doubt that you recognize it when you see it, that you believe you know when you see it. That satisfies one of the three criteria under the Platonic definition. If your belief is true, that satisfies the second. It is the third (justification) that trips you up. Can you clearly and rationally justify to yourself that your belief is true? Can you demonstrate the justification of that to another? Without a clear enough definition of what it is you're attempting to demonstrate, I do not think you can do so.
Here's a simple example:
2 + 3 = 5
That is a true arithmetic equation. Assume you believe it to be true. Can you claim it as personal knowledge if you are unable to quantify the terms 2, 3, and 5?
Kids can't define most words they use. They still know what it means.
