Human Understanding: Senses, Reason, and Knowledge Theories

The Nature of Knowledge: Senses and Reason

Reason and the senses are two primary "instruments" we use to experience reality. Thanks to our senses, we are aware of what is going on around us, which helps us to survive.

Sensitive knowledge is the result of processing all this information in our minds.

Sensitive Knowledge: Perception & Sensation

The information that reaches our senses is made up of sensations and perception. Sensations are psycho-physical phenomena. They occur when our sensory organs are stimulated. Perception is the interpretation of sensations captured by our senses. Both sensations and perception are selective.

The Role of Reason in Human Cognition

Reason, as a cognitive faculty, is exclusive to human beings. Only human beings are able to think about this world in a rational manner.

Rational Knowledge: Concepts, Judgment, Reasoning

Rational knowledge works with concepts. It is created by a process of abstraction, which consists of selecting the characteristics shared by a series of specific objects and ignoring those that differentiate them. The elements that comprise rational knowledge are:

• Concepts
• Judgment
• Reasoning

Concepts are mental pictures that we use to understand what we perceive. Judgments are sentences that may be true or false. Finally, reasoning is a series of judgments that are related to one another using logical laws. This means that the truth of a judgment obtained through reasoning depends on the truth of the judgments used to arrive at that judgment.

Philosophical Perspectives on Knowledge

Rationalism: Reason as Sole Source

Rationalism states that only knowledge that comes exclusively from reason is valid. Senses are unreliable; our minds sometimes use concepts that do not come from sensory experience. Therefore, sensory knowledge cannot form the basis of our knowledge.

Empiricism: Sensory Experience as Foundation

Empiricism views the senses as the only possible source of knowledge. Reason can only work with the information provided by sensory experience. Empiricists do not reject the work of reason but place it on a secondary level. They reject the validity of any concept that does not come from experience.

Kant's Criticism: Bridging the Divide

Criticism, proposed by Immanuel Kant, offers an intermediate solution. It posits that knowledge cannot be valid unless it is based on sensory experience. However, basic concepts must exist for knowledge that does not come solely from experience. Concepts only serve to order the information provided by sensory experience and are unable to produce knowledge on their own.

Categories of Knowledge

Theoretical Knowledge: Understanding Reality

Theoretical knowledge aims to understand reality and discover the truth. It comprises all the knowledge which has been accumulated, for example, in fields like Physics.

Practical Knowledge: Guiding Action

Practical knowledge aims to guide our behavior and moral choices to achieve goodness. It also guides our technical production for various benefits, encompassing fields like ethics, politics, business, and aesthetics.