A Definition of Knowledge

The biggest misconception people often have about knowledge is that they know what they know.

People do not know what they know, as has been demonstrated through thousands of empirical, observational, and computer-analyzed behavioral and cognitive studies ¹

Another misconception about knowledge is that someone somewhere knows what knowledge is. That person does not exist. Not even seasoned published academics trend toward using the term “know” or “knowledge” in a technical way. ²

And yet, knowledge is playing an increasingly important role in career and personal development. A recent analysis proposes that the knowledge and skills which determine hireability in the workplace are mostly intangible, yet irreducibly multidisciplinary — more than any prospective employee can realistically bring, cultivating an ever-evolving standard of performance amidst ever-shortening lifecycles of production-related knowledge. ³

Refreshingly, metaphor is being taken seriously as a de-centered mesh in which we can embed our understanding of the knowledge concept, which increases both cognitive efficiency and a sense of spiritual and emotional connectedness to metaphorically catalyzed knowledge-related tasks. ⁴

My interest in this topic comes from having to deconstruct and rebuild my entire system of knowledge after becoming a systematic theologian and leaving religion. My cognitive architecture for values and value-based decisions, emotion regulation, and self-relation were upended and erased in a single day. I use many of the principles I learned in my study of philosophy to rebuild the structure of my conscious mind, and it upon these principles and tools that I seek to innovate here.