The importance of the subject of epistemology, the study of knowledge, is often overlooked. It is also agreed upon that the subject of epistemology is incomplete in it's current state. The improvements that could be made to all of our subjects and our everyday lives goes unseen as a result. The universally accepted outlined procedure of the inquiry of knowledge is the one that covers everything that we can do to inspect the truth to it's greatest detail. A universally accepted classification of the types of knowledge exists, depending on what lens one needs for their purpose. When knowledge is viewed with the distinction between absolute facts and beliefs, clarity is attained, and this is a universally accepted categorization of the types of knowledge. Within these categories we can place the additional sub-categories of knowledge where they fit. For example, knowledge that is based on direct observation is placed in the category of absolute facts and knowledge that is obtained through testimony is placed in the category of beliefs. The only knowledge that constitutes absolute facts is made either through direct observation or is the only possibility. Due to all of the plausible improvements that could take place as a result, the study of epistemology requires completion.
I have taken some time to do additional research on the knowledge that we currently have in epistemology. According to ChatGPT, there are several classifications of the types of knowledge all of which are not universally accepted. There is the classifications of knowledge by type which is the most commonly used one. The classifications of knowledge by type include propositional knowledge, which is knowing a fact or a proposition, procedural knowledge, which is knowing how to perform a task, and acquaintance knowledge, which is knowledge gained through direct familiarity such as knowing your best friend. I suppose that this is another way to view the types of knowledge but I am unsure of the purpose of viewing knowledge in this way at this time. Maybe in the future I will become well-versed in all the knowledge that we currently possess in epistemology.
There is also the classification by source of knowledge which I think is the brightest classification that is currently included in the curriculum of epistemology. Here the types of knowledge are classified by their source. There is perception, which is knowledge obtained through the senses, memory, which is knowledge retained from previous experiences, testimony, which is knowledge acquired from other people, reason, which is knowledge obtained through logical thinking, and introspection, which is knowledge about one's own mental states. I think that this classification of the types of knowledge can be useful for discerning the reliability of the information once we identify it's source. This classification of knowledge does have a universally accepted version. We can figure it out. Do humans have any other sources for their knowledge? Do any of the sources in this classification overlap under a greater umbrella source? Do the categories of knowledge obtained through reason and knowledge obtained through introspection actually belong under a greater term of knowledge obtained from personal thoughts?
ChatGPT also presents me with different theories that explain what makes knowledge justified. Before I state the names of these theories alongside their short descriptions that I have been provided with, I would like to make several remarks. These theories seem to be concerned with beliefs and justifying those beliefs. These theories have different goals than my own theory in epistemology which is titled “The Theory of Acceptance of Knowledge” which differentiates between indisputable knowledge and questionable knowledge. The goal of my theory is to understand the substance of the knowledge at hand and to be able to see what it is thereby assisting us in our decisions of what knowledge we choose to accept. The different theories that explain what makes knowledge justified include foundationalism, which believes that knowledge rests upon properly basic beliefs, coherentism, which believes that beliefs are justified because they fit coherently into an interconnected system of beliefs, infinitism, which believes that justification consists of an infinite chain of supporting reasons, reliabilism, which believes that knowledge comes from cognitive processes that reliably produce true beliefs, and virtue epistemology, which believes that knowledge arises through the exercise of intellectual virtues such as honesty, careful reasoning, and open-mindedness. What do you think about these theories? What do they sound like to you? Do you think that these theories have properly understood meanings and objectives? I would have to read them one by one in order for me to learn all about them. However, the goals of these theories do seem to be in a different and less important direction than the goal of the theory that I have concluded.
The vast volume of upgrades to our education and lives awaits us with the completion of the field of epistemology. I have defined what the universally accepted versions of some of the teachings of epistemology are in this essay. The completion of this subject will bring humanity one step up the stairway to higher intellect. Up this stairway of the intellectuality of mankind rests an achievable level of higher human intelligence known as the age of peace of mankind.
© 2026 Hazon, Nir
