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Single Idea 5375

[filed under theme 18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 6. Judgement / a. Nature of Judgement ]

Full Idea

The word 'know' has two senses: the first is 'knowledge of truths', which is opposed to error, applies to judgements, and is knowing that something; the second is 'acquaintance', and is knowledge of things, particularly of sense-data.

Gist of Idea

Knowledge of truths applies to judgements; knowledge by acquaintance applies to sensations and things

Source

Bertrand Russell (Problems of Philosophy [1912], Ch. 4)

Book Ref

Russell,Bertrand: 'The Problems of Philosophy' [OUP 1995], p.23

A Reaction

We can also add procedural knowledge ('knowing how'). The question for Russell is whether his 'knowledge by acquaintance' can ever qualify as knowledge on its own, without the intrusion of judgements. Does perception necessarily have content?

The 20 ideas with the same theme [how we evaluate truth and falsehood]:

6594 Stoics said that correct judgement needs an invincible criterion of truth [Stoic school, by Fogelin]
1884 If we utter three steps of a logical argument, they never exist together [Sext.Empiricus]
22108 First grasp what it is, then its essential features; judgement is their compounding and division [Aquinas]
22061 Judgement is distinguishing concepts, and seeing their relations [Fichte, by Siep]
18265 We don't judge by combining subject and concept; we get a concept by splitting up a judgement [Frege]
21725 The multiple relations theory says assertions about propositions are about their ingredients [Russell/Whitehead, by Linsky,B]
23474 A judgement is a complex entity, of mind and various objects [Russell/Whitehead]
23455 The meaning of 'Socrates is human' is completed by a judgement [Russell/Whitehead]
23480 The multiple relation theory of judgement couldn't explain the unity of sentences [Morris,M on Russell/Whitehead]
18275 Only the act of judging completes the meaning of a statement [Russell/Whitehead]
5375 Knowledge of truths applies to judgements; knowledge by acquaintance applies to sensations and things [Russell]
21711 Russell's 'multiple relations' theory says beliefs attach to ingredients, not to propositions [Russell, by Linsky,B]
5427 Truth is when a mental state corresponds to a complex unity of external constituents [Russell]
17613 We should judge principles by the science, not science by some fixed principles [Zermelo]
13980 If you like judgments and reject propositions, what are the relata of incoherence in a judgment? [Ryle]
7535 If all beliefs are propositional, then belief and judgement are the same thing [Monk]
12608 Concepts are distinguished by roles in judgement, and are thus tied to rationality [Peacocke]
22273 Traditionally there are twelve categories of judgement, in groups of three [Potter]
13239 Judgement is always predicating a property of a subject [Beall/Restall]
23554 Judgements can be unreflective and non-inferential, yet rational, by being sensitive to experience [Fricker,M]