Explain the meaning and classification of knowledge. Illustrate how knowledge can be validated with examples.

By means of sense experience we learn many things about the physical world. We perceive countless things, processes and events. But if our knowledge ended there, we would have no means of dealing effectively with the world. The body of knowledge consists of a series of facts, concepts, principles, classifications, generalizations, laws and theories. These will be discussed in detail in the sub-sections that follow.

Meaning  and Classification of knowledge –

No two things are exactly alike in the universe in all aspects. Even though they may be alike, we may still use the characteristics in which they differ as a basis for putting them in different classes. Similarly, there is no doubt that primitive man’s approach to temperature was based on his classification of temperature into very hot, hot, moderately warm, lukewarm, cool, cold and very cold. In daily life, what we do is to use rather inclusive class words, such as ‘dog’ and then if the need arises, we can make differences within the class the basis for further distinction, such as “Alsatian, Pomeranian, German shepherd” and so on; marking out as many sub-classes as found convenient within the same class.

The classification depends on one’s interests and one’s need for recognizing both