What is Knowledge?

Knowledge is simply the ability to represent something as it is in reality on an appropriate basis of reason, experience, intuition, and/or authority.

When we talk about having knowledge, therefore, we simply mean that what we're saying or thinking is more or less true, and we have a good reason for it.

How do I know when I have knowledge, then? When I know that what I'm saying is true and understand my basis to be an appropriate one.

Oftentimes, though, we have knowledge without knowing it! For example, I know that blue is a color, but I can't explain to you how I know it. I can rest assured, however, that my reason is a good one. Who would deny it?

You see, this is one of two crucial mistakes we make nowadays:

1. We think that to have knowledge we must know that we have knowledge.
   
   This is simply false, yet it leaves many of us floating around in Skepto-World whenever we get into philosophical discussions. Nevertheless, in our everyday lives, we would have no problem telling others that we know our own name, even if we can't, in the moment, explain precisely how we know it.
   
2. We think that to have knowledge we must have absolute certainty.
   
   We think that if there's even the slightest possibility of being wrong, we don't know. But again, back to real life: I know that it's my wife who just called me from the bedroom and not an android spy from the planet Vulcan, even though the latter is hypothetically possible.

As with truth, knowledge is obviously a matter of degree, this time on two levels: the degree to which one can accurately represent the thing one is trying to represent, and the degree to which one's basis is appropriate.

Also, it's important to note that knowledge doesn't actually happen unless what you're representing to be the case is actually the case. I might claim to know that I'm not in San Francisco (and even be able to justify that claim), but if I'm standing in the middle of Fisherman's Wharf, then I'm wrong: I'm, like, totally in San Francisco.

(If you're wondering why I'm bothering with all the pedantic definitions, click here.)