There is no certain way to prove or confirm that people know anything about the external world. The concept of “knowing” itself has puzzled many philosophers, and is often considered in connection with the idea of “believing”. The main difference is that to claim that they ‘know’ something, human beings have to confirm their assumptions through direct experience (Horrigan 13). Many people, however, do not need any evidence to ‘believe’ that something is true. Although the nature of knowledge and beliefs is still confusing for many people, most of them think that they know something if they have evidence that is strong enough.
First, because every individual perceives the world in their way, they can perceive ‘knowing’ differently. One can never know what exactly other people need to accept something as ‘knowledge’. There are certainly some universal truths that most people consider ‘common knowledge, but many of those things still appear questionable, once questions begin to be asked. Second, for all we know, questions can be asked endlessly, and there is always room for doubt. Yet, given the fact that ‘knowing’ itself is a concept created by people, everyone should decide for themselves what they ‘believe’ in, and whether they ‘know’ something or not.
In the end, it all comes to this: some people can think they know something, and some only believe they know, accepting those beliefs. Others, devoted to the Socratic method, will always ask questions, never settling for something that may seem like an absolute truth. However, since the concept of ‘knowing’ itself was created by people, every person is entitled to consider their knowledge to be true, however meaningless or insane it may sometimes seem to others.
Works Cited
Horrigan, Paul G. Epistemology: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Knowledge. iUniverse, 2007.