What are the differences between epistemology and epistemology?

Since the concepts of epistemology and epistemology are focused on the study of knowledge, both terms are often confused and used as synonyms.

However, the nuances offered by each one are important, and that is why here We are going to see the differences between epistemology and epistemology, in addition to going into more detail with the definitions of both terms.

• Related article: "How are Psychology and Philosophy similar?"

Differences between epistemology and epistemology

Before going into more detail about each of the differences between these two terms, it is It is necessary to talk in greater depth about what the word epistemology means and what the word epistemology means. gnoseology.

Epistemology: what it is and what are its origins

Epistemology, from the Greek 'episteme', 'knowledge' '' and 'logos', 'study', is a branch of philosophy that deals with the philosophical problems that surround the theory of knowledge, fundamentally knowledge scientist. That is, epistemology is responsible for defining knowledge and related concepts, sources, possible criteria and types of knowledge, as well as the degree to which each of them turns out to be TRUE. This discipline understands knowledge as a relationship between the person and the object of study.

The origins of this discipline can be found in Ancient Greece hand in hand with such important philosophers for the history of Western thought as Aristotle, Parmenides and Plato. Despite the fact that its origins are very old, epistemology did not develop as a science until the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when the Renaissance took place.

Each philosopher sees in a different way the relationship in which people relate to the knowledge we want to acquire. For Plato, true knowledge, which is related to scientific knowledge, was that which was achieved through reason.. He considered that this was the only way by which the true essence of things could be known, the ideas that gave shape to it.

The objects of the sensible world, which arose from ideas, could only provide human beings with an opinion or doxa, but never a true knowledge, since physical objects can change and, therefore, we cannot perceive them beyond a appearance.

The physical world, seen in Plato's eyes, was nothing more than a copy of the world of ideas, a world metaphysical in which, if you get there, you could have a true knowledge of the essence of the things. The body, which is material, belongs to the physical world, while the soul, which has been trapped in the body, it belongs to the world of ideas and, when we die, it will return to the world from which proceeds. This is what is known as Platonic realism.

However, his disciple, Aristotle, true knowledge is not found in a distant world that we can only reach once we are dead. For this philosopher, knowledge is born directly from sensory experience, through what our senses capture. It is through experience that we are able to capture the essence of things. This, which differs radically from Plato's thought, is called empiricism.

With these examples, and without exposing all of Western philosophy that exists and may exist, the idea behind the word 'epistemology' becomes understandable. The discipline that tries to find out how the human being obtains knowledge of the world in which he lives, either through the physical world or through illumination coming from a non-perceptible world.

Gnoseology: what exactly is it?

Epistemology, from 'gnosis', 'knowledge, the faculty of knowing' and 'logos', 'study', is the discipline that studies the nature, origin and limits of knowledge, not knowledge itself. That is, this discipline does not study what physics, mathematics or biology is, but knowledge in general and what its limits and foundations are. Therefore, it can be understood as a theory of knowledge, in general terms, without necessarily being scientific.

This discipline also deepens its roots in Ancient Greece and, in fact, it is considered that the emergence of the first currents of Western philosophy were born along with this concept. Most of the philosophers have contributed to the development of this branch of philosophy., being in works like From Anima of Aristotle or in his book IV on metaphysics.

Moving forward in history, entering the 17th century, empiricists like John Locke, david hume and George Berkeley defend the role of experience when knowing, arguing that any type of knowledge comes from sensory experience, from the data of the senses. The growth of the individual, whatever he knows, occurs through experience and, His first interactions as an infant turn out to be the source of all knowledge., in which the others that it acquires will settle.

Rene DescartesOn the other hand, he considers that clear and evident knowledge can be obtained through doubt, that is, through reasoning. Thinking about the reality that surrounds us, we can connect the dots and, at the same time, be closer to true knowledge. This philosopher, along with Spinoza and Leibniz, affirmed that reality was independent of experience and that innate ideas existed in the human mind, that we were not a blank slate.

As a combination of both visions, Immanuel Kant proposes in his Criticism of Pure Reason his concept of transcendental idealism. In it he states that the subject is not passive in the act of knowing, but active, knowing the world and building his own reality. The limit of knowledge is experience. However, it is only possible to have a phenomenal knowledge of reality, that is, of the way in which the object is presented to the subject and the latter perceives it. The thing itself, its real essence, is not within our reach.

How to distinguish between the two?

Once we have seen the definitions of epistemology and epistemology and what their origins are, both historical and etymological, it becomes clear why they are so easily confused. They are, in essence, the study of knowledge and, on top of that, these words have an etymological origin that basically stems from of the same idea: 'gnosos' and 'episteme' mean knowledge, so they can be translated as "the study of the knowledge".

However, they do differ. Very subtly, but they do. Despite the fact that the vast majority of philosophers who have addressed epistemology in their philosophy have also done so to epistemology, being some of them who have used the two terms interchangeably, both concepts are different.

The main distinction between epistemology and epistemology, although it may seem somewhat arbitrary, is the type of knowledge that they address.. On the one hand, epistemology is dedicated to more ethological or psychological knowledge, more oriented towards the idea of ​​intelligence and directly related to the sciences, whatever they may be.

Epistemology refers to knowledge as that which occurs between a subject with the ability to learn and think and the object of study. On the other hand, epistemology addresses the theory of knowledge in general, whatever this knowledge may be, from something as simple as everyday experience to something somewhat more complex.

Spinning a little finer and returning to the issue of etymological origin, it can be said that there is a significant difference in the origin of both words, but it is so subtle that it tends to be misleading. 'Episteme' makes more reference to a knowledge system, that is, what is modernly understood as a discipline or science. On the other hand, 'gnosis' makes more reference to individual knowledge, what a person has been learning throughout life, regardless of whether it is something complex or not so much.

Bibliographic references:

• Bunge, M. (1989). Science, its method and philosophy. Twentieth Century Editions: Buenos Aires. Pages 9 - 34.
• Rodriguez, b. (2006). Legal methodology. Chapter II. Theory of knowledge and knowledge of law. pp. 50 - 65.