Philosophers talk about 'knowing how' and 'knowing what'. But what is involved in knowing a person? Katalin Farkas discusses this question with David Edmonds in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. This episode was sponsored by the Examining Ethics podcast from the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University.
This is philosophy bites with me, David.
Edmonds, and me, Nigel Warburton.
This episode of Philosophy Bytes was sponsored by the examining ethics podcast from the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePaul University.
You can subscribe to examining ethics on iTunes or listen to episodes@examiningethics.org dot we use the verb to know in many different senses.
We know that three plus two equals five.
We know how to ride a bicycle.
We might even talk about knowing someone in the biblical sense.
But what is it to know a person?
Catherine Farcash, whom I know a bit, explores this question.
Kathleen Farkash, welcome to philosophy Bites.
Thanks for inviting me.
This is the highlight of my life.
The topic we're talking about today is what it is to know person.
Before we get into that, perhaps you can just sketch out where this question fits into questions about knowledge generally.
In the western philosophical tradition, knowledge of truth has been the paradigmatic example of knowledge, at least ever since the Greeks, ever since Plato.
People are interested in the question of what it means that we know something, what it means when we know how things are, or what it means when we know that something is true.
Most analysis of knowledge analyze what it is to know something that's a fact or a proposition, or something that's true.
But there are people who think that not all knowledge is knowledge of truth.
For example, Gilbert Rile suggested that we have practical knowledge, or knowing how that is different and irreducible from knowing truth and knowing things or knowing persons is another candidate for a different and irreducible kind of knowledge.
So let's quickly go through those other two types.