Topics Knowledge

Question Is information same thing as knowledge?

Accepted:
January 30, 2016

Comments

Though I'm not sure what the

Though I'm not sure what the context of your question is, and though that might make some difference, I can point to one major difference between information and knowledge that might be relevant in most contexts. Knowledge either is or requires a state of mind. That is, there's no knowledge without minds. Most philosophers think that one's knowing something requires that one at least believe that thing, and that belief requirement is, of course, a requirement that effectively makes knowledge depend on minds. Information, on the other hand, is usually thought of as mind-independent. There may be information contained in, or exemplified by, entirely non-mental entities. There is information even in a footprint in the sand. A footprint is not mind-dependent (perhaps a shoe was mindlessly and randomly dropped on the sand), and certainly doesn't require a belief. So, that's one major difference: information is, or can be, out there in the world, mind-independent. But knowledge is a mind-dependent phenomenon.
Now that I've drawn your attention to one difference, I will point to a problem. We sometimes talk as if knowledge is mind-independent, like information. You might point to a vast library and say, in wonder, look at allllll that knowledge there! That might seem to refute what I said above. But, for what it's worth, I think this is a non-literal manner of speaking. Is knowledge contained in books? Only in the (non-literal) sense that there is information contained in books that is potential knowledge, so that once a mind takes it in (by reading it perhaps) the mind can gain knowledge.

Question Is information same thing as knowledge? Accepted:January 30, 2016

Question Is information same thing as knowledge?

Accepted:
January 30, 2016