Two views of the nature of knowledge

pp. 85-91

in: Ramona Cormier, James K. Feibleman, Harold N. Lee, John Sallis, Donald H. Weiss, Epistemology II, Berlin, Springer, 1969

Abstract

The nature of knowledge may be regarded in either of two fundamentally different ways, and one's whole philosophy will rest on the view he assumes, yet few philosophers have been explicit about the assumption they make. Western philosophy has been largely dominated by the Greek view that knowledge is the apprehension of reality. This view was fully formulated by Plato and led to Aristotle's ideal of perfect knowledge as contemplation.