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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Ultimate Questions in Philosophy of Religion Chapter 3: Tools of Knowledge 1 And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. Verily, in that are indeed Signs for men of Sound knowledge.

The Holy Qur'an [30:22] Knowing that we really do exist and there is an existing world around us, the next question arises as to what the reality of knowledge is and how can we gain knowledge about ourselves and the world around us? What types of Tools of Knowledge do we have? What is the relation between the knower and the object known? How much of the real world is accessible to us? Types of Knowledge Human knowledge is divided solely into two types: Knowledge by presence.

Like the knowledge everyone has about one's self. Such as the knowledge you yourself have about your feelings. In this type of knowledge the knower and the known object are unified. Acquired knowledge. This is most types of human knowledge and is also the one that we will mainly deal with in this chapter. Definition of Knowledge Imagine a picture of a natural scene is shown to you. The size of the picture is 10 X 15 cm.

In the picture you see a landscape that you know is about 5 square kilometers surrounded by tall mountains. A river which you approximate it's width to be fifty meters is crossing the middle of the view. At the river's bank from both sides you can see tall white silver firs lined up. Your family is also seated under the trees having their lunch. I could go on more, describing further details of the picture.

Now, if your friend were to ask you if the picture you have at hand contains all the length, width, depth and physical characteristics of that landscape, how would you reply? “Obviously not”, you will reply without hesitation. All that would not fit in such a small space. What are really on the paper are some colourful spots. Yet, it is the image of the landscape. The function of our mind is similar to a camera, or a mirror, which reflects the image of the object known.

Although knowledge does not really need any definition, it is sometimes defined as: “ The presence of the image of an object in mind .” [al-modhaffar: Al-manteq] Therefore, knowledge is the bridge of converting a real external object, in its true form, to its reflection in one's mind.