Knowledge is always concerned about knowing something. Knowledge is the sum of human understanding of the world, be it physical, biological, social, mental and spiritual.
In generalised way we can say that the knowledge is sum of human understanding of material and mental reality - given and constructed.
Having knowledge of a phenomenon means both being aware of that phenomenon and also stating that the awareness is true.
Since knowledge is sum total of definitions and explanations of phenomena, it is not possible to define knowledge. In spite of this difficulty, philosophers have made attempts to define knowledge.
The most accepted definition of knowledge is that it is a justified belief.
According to Encyclopedia of Philosophy -
Knowledge is Perception or sensation.
Knowledge is True belief.
Knowledge is True belief accompained by a rational account of itself.
According to Plato - Knowledge is justified true belief.
According to John Locke - Knowledge is the perception of the agreement or disagreement of two ideas.
The process of understanding the meaning of knowledge direct us to identify, at least, three aspects associated with knowledge. These aspects are -
Processes involved in knowledge acquisition (ways of knowing)
Forms of knowledge
Purpose of knowledge
Knowing is both a process and a product. As a process, it refers to the method of coming to know the phenomenon. Whereas, as a product, it refers to the resultant of knowing - the process.
Knowing happens through perception, reason and emotion. There are means or sources of every way of knowing. These sources are the knower's senses and mind.
Different sources of knowing construct different forms of understanding and different types of knowledge.
Knowing and Knowledge, both can be said to be opposite to each other as well as interrelated in the following ways -
Knowledge is that which we gather from the outside, whereas, knowing arises from within.
Knowledge is memory that is of the mind, but knowing is existential, which is of the 'being'.
Knowing is subjective and arises in rare ones, as opposed to knowledge, which is objective and can easily be acquired by one and all.
Thus we can say that the knowledge and knowing are two different things.
Also, the concept of knowing is about perceiving and understanding ourselves within our environment and knowledge is about being able to communicate the knowing, i.e., about making it public.
Thus we can also say that the knowledge and knowing are interrelated. Multiple ways of knowing contribute to the knowledge of a person.
The various characteristics of knowledge are -
It is considered the third eye of human being.
It is the source which connects us with truth.
It is considered the food of our mind.
It can be achieved with the help of activities, experiences and education.
It is basis of love and human values.
It provides us self-confidence.
Moral values can be developed through knowledge.
Knowledge helps to remove the social evils of the society.