Experiential knowledge is
knowledgeKnowledge is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject, what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information or awareness or familiarity gained...
gained through
experienceExperience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event. The history of the word experience aligns it closely with the concept of experiment.The concept of experience generally...
as opposed to a priori (before experience) knowledge. In the
philosophy of mindPhilosophy of mind is a branch of modern analytic philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness and their relationship to the physical body, particularly the brain. The mind-body problem, i.e...
, the phrase often refers to knowledge that can
only be acquired through experience, such as, for example, the knowledge of what it is like to see colours, which could not be explained to someone born blind.
See also qualia"Qualia" , singular "quale" , from the Latin for "what sort" or "what kind," is a term used in philosophy to describe the subjective quality of conscious experience. Examples of qualia are the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, or the redness of an evening sky...
. A priori knowledge is can Adam or Eve know what water feels like on their skin prior to touching it for the first time?
The phrase also crops up in
philosophy of religionPhilosophy of religion is a branch of philosophy that asks questions about religion. As with all philosophies, the topics at hand are generated by those who participate...
, as an argument against God's
omniscienceOmniscience is the capacity to know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about a character including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe, etc. In monotheism, this ability is typically attributed to God...
- here it is questioned whether God could genuinely know everything, since he (supposedly) cannot know what it is like to
sinSin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral rule, or the state of having committed such a violation. Commonly, the moral code of conduct is decreed by a divine entity, i.e...
.
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Experiential knowledge is
knowledgeKnowledge is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject, what is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information or awareness or familiarity gained...
gained through
experienceExperience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event. The history of the word experience aligns it closely with the concept of experiment.The concept of experience generally...
as opposed to a priori (before experience) knowledge. In the
philosophy of mindPhilosophy of mind is a branch of modern analytic philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness and their relationship to the physical body, particularly the brain. The mind-body problem, i.e...
, the phrase often refers to knowledge that can
only be acquired through experience, such as, for example, the knowledge of what it is like to see colours, which could not be explained to someone born blind.
See also qualia"Qualia" , singular "quale" , from the Latin for "what sort" or "what kind," is a term used in philosophy to describe the subjective quality of conscious experience. Examples of qualia are the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, or the redness of an evening sky...
. A priori knowledge is can Adam or Eve know what water feels like on their skin prior to touching it for the first time?
The phrase also crops up in
philosophy of religionPhilosophy of religion is a branch of philosophy that asks questions about religion. As with all philosophies, the topics at hand are generated by those who participate...
, as an argument against God's
omniscienceOmniscience is the capacity to know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about a character including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe, etc. In monotheism, this ability is typically attributed to God...
- here it is questioned whether God could genuinely know everything, since he (supposedly) cannot know what it is like to
sinSin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral rule, or the state of having committed such a violation. Commonly, the moral code of conduct is decreed by a divine entity, i.e...
. In that the Godhead established the existence of sin from his knowledge one must recognize that the Godhead does not have to experience sin in order to know what sin is and the effects sin has on man and the godhead.
Writer Barry Lopez writes about experiential knowledge and how it relates back to the environment. He explains that without experiencing nature, one cannot fully "know" and understand the relationships within ecosystems. One can exploit the problems with non-experiential based knowledge and make someone understand the necessity of experiential knowledge by asking them to explain a color (like blue). This is a perfect example of the flaws of interpersonal communication because of our inability to allow a blind man to feel the essence of colors.