Knowledge can be obtained in many different ways. It can be as simple as a student repeating a pattern over and over in his or her mind and storing it in memory for an exam in a Respiratory Therapy class. Although this is not true knowledge, if he or she uses this pattern later in life, such as in the hospital, this person has gained a piece of knowledge he or she will be able to use for the rest of their life. It can also be as complex as a child getting burnt on the stove. He or she has gained knowledge from that experience and now knows not to touch the stove. That is the type of knowledge that will be discussed in this paper.
Book VII of The Republic provides great insight into the way Plato thought of knowledge. The shadowy environment of the cave symbolizes for Plato the physical world of appearances. Escaping into the sun-filled setting outside the cave symbolizes the transition to the real world, the world of full and perfect being, which is the proper object of knowledge. .
Although Plato would not agree with this statement, opinion plays a large role in knowledge. All opinions are based off of experience. If a persons opinion is correct, he or she is on the track to knowledge and acquiring that knowledge for life. Plato distinguishes between two levels of awareness: opinion and knowledge. Claims about the physical or visible world, including both observations and the propositions of science, are opinions only. Some of these opinions are well founded; some are not. These opinions are founded through experience. If a man or woman were to view a video on abortion or some other topic, he or she would gain an opinion about it. The experience could be viewing the video or perhaps even dealing with the topic of abortion in ones own life. Experiences shape world as a whole. On September 11th, when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers, people gained opinions from that on the other cultures.
