The Challenge to Academics

The Challenge to Academics The study of knowledge is known as Epistemology, and it is one of the oldest branches of philosophy. Plato spent much of his life trying to establish not only what knowledge is, but also how it can be achieved. Our society is increasingly presenting information as knowledge, especially in educational institutions. Individuals can only gain genuine knowledge from the practice of Plato’s method of dialectic. Plato’s method involves making the distinction between information and knowledge. By examining Plato’s dialectic in The Republic we can begin to define what constitutes ‘real knowing’ and how that differs from the knowledge professed by instructors at educational institutions. Individuals who attend educational institutions where knowledge is viewed as merely applied information cannot gain genuine knowledge because they are too far removed from the dialectic procedures. They cannot act wisely or make knowledgeable decisions because they have become slaves to the information. They do not examine or analyze the information they have been given. They accept the information and just apply it as they are taught, thus preventing them from being a ‘knower’. Plato’s insights into epistemology are of great importance, because understanding the properties and dynamics of knowledge is essential to society seeing the benefits and value of having true knowledge rather than being trained to apply information.
At educational institutions knowledge is commonly viewed as applied information. This is due to the fact that information is commonly mistaken for knowledge. Information is a collection of data and symbols that is interpreted by an individual. Information is not knowledge because it is dependent on language to be interpreted. Language is weak and unreliable, and therefore prevents individuals from gaining knowledge because it cannot be used to convey truth. Plato makes reference to the shortfall of language in the Seventh Letter:
(I)f

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