Difference Between Knowledge and Truth

Key Difference – Knowledge vs Truth
 

Although many of us assume knowledge and truth to be the same, there can be a difference between knowledge and truth. Knowledge can be defined as familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study. Truth is the state or quality of being true, which is in accordance with facts or reality. The key difference between knowledge and truth is that truth is always based on reality whereas knowledge can be sometimes based on falsehood.

What Does Knowledge Mean?

Knowledge refers to the understanding, awareness or familiarity of entities such as facts, information, and skills which are acquired through learning, education, training or experience. Knowledge refers to both practical and theoretical aspects of a subject. Acquisition of knowledge involves a number of cognitive processes such as perception, communication, and reasoning.

Knowledge has been defined in various fashions by different scholars. The Greek philosopher Plato specified that information should meet three criteria to be considered as knowledge: justified, true, and believed. However, this theory was later challenged by many other scholars based on the difference between knowledge and truth. Our knowledge in certain things is not always the truth. For instance, in the past, it was common knowledge that the earth was flat; however, this was later proved to be false. Just because we have no knowledge of a certain fact, that fact doesn’t cease to be true.

What Does Truth Mean?

Truth is the state or quality of being true. We call a certain thing truth when it is in accordance with fact or reality. The opposite of truth is falsehood.

The concept of truth is discussed and contested by various scholars in various contexts, including philosophy and religion. The methods used to verify truth are known as the criterion of truth. Given below are some common criteria which are commonly used to distinguish truth from falsehood.

Authority: People tend to believe something as truth if it said by someone with authority and knowledge in the relevant field.

Coherence: If all the relevant facts are arranged in a consistent and cohesive manner, they are considered to be true.

Customs and Tradition: If something was considered to be true for generations, people tend to believe that it is a truth.

Pragmatic: If a certain hypothesis or idea works, it is considered to be true.

In addition, factors like time, instinct, intuition, emotions, etc. are also used to distinguish the truth from falsehood. But not all these methods are accurate.

What is the difference between Knowledge and Truth?

Definition:

Knowledge refers to the understanding, awareness or familiarity of entities such as facts, information, and skills which are acquired through learning, education, training or experience.

Truth is the state or quality of being true, which is in accordance with facts or reality.

Reality:

Knowledge is not always based on the facts or reality.

Truth is always based on the reality.