Knowledge according to Plato, is justified true belief. For a person to know something he/she has to believe it, has to be able to justify it and it has to be true. ("Plato | TOKTalk.net," n.d.) However, this definition does not cover all types of knowledge for example, we know how to eat. This knowledge is not based on any kind of belief or justification. To answer this question, we must first understand the two main terms, personal knowledge and shared knowledge. Personal knowledge can be knowledge that is personal to an individual, through the ways of knowing and examples could be knowledge from memory, habits and emotions. Knowledge can also be the work of a group of people working together either in concert or, more likely, separated by time or geography. This is known as shared knowledge. ("Theory of knowledge guide," n.d.) However, this definition is limited as shared knowledge can also be seen as knowledge shared by a group and not something people come up with together. An example could be when people witness an incident at the same time and thus have knowledge of it. Another example, would be …show more content…
The main knowledge claim in the question is that shared knowledge shapes personal knowledge. In my essay, I will focus on the Human Sciences and Ethics as example of areas of knowledge supporting and refuting the knowledge claim. Human sciences are seen as a very reliable source of knowledge and greatly affects our personal knowledge as it is mostly presented by authorities. Ethics can be seen as a set of rules provided by the community to decide what is right and what is wrong. It is a discussion of the way we ought to live our lives, the justifications of moral judgements and their implications for the individual and the group. As these are set by a group of people, we can see how an individual accepts what is generally accepted by the