Friday, September 4, 2015

"Episteme" & "Techne"

Epistêmê is the Greek word for knowledge and technê is another Greek word meaning craft or art. Here are my comments on the way different philosophers make distinctions between epistêmê and technê.


Xenophon:

Xenophon tends to use the two words interchangeably. Knowledge is needed in order to perform a task or perfect a craft. He's does not make a distinction; they are essentially the same thing.


Plato:

Plato makes a slight distinction between epistêmê and technê. According to Plato, the art (technê) is the means to an end: knowledge (epistêmê). By taking up a craft, you become more knowledgeable in that field. The more crafts you learn, the wider range of knowledge you have.


Aristotle:

Aristotle is the first to make a very clear distinction between epistêmê and technê. There is the theoretical and the practical. There is knowledge as to what can be thought about and discussed (epistêmê) versus what can be actually be used in the real world (technê).


The Stoics:

The Stoics seem to use the two concepts in tandem. Epistêmê is how one knows what is right and what is wrong, and technê is one puts this concepts into practice.


Alexander of Aphrodisias:

Alexanders feels that knowledge is greater than action. Human beings must strive to acquire as much knowledge as they can. If humans reach such an enlightened state, they no longer have any need for technê.


Plotinus:

Plotinus has no need for technê in his worldview. Everything can be accounted for with epistêmê. The two aren't associated as they are in the views of the previous philosophers. However, similar to Alexander of Aphrodisias, knowledge takes precedence.  

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