Analysis of “Knowledge” in Contemporary Epistemology and Illuminative Philosophy

This article is an effort to present a brief comparison between the views of the western contemporary epistemologists and Illuminative philosophy of Suhrawardi in analysis of “knowledge”, and to designate the capacity of his thought to answer the contemporary epistemological problems and issues. Under the subject of “analysis of knowledge”, it sets forth some problems such as true application of the word “knowledge”, definition of the knowledge and objections to this definition; then it concludes that the knowledge is limited to “propositional knowledge” (i.e. true justified belief) and the abovementioned objections will be answered. Subsequently, the article deals with the "elements of knowledge"; explaining the theories on the nature of belief, truthfulness and justification, it concludes that a true belief is a “belief that” or a belief that belongs to a proposition. In the set of his epistemic discussions, Suhrawardi pays attention to many of the abovementioned problems and issues. He does not limit the knowledge to propositional knowledge, which is generally a kind of “acquired knowledge”; but introduces “knowledge by presence” and “intuitive knowledge” as the true knowledge. In his point of view, “acquired knowledge” has the same three elements: belief, truthfulness and justification, but it must enjoy “certainty” for arriving to the stage of true knowledge. He also does not limit the belief to a belief that belongs to a proposition, which is somehow “acquired”; but he introduces the intuitive and presential beliefs as to be more reliable than the acquired one. In the discussion about the truth, he believes in the "theory of correspondence", which is in turn based on epistemic realism; likewise, he believes in foundationalism in the discussion about justification.