The most reliable knowledge is that for which there is evidence. “Most reliable” means that someone who is or something that is trusted, based on the greatest amount ("Most.") of accuracy, honesty and consecutive experiments ("Reliable."). “Knowledge” is facts, data and competence obtained through personal experience or education. It can be based on the theories or pragmatic experiments of an area of knowledge ("Knowledge."). Knowledge is categorized into share knowledge (passed through education, theories and communities) and personal knowledge (acquired from personal experiences, inherited skills and practical experimentations).“Evidence” is defined as testimonies, facts and details which indicate that something is true and supports knowledge
One assumption that the title makes is that if there is evidence, there is reliable knowledge, hence the reliability of knowledge is solely dependent on evidence. Additionally, it assumes that any and all evidence itself is reliable and accurate. The first knowledge question the title raises is: to what extent can knowledge be reliable if the accuracy of the evidence supporting it comes into question? The other knowledge question it raises is: to what degree can the reliability and accuracy of evidence be examined?
In response to the title, many times evidence can be used to establish reliable knowledge, however we can’t always rely on evidence as it may be influenced by factors such as prejudice emotions and the lack of sense of
As modernisation and refinement of certain theories take place, with new trials and experiments that generate and establish accurate evidence, making the knowledge that is shared from those theories more reliable. New inquiries and observations made for older theories can define a whole new level of accuracy of evidence. For instance, in Biology class we learnt that a Greek philosopher Aristotle had recorded the spontaneous generation theory to be true, declaring that life emerged from non-living materials that contained vital heat known as ‘pneuma’. In the 1700s, John Needham carried out an experiment which consisted of a broth in a beaker. After a few days, the broth was cloudy as the beaker wasn’t covered from air particles and the broth had developed particles from the environment. Needham provided an experimentation that seemed to carry evidence, proving spontaneous generation to be true during that time. Later, in the 1800s, Louis Pasteur came up with a similar experiment, except with a few improvements, like changing the shape of the flask with the broth filled in it, in order to restrict air particles that could potentially make the broth cloudy. His experimentation had provided evidence that had reformed