what can i know

The question "What can I know?" is a foundational philosophical inquiry, mainly explored in epistemology, the study of knowledge. A classic view defines knowledge as "justified true belief," meaning to know something, one must believe it, it must be true, and there must be justification for that belief. However, this definition has been challenged, notably by the Gettier problem, which shows cases where these conditions are met, but true knowledge might still be lacking. Immanuel Kant, a key philosopher on the question of "What can we know?," argued that knowledge arises from a combination of sensory input and the mind's active structuring of that input. According to Kant, we do not know things as they are in themselves but only as they appear to us through our senses shaped by inherent mental frameworks such as space, time, and categories of understanding. Kant's approach integrates sensory data with rational thought, making knowledge both empirical and conceptual. Beyond these, modern epistemology recognizes that knowledge is not only scientific but can also include moral truths, mathematical truths, and personal knowledge, among others. There is ongoing debate about the nature of truth, knowledge sources, and the limits of knowledge. In short, "What can I know?" invites deep reflection on the nature, sources, and limits of human knowledge, blending sensory experience with rational structures, and acknowledging inherent limitations in understanding the true nature of reality.