Declarative knowledge¶

Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences.

Version: v1 · 2026-09-28 · History
Domain-specific #: 8886
Domain group: Humanities
Origin domain: Philosophy
Subdomains: Epistemology, Knowledge That → Philosophy

Core Idea¶

Declarative knowledge is treated here as the recurring social_sciences_humanities_arts identity summarized by this source-grounded definition: Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences.

Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences. It is not restricted to one specific use or purpose and can be stored in books or on computers. Epistemology is the main discipline studying declarative knowledge.

Among other things, it studies the essential components of declarative knowledge. According to a traditionally influential view, it has three elements: it is a belief that is true and justified. As a belief, it is a subjective commitment to the accuracy of the believed claim while truth is an objective aspect.

For Declarative knowledge, the abstraction is narrower than the article's general subject matter: a positive case must preserve Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences. Retaining only the name, a familiar example, or a downstream effect is insufficient. The specialist roles and tests remain anchored in social_sciences_humanities_arts, which is why this identity is domain-specific rather than prime.

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Knowing Facts You Can Say

Knowing that the sky is blue, or that dogs bark, is a kind of knowing you can say in a sentence. You can tell it to a friend, or write it in a book. That kind of knowing facts is called declarative knowledge.

Knowing That Something Is True

Declarative knowledge is knowing that something is true, like knowing that water freezes when it gets cold enough or that Paris is in France. You can say it as a plain statement, and it can be written down in a book or saved on a computer. It is not tied to one job or use; the same fact can help you in lots of ways. Philosophers who study knowledge ask what it takes for a belief to count as real knowledge. One old and popular answer is that you must believe it, it must be true, and you must have a good reason for believing it.

Propositional Knowledge

Declarative knowledge, also called propositional, descriptive, or theoretical knowledge, or 'knowledge-that,' is awareness of facts that can be expressed in declarative sentences. It contrasts with practical 'knowing-how,' such as a skill. It is not limited to one purpose and can be stored outside a mind, in books or computers. Epistemology, the branch of philosophy about knowledge, is the main field that studies it. A traditionally influential view says declarative knowledge is justified true belief: the belief is your personal commitment that a claim is accurate, the truth is an objective feature of the claim, and justification means you have good grounds for it.

Declarative knowledge, known also as propositional, descriptive, or theoretical knowledge and as knowledge-that, is awareness of facts expressible by declarative sentences, that is, knowledge whose content is a proposition. It is not bound to one specific use or purpose and can be externalized, stored in books or computers. Epistemology is its principal field of study, and one central question is its essential components. On a traditionally influential analysis, declarative knowledge is justified true belief: belief contributes a subjective commitment to the accuracy of the believed claim, truth contributes an objective condition independent of the believer, and justification connects the two. The concept is narrower than knowledge in general, since it concerns facts statable as propositions; merely using the label, citing a familiar example, or pointing to a downstream effect does not establish that something is declarative knowledge.

Structural Signature¶

Sig role-phrases:

Defining carrier — For example, according to some forms of reliabilism, a true belief amounts to knowledge if it was formed through a reliable cognitive process.
Constitutive relation — Rather, it is grounded in the notion that people can acquire knowledge through communication with others, for example, by speaking to someone or by reading a newspaper.
Operating condition — A similar process is described by John V.
Recognition evidence — Other suggestions are that the belief was caused by a reliable cognitive process and that the belief is infallible.
Admissible variation — It can be expressed through spoken and written language using declarative sentences and can thus be acquired through verbal communication.
Characteristic consequence — Through these representations, the person stands in a relationship to a particular aspect of reality by depicting what it is like.
Failure boundary — It may also be processed using computers and plays a key role in various forms of artificial intelligence, for example, in the knowledge base of expert systems.

What It Is Not¶

Not the whole field of social_sciences_humanities_arts. The node requires the specific identity stated by Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences.
Not an over-broad reading. A few epistemologists, like Katalin Farkas, claim that, at least in some cases, knowledge is not a form of belief but a different type of mental state.
Not an over-broad reading. However, this argument is not generally accepted since knowing something does not imply that the person disbelieves the claim.
Not an over-broad reading. However, justification by itself does not imply that a belief is true.
Not automatically Bayesian epistemology. Retrieval proximity does not establish equivalence; the two identities must be compared by carrier, operation, and failure boundary.

Scope of Application¶

Declarative knowledge applies literally inside social_sciences_humanities_arts wherever the source-defined carrier and relation can be established. Its documented habitats include:

Definition and semantic field. Terms like theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that are used as synonyms of declarative knowledge and express its different aspects.
Belief. One argument for this position is based on statements like "I don't believe it, I know it", which may be used to express that the person is very certain and has good reason to affirm this claim.
Others. According to causal theories of knowledge, a necessary element of knowing a fact is that this fact somehow caused the knowledge of it.
Types. General knowledge, on the other hand, concerns wide topics or has general applications.
Contrast with other forms of knowledge. All of them can be expressed with the verb "to know" but their differences are reflected in the grammatical structures used to articulate them.
Contrast with other forms of knowledge. For practical knowledge, a how-clause is used instead, for example, "Dave knows how to read the time on a clock".

Outside social_sciences_humanities_arts, the name should be retained only when these same operational conditions survive; otherwise the comparison belongs to the broader parent Pattern or should be marked as analogy.

Clarity¶

A clear use of Declarative knowledge names the carrier, the operative relation, and the conditions under which the source treats the identity as present. The minimal definition is Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences. The strongest recognition evidence in the frozen account is: Other suggestions are that the belief was caused by a reliable cognitive process and that the belief is infallible. A report should distinguish that evidence from a proxy, consequence, or common implementation. It should also state the qualification A few epistemologists, like Katalin Farkas, claim that, at least in some cases, knowledge is not a form of belief but a different type of mental state. so that a reader can reproduce the classification rather than infer it from topical resemblance.

Manages Complexity¶

Declarative knowledge compresses multiple social_sciences_humanities_arts details into a stable diagnostic relation. The source shows both the central mechanism—rather, it is grounded in the notion that people can acquire knowledge through communication with others, for example, by speaking to someone or by reading a newspaper.—and the practical consequence—through these representations, the person stands in a relationship to a particular aspect of reality by depicting what it is like. This compression makes cases comparable while leaving parameters, conventions, exceptions, and evidential quality explicit. It is lossy by design: local history and implementation details may be omitted only when they do not alter the defining relation.

Abstract Reasoning¶

Type the carrier. Identify the social_sciences_humanities_arts entities to which the claim applies.
State the relation. Use the source-grounded identity: Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences.
Check operation and conditions. A similar process is described by John V.
Demand recognition evidence. Other suggestions are that the belief was caused by a reliable cognitive process and that the belief is infallible.
Test variation. Change an implementation or setting while preserving it can be expressed through spoken and written language using declarative sentences and can thus be acquired through verbal communication.
Run the collapse test. Remove the defining operation; if the label still seems equally apt, only a topic or correlate was retained.
Reduce cautiously. When the specialist conditions cannot be carried, route the residual comparison to Pattern.

Knowledge Transfer¶

Within the home domain. Knowledge about Declarative knowledge transfers literally when a new case preserves the same carrier type, relation, and recognition test. Terms like theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that are used as synonyms of declarative knowledge and express its different aspects. One argument for this position is based on statements like "I don't believe it, I know it", which may be used to express that the person is very certain and has good reason to affirm this claim.

Beyond the home domain. No canonical parent is asserted for Declarative knowledge. An outside case receives the specialist name only when the same typed roles and rejection conditions can be filled literally; otherwise the comparison remains an analogy pending later graph densification.

Examples¶

Canonical¶

This is the case, for example, if a belief about the color of a house is based on a perceptual experience, which causally connects the house to the belief. This case is canonical because it supplies a concrete carrier and lets the defining relation be checked rather than merely named.

Mapped back: carrier → the entities in the documented case; operation → Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences; recognition evidence → Other suggestions are that the belief was caused by a reliable cognitive process and that the belief is infallible

Applied / In Practice¶

For example, knowledge of the concept of jogging implies knowing how it differs from walking and running as well as being able to apply this concept to concrete cases. The applied case shows how the identity is used under a second setting or qualification while keeping the same operative relation.

Mapped back: changed setting → Types; invariant → Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences; boundary → the case exits the class when a few epistemologists, like Katalin Farkas, claim that, at least in some cases, knowledge is not a form of belief but a different type of mental state

Structural Tensions¶

T1 — Stable identity versus admissible variation. A few epistemologists, like Katalin Farkas, claim that, at least in some cases, knowledge is not a form of belief but a different type of mental state. The tension matters because emphasizing only one side either dissolves the identity or overstates what the evidence and domain conventions warrant.

Diagnostic: Which changes preserve the defining relation, and which replace it?

T2 — Recognition versus proxy. However, this argument is not generally accepted since knowing something does not imply that the person disbelieves the claim. The tension matters because emphasizing only one side either dissolves the identity or overstates what the evidence and domain conventions warrant.

Diagnostic: Does the cited evidence establish the identity or only a correlated sign?

T3 — Definition versus implementation. However, justification by itself does not imply that a belief is true. The tension matters because emphasizing only one side either dissolves the identity or overstates what the evidence and domain conventions warrant.

Diagnostic: Is the observed implementation constitutive, optional, or merely common?

T4 — Scope versus overextension. However, this ability to articulate one's reasons is not an essential requirement of justification. The tension matters because emphasizing only one side either dissolves the identity or overstates what the evidence and domain conventions warrant.

Diagnostic: Can every claimed application fill the same typed roles without metaphor?

T5 — Transfer versus domain accent. For example, according to some forms of reliabilism, a true belief amounts to knowledge if it was formed through a reliable cognitive process. The tension matters because emphasizing only one side either dissolves the identity or overstates what the evidence and domain conventions warrant.

Diagnostic: Does the receiving case instantiate Declarative knowledge literally, co-instantiate Pattern, or only resemble it?

T6 — Autonomy versus reduction. Rather, it is grounded in the notion that people can acquire knowledge through communication with others, for example, by speaking to someone or by reading a newspaper. The tension matters because emphasizing only one side either dissolves the identity or overstates what the evidence and domain conventions warrant.

Diagnostic: What does Declarative knowledge distinguish that the broader parent Pattern leaves together?

Structural–Framed Character¶

Declarative knowledge is mixed or framed-leaning. Its structural side is the repeatable organization summarized by Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences. Its framed side is the social_sciences_humanities_arts vocabulary that fixes the carrier, evidence, exceptions, and admissible transformations.

Evaluative weight: the identity can be stated descriptively even when applications carry practical stakes. Human-practice dependence: the source-grounded carrier determines whether the relation exists independently or is constituted by a practice. Institutional origin: disciplinary conventions stabilize the name and test. Vocabulary portability: A similar process is described by John V. Import versus recognition: literal transfer requires the same mechanism; shape alone is analogy.

Its portable skeleton is Pattern. Its character: a recurring specialist identity whose thin organization can be abstracted, while its operational meaning remains domain-bound.

Structural Core vs. Domain Accent¶

What is skeletal. Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences. The stable skeleton is the typed relation expressed in that definition and the entry's recognition and collapse tests. The source identifies these operative conditions: For example, according to some forms of reliabilism, a true belief amounts to knowledge if it was formed through a reliable cognitive process. Rather, it is grounded in the notion that people can acquire knowledge through communication with others, for example, by speaking to someone or by reading a newspaper. It further constrains recognition and variation through: A similar process is described by John V. Other suggestions are that the belief was caused by a reliable cognitive process and that the belief is infallible.

What is domain-bound. social sciences humanities arts supplies the operative entities, technical vocabulary, warrants, and exceptions that make Declarative knowledge literal. Its documented scope includes the condition that Terms like theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that are used as synonyms of declarative knowledge and express its different aspects. Another bounded application condition is that One argument for this position is based on statements like "I don't believe it, I know it", which may be used to express that the person is very certain and has good reason to affirm this claim. These are not decorative examples; they determine which carrier and evidence can fill the abstraction's roles.

Why no parent is asserted. Removing those specialist details does not currently yield one live catalog node that is a necessary genus for every instance. The entry is therefore approved as unparented rather than attached by topical resemblance. Its collapse evidence remains specific—It can be expressed through spoken and written language using declarative sentences and can thus be acquired through verbal communication.—and future graph densification may discover a defensible relation only if it preserves that boundary.

Approved unparented node. No current live node supplies a defensible necessary genus or structural prerequisite for Declarative knowledge. The reviewed identity is: Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences. The accelerated suggestion was declined because topical or lexical similarity does not establish hierarchy; the node is admitted without a parent pending later graph densification.
Related reasoning operations. Evidence, representation, comparison, classification, transformation, or evaluation may participate in particular cases, but participation does not make any one of them a necessary parent of every instance.

Neighborhood in Abstraction Space¶

Declarative knowledge sits in a crowded region of the domain-specific corpus (39^th percentile for distinctiveness): several abstractions share nearly its structure, so a description that fits it tends to fit its neighbors too.

Family — Unclustered & Miscellaneous (2551 abstractions)

Nearest neighbors

Computed from structural-signature embeddings · 2026-10-08

Not to Be Confused With¶

Pattern. The parent omits the specialist differentia. Tell: Can the case establish Declarative knowledge, also known as theoretical knowledge, descriptive knowledge, propositional knowledge, and knowledge-that, is an awareness of facts that can be expressed using declarative sentences?
Bayesian epistemology. A formal epistemological program representing graded belief by probabilities and evaluating rational belief and updating through probabilistic coherence and conditionalization principles. Tell: Which entry's carrier, operation, and failure condition are satisfied?
Philosophical realism. The stance that entities of a specified kind exist or have facts independently of minds, conceptual schemes, language, or acts of knowing. Tell: Which entry's carrier, operation, and failure condition are satisfied?
Critical thinking. Disciplined evaluation of claims, evidence, assumptions, inferences, and alternatives to form a justified judgment. Tell: Which entry's carrier, operation, and failure condition are satisfied?
A measurement, proxy, or consequence. Those may provide evidence without being the identity. Tell: Would Declarative knowledge remain present if the detector or downstream effect changed?
A metaphorical analogue. A similar shape outside social_sciences_humanities_arts lacks the specialist mechanism. Tell: Do the native roles transfer literally, or only the parent Pattern?

References¶

Frozen Wikipedia discovery revision: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declarative_knowledge (revision 1369009261).
Preserved source candidate: https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095705926
Preserved source candidate: https://books.google.com/books?id=56bOkxXZXKYC&pg=PA307
Preserved source candidate: https://books.google.com/books?id=V1DFcqt1MXAC&pg=PA354
Preserved source candidate: https://books.google.com/books?id=znbkHaC8QeMC&pg=PA371
Preserved source candidate: https://books.google.com/books?id=whziBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA251
Preserved source candidate: https://archive.org/details/modernbritishphi0000mage/page/74
Preserved source candidate: https://books.google.com/books?id=5kSamKhS560C&pg=PA804
Preserved source candidate: https://books.google.com/books?id=Rx3hqGdXcooC&pg=PA295

The frozen Wikipedia revision is discovery provenance. The retained source set was reviewed for identity, formal or operational relation, and scope. The encyclopedia's structural synthesis is bounded to those claims; a thin authority surface is recorded as a nonblocking source-strengthening repair rather than concealed.