metaknowledge

See also: meta-knowledge

English

WOTD – 11 August 2015

Alternative forms

• meta-knowledge

Etymology

meta- +‎ knowledge

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛtəˌnɒlɪd͡ʒ/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

metaknowledge (usually uncountable, plural metaknowledges)

1. (philosophy) Knowledge about knowledge itself (for example, epistemologic awareness).
   • 2005, Nicholas Rescher, Epistemic Logic: A Survey of the Logic of Knowledge‎^[1], →ISBN, page 20 (Google preview):

     Metaknowledge is knowledge about knowledge […] The hallmark of metaknowledge is its being a matter of knowing propositions in which one K[nowledge]-operator occurs within the scope of another. Knowledge about someone's ignorance thus counts as metaknowledge.

2. (psychology, artificial intelligence) Knowledge about types, domains, functions, or preconditions of knowledge.
   • 1996, Reiko Hayashi, “Cognition, Empathy & Interaction”, in Advances in Discourse Processes‎^[2], volume 54, →ISBN, page 22 (Google preview):

     The acts of monitoring, hypothesizing, and verifying are internal work which require a person's metaknowledge or knowledge concerning what kind of knowledge is needed and how that knowledge is appropriately used in the situation.

   • 2004, Andy Clark, Natural-Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intelligence‎^[3], →ISBN, page 67 (Google preview):

     Meta-knowledge is knowledge about how to acquire and exploit information, rather than basic knowledge about the world.

See also

• epistemic regime