THIS IS KNOWLEDGE 《是知也》
THIS IS KNOWLEDGE
《是知也》
Zilu!¹ Shall I teach you about knowledge?
When you know a thing, act as if you know it,
and when you do not know a thing, act as if you do not know it—
this is [the way to seek] knowledge.
– Kongzi 孔子
由！誨女知之乎？
知之為知之，
不知為不知，
是知也。
Zilu!¹ Shall I teach you about knowledge? When you know a thing, act as if you know it, and when you do not know a thing, act as if you do not know it—this is [the way to seek] knowledge.
– Kongzi 孔子
由！誨女知之乎？知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也。
When you know a thing, act as if you know it, and when you do not know a thing, act as if you do not know it—this is [the way to seek] knowledge.
Only what one knows should be recognized as known, and what one does not know should be acknowledged as not known. In this way, although perhaps one cannot exhaustively know [everything], one does not have a shelter for deceiving oneself, and so does not harm one’s existing knowledge. How much more so, when proceeding from this way of seeking knowledge, are there principles for what can be known?
– Zhu Xi 朱熹
但所知者則以為知，所不知者則以為不知。如此則雖或不能盡知，而無自欺之蔽，亦不害其為知矣。況由此而求之，又有可知之理乎？
Translated text: Discourses with Collected Commentaries, Qing Dynasty imperial library edition, pg12: chapter 2, verse 17.