a thing's being present to the knower, whether through its own existence or through its quiddity
General Technical Meaning
Knowledge is the cognitive possession or presence of what is known to the knower; technical classifications vary by context.
In ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s Works
Bidāyat al-Ḥikmah
knowledge as presence — definition
Knowledge is the presence of an immaterial existent to an immaterial existent, and that presence holds both where what is obtained is the knower itself and where it is something other than the knower.
Limits of this account
The chapter opens by treating the concept of knowledge as self-evident and seeks only its most evident property, so this states what is most manifestly true of knowledge rather than defining its essence. It also does not exhaust every use of ʿilm in al-Manāmāt: al-ʿilm al-rāsikh, the sciences that multiply across the ages, and the ordinary non-technical uses lie outside it.
Nihāyat al-Ḥikmah
knowledge — definition and use
Presential knowledge is defined through a thing’s presence by its external existence, exemplified by self-knowledge. Acquired knowledge is defined by the presence of external things through their quiddities rather than their external existences.
Limits of this account
It does not make every cognitive relation presential knowledge without qualification. It does not reduce all knowledge to a representation in a material organ.
Read in context
Open a passage in the edition where this term is linked.