ABSTRACT
Epistemologists sometimes distinguish between knowledge as recogni tion (as when I know a friend when I see him) and knowledge that a pro position is true (as when I know that mammals have four-chambered hearts). The theme of Personal Knowledge may be said to contradict this distinction, in so far as it stresses the element of recognition which is essen tial to all acts of knowing. I want to consider some of the implications of this assertion-that recognition is an essential ingredient of all know ledge-for our understanding of biological knowledge. This may also sug gest some of the more general philosophical problems on which the argu ment of Personal Knowledge sheds new light.
