Systematic, mathematical, declarative and procedural knowledge

It is an inescapable fact that man, from the moment he is in the world, produces knowledge of all kinds not only regarding content, but also formally speaking, in its nature or type. Here are some of them: systematic, mathematical, declarative and procedural knowledge .

Systematic knowledge

Systematic knowledge has its main feature in the connection, the link ; that is to say, all knowledge is not an isolated object but has to be interconnected with something that precedes it and so will be with everything that happens.

When we speak of the systematicity of knowledge we refer to the tendency, evident at least since the time of Galileo, who has all knowledge to produce systems, branches, unions, which with the passage of time can become enormous paradigms.

In systematic knowledge, therefore, there is a concatenation of ideas, a set of rules and principles. We repeat it: here there are no isolated ideas or knowledge, but relationship and even succession. Therefore, all new knowledge will not emerge from nothing, but from a previous one that precedes it.

If you want, it is even an innate capacity of man (and not only of the Western scientist) to produce ideas and connect them, where the theoretical and the practical are constantly confused.

Examples of systematic knowledge

Although all science carries a systematic nature, it must be said that in many others it is not evident, such as philosophy. Therefore, good examples of systematic knowledge can be medicine, biology, physics itself , since prior knowledge is extremely important for the emergence of a later one.

However, systematicity should not only be thought of as a global science, since it also exists in technological development or even in a simple essay that has rigor in its formalism. In the latter, a hypothesis is usually planted that to be demonstrated and produce an advance or creation, requires prior knowledge.

Mathematical knowledge

Mathematical knowledge is a type of knowledge in which abstract formulation, refined ideality and the connection of each of its elements are essential . Undoubtedly, mathematical knowledge has turned out to be extremely essential for the development of multiple civilizations, allowing actions as varied as the calculation of an eclipse or the good accounting of a home.

If we think of arithmetic as a classical enough branch, we understand that mathematics is absolutely related to reason, that in one of its Latin meanings, ratio means “calculation.” The same if we think of another ancient branch such as geometry, where a spatial abstraction occurs, sometimes extremely complex.

Correspondence, reversibilities, rational rules, classifications, seriation, representation (with all the complexity that this term entails), inventiveness, but also scientificity are some of its rules or characteristics. It is no coincidence that mathematical knowledge is associated with the possibility of unveiling reality, because, despite its changes, it is still thought that the language of the universe is mathematical.

Examples of mathematical knowledge

There are multiple fields of mathematics. You can mention arithmetic or number theory, which despite its antiquity continues to be talked about. Also to geometry, algebra, analysis, probability and statistics, computer science, physics (which are absolutely nourished by mathematics), set theory, among others where invention is important.

Declarative knowledge

Declarative knowledge itself is part of cognitive psychology and is linked to how information is stored in long-term memory .

Declarative knowledge is information consisting of consciously known facts, ideas or concepts that can be stored in the form of propositions. Here we have a knowledge that is based on the “something is like that”, the what and does not refer to the how. Here there is no execution, but verbalization, because a declaration that compromises adequate interpretations is indispensable.

Examples of declarative knowledge

Declarative knowledge refers to both the factual and the conceptual . The first refers to facts, data, names, gross events that must be memorized. Therefore, there are a myriad of sciences that are nourished by such knowledge, since it needs repetitiveness or reproduction, for example biology, psychology and many other fields.

The second refers to deep understanding: there is elaboration, construction of meanings and also experimentation. Here are principles, laws and rules, so they are part of any structured knowledge.

Procedural knowledge

This type of knowledge is also part of the mental procedures used to store information in the long term . It is, like declarative knowledge, unconscious in nature. And it allows in the educational environment to carry out tasks such as collecting, understanding, ranking, applying and finding relationships.

If the type of declarative knowledge referred to a what, it must be said that the procedural accounts for a how . Then some steps must be followed, solutions planned, strategies carried out and rules applied. We are talking about manual and cognitive activities that achieve certain results.

Examples of procedural knowledge

The procedural examples are extremely varied, because they can refer to physical activities to achieve certain objectives (such as riding a bicycle or cutting wood in a specific way) or also mental processes such as reading or solving certain sums.

Other good examples are learning a musical instrument, solve math, reflect problems, collect and systematize data, plan a whole plan of action, etc .