Professor Timothy Williamson of Oxford University Visited ECNU

On the invitation of our university, Professor Timothy Williamson of Oxford University, academician of British Academy of Sciences, visited ECNU, giving a brilliant report titled “On Knowing How”.

 

Traditionally, the distinction between Knowing How and Knowing That has been accepted by the philosophers. It is believed that Knowing How refers to the ability to do something, while Knowing That shows the relationship between the main body and the topic. Knowing How cannot be restored to Knowing That. However, Professor Williamson wanted to challenge this conception, raising the concept that Knowing How is one kind of Knowing That.

 

After questioning the traditional idea, Williamson elaborated his own thinking by using the research findings of current linguistics.