Private knowledge is based on experiences of which only a particular person is aware . They are events and intimate information, which only concerns that person; therefore they cannot be known by someone else.

Likewise, this type of knowledge is not handled in the social or cultural sphere. All these notions have an exclusive character and are developed privately . It could be said that the content of said information will only be important for the person who safeguards it.

Acquiring this knowledge depends on experience , but also on education and one’s own capacity for theoretical and practical understanding. Understanding it in another way, all these data will be supported by facts of which there is evidence.

Unlike public knowledge , the person will have to exercise the role of investigator to be able to know this information that will be useful in any situation. It will also depend on him what criteria to apply when differentiating what is true from what is false.

This is knowledge that has both advantages and disadvantages, it could be concluded that it is knowledge that promotes scientific research and the application of methods that allow its proper analysis. The effectiveness of this process also depends on the ability to make discoveries , so people develop skills that will be applied in future personal projects.

What is private knowledge?

The word private has its etymological origin in the Latin term “privatus”. It translates as the execution of a domestic activity, which is also carried out in view of few people . It is also a term that is used to refer to a space that belongs to an individual or individual, it implies that it can only be used by the owner .

Starting from the aforementioned concept and applied to knowledge, it could be said that it is information that is little known. So, private knowledge only arises from personal and own experiences , there is a direct relationship and it depends on the person to be able to find this information.

Likewise, it must be considered that it is knowledge that will have difficult access . It is up to who handles this content to decide whether its exclusivity remains as such. Because it is based on personal experiences, it could be assumed that the content has an autobiographical origin; and therefore it will not be available to a large group of people.

It is knowledge that could include data that is of great importance to whoever owns it, if it were publicly known, it could violate their privacy . It will try to avoid external intervention, so that there are no unexpected changes. Also for its interpretation there could be confusion, this is because it is a reflection of the inner world of each individual.

Characteristics of private knowledge 

The main characteristic of private knowledge is to encompass everything that corresponds to individual life, so each person can make free use of said content. This information will be kept protected according to how the same person decides, it could be transferred to the public sphere for a specific reason.

It is not possible to access private knowledge without first having an authorization. An intervention could interfere with the autonomy of individuals, as individual protection , any measure that guarantees privacy status will always be active.

No person is obliged to share this knowledge, there is absolute individual responsibility for its content. Taking into consideration that this is knowledge that is directly related to people’s private lives, it could be said that in part there will be vital data that could influence or affect public life.

Private knowledge corresponds directly to carrying out projects related to people’s personal lives. You must always have respect for autonomy and therefore it is considered that it is necessary to establish limits. 

Certain principles apply to the handling of this information , especially in the strictly moral field . In the life of a person, both private and public knowledge are intertwined with each other, this is a process that remains constant and that at times could cause conflicts.

Sometimes the characteristics of private knowledge have similarities to other types. In the case of implicit or tacit knowledge, it shares characteristics related to the coding and storage of information . Both depend on learning and living through personal experiences. As these increase in the same way, content will be added to the total knowledge that is possessed.

5 practical examples

All knowledge is a set of information that is interrelated, they refer to various topics whose origins are also different. They arise from processes such as reflection, interpretation is also another complex process in which learning is combined.

Here are five examples of how private knowledge works in conjunction with other types of knowledge . This gives you a better appreciation of the acquisition process and how it affects people’s lives. These are:

1 Personal experiences of an autobiographical type 

This is the best example that shows what private knowledge consists of. Each individual has information that is only managed by himself , there is no other person who can know the content and there is no physical evidence that can show it. It is your own decision to decide whether to expose it to the public domain.

It is related to the personal life of people, it could even be said that this is knowledge that cannot be repeated in the same way. It depends on the perception with which the same situations are analyzed. For this reason it lacks objectivity, although it is still important because it shows a part of reality.

2 Intuition 

Private knowledge and intuitive knowledge can be combined in relation to certain phenomena or information that are generated through a subconscious process. Information is accessed through observation and other senses , subsequently knowledge is developed that has already been verified. Once its veracity has been confirmed, it will be directly linked to a specific personal experience.

In this case, it would be talking about ideas or sensations . For example, you could take the case of when a person changes their facial gestures. Experience and intuition will dictate that certain signals like the curvature of the eyebrows and the tension in the musculature have an assigned meaning; they are both signs that a person is showing anger.

3 Everyday activities learned from childhood 

Private knowledge and declarative knowledge are knowledge that demonstrate the ability to know theoretical information, this is acquired through conscious procedures. Ideas or propositions are established that, however, may not be verified later. Here, processes such as reflection and abstraction are taken into account , the generation of information that has a totally personal genesis depends on both.

When you claim to have knowledge, you have already gone through a practical process. For example, when people state that they know how to perform certain activities such as walking, talking, cooking or fishing , it indicates that they had previously experimented with certain elements. So people are aware of the possible consequences or effects.  

 4 Riding a bike or driving a car 

Private knowledge and procedural knowledge share similarities as in the previous examples. In this case it is applied to the management of certain problems that are new in the personal field, information is acquired through direct experience. People learn without the need to verbalize, the important thing is to be part of the action and put different methods into practice.

Examples of this type are found in everyday activities such as riding a bicycle or driving a car. Both qualify as private knowledge because they depend on previous experiences of a personal nature, you must have direct contact to be able to have greater precision about this information. Although the physical principles that make these activities possible are not known, people will know how to proceed in these situations.

5 Learn by reading  

Private knowledge and indirect knowledge are learned from the use of resources that serve as intermediaries , between the source of said information and ourselves. People learn new content without having to go through the experimentation phase.

We cannot find a good example of this type in libraries. People study from the content included in textbooks. In the same way, it applies to any other resource that allows the study of a particular topic, people acquire knowledge that has already been verified by someone else.

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Alexa Clark specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She has experience in listening and welcoming in Individual Therapy and Couples Therapy. It meets demands such as generalized anxiety, professional, love and family conflicts, stress, depression, sexual dysfunction, grief, and adolescents from 15 years of age. Over the years, She felt the need to conduct the psychotherapy sessions with subtlety since She understands that the psychologist acts as a facilitator of self-understanding and self-acceptance, valuing each person's respect, uniqueness, and acceptance.

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