title: Knowledge

text: Many different aspects of knowledge are investigated and it plays a role in various disciplines. It is the primary subject of the field of epistemology, which studies what we know, how we come to know it, and what it means to know something. The problem of the "value of knowledge" concerns the question of why knowledge is more valuable than mere true belief. Philosophical skepticism is the controversial thesis that we lack any form of knowledge or that knowledge is impossible. Formal epistemology studies, among other things, the rules governing how knowledge and related states behave and in what relations they stand to each other. Science tries to acquire knowledge using the scientific method, which is based on repeatable experimentation, observation, and measurement. Many religions hold that humans should seek knowledge and that God or the divine is the source of knowledge.


title: Knowledge

text: Numerous definitions of knowledge have been suggested. Most definitions of knowledge in analytic philosophy recognize three fundamental types. "Knowledge-that", also called propositional knowledge, can be expressed using that-clauses as in "I know that Dave is at home". "Knowledge-how" (know-how) expresses practical competence, as in "she knows how to swim". Finally, "knowledge by acquaintance" refers to a familiarity with the known object based on previous direct experience. Most definitions of knowledge in analytic philosophy aim to identify the essential features of propositional knowledge. There is wide, though not universal, agreement among philosophers that knowledge involves a cognitive success or an epistemic contact with reality, and that propositional knowledge is a form of true belief.


title: Knowledge

text: Despite the agreement about the general characteristics of knowledge listed above, many deep disagreements remain regarding its exact definition. These disagreements relate to the goals and methods within epistemology and other fields, or to differences concerning the standards of knowledge that people intend to uphold. Some theorists focus on knowledge's most salient features in their attempt to give a practically useful definition. Others try to provide a theoretically precise definition by listing the conditions that are individually necessary and jointly sufficient. The term "analysis of knowledge" (or equivalently, "conception of knowledge" or "theory of knowledge") is often used for this approach. It can be understood in analogy to how chemists analyze a sample by seeking a list of all the chemical elements composing it. An example of this approach is characterizing knowledge as justified true belief (JTB), which is seen by many philosophers as the standard definition. Others seek a common core among diverse examples of knowledge, such as Paul Silva's "awareness first" epistemology or Barry Allen's definition of knowledge as "superlative artifactual performance".


title: Knowledge

text: Methodological differences concern whether researchers base their inquiry on abstract and general intuitions or on concrete and specific cases, referred to as "methodism" and "particularism", respectively. Another source of disagreement is the role of ordinary language in one's inquiry: the weight given to how the term "knowledge" is used in everyday discourse. According to Ludwig Wittgenstein, for example, there is no clear-cut definition of knowledge since it is just a cluster of concepts related through family resemblance. Different conceptions of the standards of knowledge are also responsible for various disagreements. Some epistemologists hold that knowledge demands very high requirements, like infallibility, and is therefore quite rare. Others see knowledge as a rather common phenomenon, prevalent in many everyday situations, without excessively high standards.


title: Knowledge

text: In analytic philosophy, knowledge is usually understood as a mental state possessed by an individual person, but the term is sometimes used to refer to a characteristic of a group of people as group knowledge, social knowledge, or collective knowledge. In a slightly different sense, it can also mean knowledge stored in documents, as in "knowledge housed in the library" or the knowledge base of an expert system.


title: Knowledge

text: Many philosophers define knowledge as "justified true belief" (JTB). This definition characterizes knowledge through three essential features: as (1) a belief that is (2) true and (3) justified. In the dialogue "Theaetetus" by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, Socrates pondered the distinction between knowledge and true belief but rejected the JTB definition of knowledge. The most widely accepted feature is truth: one can believe something false but one cannot know something false. A few ordinary language philosophers have raised doubts that knowledge is a form of belief based on everyday expressions like "I do not believe that; I know it". Most theorists reject this distinction and explain such expressions through ambiguities of natural language.


title: Knowledge

text: The main controversy surrounding the JTB definition concerns its third feature: justification. This component is often included because of the impression that some true beliefs are not forms of knowledge. Specifically, this covers cases of superstition, lucky guesses, or erroneous reasoning. The corresponding beliefs may even be true but it seems there is more to knowledge than just being right about something. The JTB definition solves this problem by identifying proper justification as the additional component needed, which is absent in the above-mentioned cases. Many philosophers have understood justification internalistically ("internalism"): a belief is justified if it is supported by another mental state of the person, such as a perceptual experience, a memory, or a second belief. This mental state has to constitute a sufficiently strong evidence or reason for the believed proposition. Some modern versions modify the JTB definition by using an "externalist" conception of justification instead. This means that justification depends not just on factors internal to the subject but also on external factors. They can include, for example, that the belief was produced by a reliable process or that the believed fact caused the belief.


title: Knowledge

text: The JTB definition came under severe criticism in the 20th century, when Edmund Gettier gave a series of counterexamples. They purport to present concrete cases of justified true beliefs that fail to constitute knowledge. The reason for their failure is usually a form of epistemic luck: the justification is not relevant to the truth. In a well-known example, there is a country road with many barn facades and only one real barn. The person driving is not aware of this, stops by a lucky coincidence in front of the real barn, and forms the belief that he is in front of a barn. It has been argued that this justified true belief does not constitute knowledge since the person wouldn't have been able to tell the difference without the fortuitous accident. So even though the belief is justified, it is a lucky coincidence that it is also true. The responses to these counterexamples have been diverse. According to some, they show that the JTB definition of knowledge is deeply flawed and that a radical reconceptualization of knowledge is necessary, often by denying justification a role. This can happen, for example, by replacing justification with reliability or by understanding knowledge as the manifestation of cognitive virtues. Other approaches include defining it in regard to the cognitive role it plays in providing reasons for doing or thinking something or seeing it as the most general factive mental state operator. Various theorists are diametrically opposed to the radical reconceptualization and either deny that Gettier cases pose problems or they try to solve them by making smaller modifications to how justification is defined. Such approaches result in a minimal modification of the JTB definition.


title: Knowledge

text: Between these two extremes, some philosophers have suggested various moderate departures. They agree that the JTB definition is a step in the right direction: justified true belief is a necessary condition of knowledge. However, they disagree that it is a sufficient condition. They hold instead that an additional criterion, some feature "X", is necessary for knowledge. For this reason, they are often referred to as "JTB+X" definitions of knowledge. A closely related approach speaks not of justification but of warrant and defines warrant as justification together with whatever else is necessary to arrive at knowledge. Many candidates for the fourth feature have been suggested. In this regard, knowledge may be defined as justified true belief that does not depend on any false beliefs, that there are no defeaters present, or that the person would not have the belief if it was false. Such and similar definitions are successful at avoiding many of the original Gettier cases. However, they often fall prey to newly conceived counterexamples. To avoid all possible cases, it may be necessary to find a criterion that excludes all forms of epistemic luck. It has been argued that such a criterion would set the required standards of knowledge very high: the belief has to be infallible to succeed in all cases. This would mean that very few of our beliefs amount to knowledge, if any. For example, Richard Kirkham suggests that our definition of knowledge requires that the evidence for the belief necessitates its truth. There is still very little consensus in the academic discourse as to which of the proposed modifications or reconceptualizations is correct.


title: Knowledge

text: The English word "knowledge" can translate a variety of words in other languages that refer to different states. The Latin words "cognitio" and "scientia" can both be translated as "knowledge". Romance languages have two major verbs that would both be translated as "to know": for example, "connaître" and "savoir" in French or "conocer" and "saber" in Spanish. In ancient Greek, there were four such important knowledge words: "epistēmē" (unchanging theoretical knowledge), "technē" (expert technical knowledge), "mētis" (strategic knowledge), and "gnōsis" (personal intellectual knowledge). All these different types of knowledge can be considered forms of cognitive success.


title: Knowledge

text: Propositional knowledge, also referred to as descriptive knowledge, is the paradigmatic type of knowledge in analytic philosophy, and various classifications are used to distinguish between its different subtypes. The distinctions between the major types are usually drawn based on the linguistic formulations used to express them. Propositional knowledge is "propositional" in the sense that it involves a relation to a proposition. Since propositions are often expressed through that-clauses, it is also referred to as "knowledge-that", as in "Akari knows that Canberra is the capital of Australia". In this case, Akari stands in the relation of knowing to the proposition "Canberra is the capital of Australia". Closely related types of knowledge are "know-wh", for example, "knowing where" the Taj Mahal is or "knowing who" killed J. F. Kennedy. These expressions are normally understood as types of propositional knowledge since they usually can be paraphrased using a that-clause.


title: Knowledge

text: Propositional knowledge is either occurrent and dispositional. This mirrors the distinction between occurrent and dispositional beliefs: to know occurrently means to entertain the corresponding representation currently, to be aware of it. "Dispositional knowledge" refers to the mere ability to do so without its execution. In this regard, a person fully immersed in a go-kart race has dispositional but not occurrent knowledge of where their home is. The reason is that they are currently occupied with something else but could easily provide this information if they stopped and focused on it.


title: Knowledge

text: For non-propositional knowledge, no essential relation to a proposition is involved. The two most well-known forms are knowledge-how (know-how or procedural knowledge) and knowledge by acquaintance. The term "know-how" refers to some form of practical ability or skill. It can be defined as having the corresponding competence. Examples include knowing how to ride a bicycle or knowing how to play the guitar. Some of the abilities responsible for know-how may also involve certain forms of knowledge-that, as in knowing how to prove a mathematical theorem. But this is not generally the case. It is usually argued that mainly humans and maybe other higher animals possess propositional knowledge since it requires an advanced form of mind. Practical knowledge, on the other hand, is more common in the animal kingdom. In this regard, an ant knows how to walk even though it presumably lacks a mind sufficiently developed enough to stand in a relation to the corresponding proposition by representing it.


title: Knowledge

text: Knowledge by acquaintance refers to familiarity with an individual that results from direct experiential contact with this individual. It often, but not exclusively, concerns a relation to a person. On the linguistic level, it does not require a that-clause and can be expressed using a direct object. So when someone claims that they know Wladimir Klitschko personally, they are expressing that they had a certain kind of contact with him and not that they know a certain fact about him. This is usually understood to mean that it constitutes a relation to a concrete individual and not to a proposition. Knowledge by acquaintance plays a central role in Bertrand Russell's epistemology. He contrasts it with knowledge by description, which is a form of propositional knowledge not based on direct perceptual experience. So by watching a documentary about Wladimir Klitschko, the viewer may acquire various forms of knowledge by description about him, for example, about his nationality or his career in boxing, without acquiring knowledge by acquaintance of him. However, there is some controversy about whether it is possible to acquire knowledge by acquaintance in its pure non-propositional form. In this regard, some theorists have suggested that it might be better to understand it as one type of propositional knowledge that is only expressed in a grammatically different way.


title: Knowledge

text: The distinction between a priori and a posteriori knowledge came to prominence in Immanuel Kant's philosophy and is often discussed in the academic literature. To which category a knowledge attitude belongs depends on the role of experience in its formation and justification. To know something a posteriori means to know it on the basis of experience. For example, to know that it is currently raining or that the baby is crying belongs to a posteriori knowledge since it is based on some form of experience, like visual or auditory experience. A priori knowledge, on the other hand, is possible without any experience to justify or support the known proposition. Mathematical knowledge, for example, that 2 + 2 = 4, is a paradigmatic case of a priori knowledge since no empirical investigation is necessary to confirm this fact. The distinction between a posteriori and a priori knowledge is usually equated with the distinction between empirical and non-empirical knowledge. This distinction pertains primarily to knowledge but it can also be applied to propositions or arguments. For example, an a priori proposition is a proposition that can be known independently of experience.


title: Knowledge

text: The prime example of the relevant experience in question is sensory experience. However, some non-sensory experiences, like memory and introspection, are often included as well. But certain conscious phenomena are excluded in this context. For example, the conscious phenomenon of a rational insight into the solution of a mathematical problem does not make the resulting knowledge a posteriori. It is sometimes pointed out that, in a trivial sense, some form of experience is required even for a priori knowledge: the experience needed to learn the language in which the claim is expressed. For a priori knowledge, this is the only form of experience required. For this reason, knowing that "all bachelors are unmarried" is considered a form of a priori knowledge since, given an understanding of the terms "bachelor" and "unmarried", no further experience is necessary to know that it is true. One difficulty for a priori knowledge is to explain how it is possible. It is usually seen as unproblematic that one can come to know things through experience but it is not clear how knowledge is possible without experience. One of the earliest solutions to this problem is due to Plato, who argues that, in the context of geometry, the soul already possesses the knowledge and just needs to recollect or remember it to access it again. A similar explanation is given by René Descartes, who holds that a priori knowledge exists as innate knowledge present in the mind of each human. A different approach is to posit a special mental faculty responsible for this type of knowledge, often referred to as "rational insight" or "rational intuition".


title: Knowledge

text: The distinction between a priori and a posteriori knowledge is closely related to two other distinctions: the distinction between analytic and synthetic propositions and the distinction between necessary and contingent propositions. Traditionally, it was often assumed that these distinctions coincide. On this view, a priori knowledge concerns propositions that are analytic and necessary while a posteriori knowledge is about propositions that are synthetic and contingent. However, this position is rejected by many contemporary philosophers. One reason is that these distinctions belong to different fields. The a priori–a posteriori distinction belongs to epistemology and is about how one knows things. The analytic–synthetic distinction pertains to semantics and concerns how the meanings of terms make a proposition true. The necessary–contingent distinction is metaphysical and asks, for example, whether a proposition is true in all possible worlds or just in some of them. Various discussions in the academic literature concern the question of how these distinctions overlap or fail to overlap, for example, on cases of synthetic a priori truths or of contingent a priori truths.


title: Knowledge

text: In philosophy, "self-knowledge" usually refers to a person's knowledge of their own sensations, thoughts, beliefs, and other mental states. Many philosophers hold that it is a special type of knowledge since it is more direct than knowledge of the external world, which is mediated through the senses. Traditionally, it was often claimed that self-knowledge is indubitable, for example, that when someone is in pain, they cannot be wrong about this fact. However, various contemporary theorists reject this position. A closely related issue is to explain how self-knowledge works. Some understand it as a form of knowledge by acquaintance while others claim that there is an inner sense that works in analogy to how the external five senses work. According to a different perspective, self-knowledge is indirect in the sense that a person has to interpret their internal and external behavior in order to learn about their mental states, similar to how one can learn about the mental states of other people by interpreting their external behavior.


title: Knowledge

text: In a slightly different sense, the term "self-knowledge" can also refer to the knowledge of the self as a persisting entity that has certain personality traits, preferences, physical attributes, relationships, goals, and social identities. This meaning is of particular interest to psychology and refers to a person's awareness of their own characteristics. Self-knowledge is closely related to self-concept, the difference being that the self-concept also includes unrealistic aspects of how a person sees themselves. In this regard, self-knowledge is often measured by comparing a person's self-assessment of their character traits with how other people assess this person's traits.


title: Knowledge

text: Situated knowledge is knowledge specific to a particular situation. It is closely related to practical or tacit knowledge, which is learned and applied in specific circumstances. This especially concerns certain forms of acquiring knowledge, such as trial and error or learning from experience. In this regard, situated knowledge usually lacks a more explicit structure and is not articulated in terms of universal ideas. The term is often used in feminism and postmodernism to point out that many forms of knowledge are not absolute but depend on the concrete historical, cultural, and linguistic context. Understood in this way, it is frequently used to argue against absolute or universal knowledge claims stated in the scientific discourse. Donna Haraway is a prominent defender of this position. One of her arguments is based on the idea that perception is embodied and is not a universal "gaze from nowhere". The American Psychological Association notes that some interpreters associate with this position a form of epistemological relativism because of how knowledge depends on the local conditions of the culture in which it arises.


title: Knowledge

text: Many forms of eastern spirituality and religion distinguish between "higher" and "lower knowledge". They are also referred to as para vidya and apara vidya in Hinduism or the two truths doctrine in Buddhism. Lower knowledge is based on the senses and the intellect. In this regard, all forms of empirical and objective knowledge belong to this category. Most of the knowledge needed in one's everyday functioning is lower knowledge. It is about mundane or conventional things that are in tune with common sense, like that mice are smaller than elephants. It is relevant to many practical issues, like how to repair a car or how to persuade a customer. Scientific knowledge, for example, that the chemical composition of water is HO, is often seen as one of the most advanced forms of lower knowledge.


title: Knowledge

text: Higher knowledge, on the other hand, is understood as knowledge of God, the absolute, the true self, or the ultimate reality. It belongs neither to the external world of physical objects nor to the internal world of the experience of emotions and concepts. Many spiritual teachings emphasize the increased importance, or sometimes even exclusive importance, of higher knowledge in comparison to lower knowledge. This is usually based on the idea that achieving higher knowledge is one of the central steps on the spiritual path. In this regard, higher knowledge is seen as what frees the individual from ignorance, helps them realize God, or liberates them from the cycle of rebirth. This is often combined with the view that lower knowledge is in some way based on a delusion: it belongs to the realm of mere appearances or Maya, while higher knowledge manages to view the reality underlying these appearances. In the Buddhist tradition, the attainment of higher knowledge or ultimate truth is often associated with seeing the world from the perspective of sunyata, i.e. as a form of emptiness lacking inherent existence or intrinsic nature.


title: Knowledge

text: Sources of knowledge are "rational capacities for knowledge" or ways how people come to know things. Various sources of knowledge are discussed in the academic literature, often in terms of the mental faculties responsible. They include perception, introspection, memory, inference, and testimony. However, not everyone agrees that all of them actually lead to knowledge. Usually, perception or observation, i.e. using one of the senses, is identified as the most important source of empirical knowledge. So knowing that the baby is sleeping constitutes observational knowledge if it was caused by a perception of the snoring baby. But this would not be the case if one learned about this fact through a telephone conversation with one's spouse. Direct realists explain observational knowledge by holding that perception constitutes a direct contact with the perceived object. Indirect realists, on the other hand, contend that this contact happens indirectly: we can only directly perceive sense data, which are then interpreted as representing external objects. This distinction is important since it affects whether the knowledge of external objects is direct or indirect and may thus have an impact on how certain the knowledge is. Introspection is often seen in analogy to perception as a source of knowledge, not of external physical objects, but of internal mental states. Traditionally, various theorists have ascribed a special epistemic status to introspection by claiming that it is infallible or that there is no introspective difference between appearance and reality. However, this claim has been contested in the contemporary discourse. Critics argue that it may be possible, for example, to mistake an unpleasant itch for a pain or to confuse the experience of a slight ellipse for the experience of a circle. Perceptual and introspective knowledge often act as a form of fundamental or basic knowledge. According to some empiricists, perceptual knowledge is the only source of basic knowledge and provides the foundation for all other knowledge.


title: Knowledge

text: Memory is usually identified as another source of knowledge. It differs from perception and introspection in that it is not as independent or fundamental as they are since it depends on other previous experiences. The faculty of memory retains knowledge acquired in the past and makes it accessible in the present, as when remembering a past event or a friend's phone number. It is generally considered a reliable source of knowledge, but it may deceive us at times nonetheless, either because the original experience was unreliable or because the memory degraded and does not accurately represent the original experience anymore.


title: Knowledge

text: Knowledge based on perception, introspection, or memory may also give rise to "inferential knowledge", which comes about when reasoning is applied to draw inferences from another known fact. In this regard, the perceptual knowledge of a Czech stamp on a postcard may give rise to the inferential knowledge that one's friend is visiting the Czech Republic. According to rationalists, some forms of knowledge are completely independent of observation and introspection. They are needed to explain how certain a priori beliefs, like the mathematical belief that 2 + 2 = 4, constitute knowledge. Some theorists hold that the faculty of "pure reason" or "rational intuition" is responsible in these cases since there seem to be no sensory perceptions that could justify such general and abstract knowledge. However, difficulties in providing a clear account of pure reason or rational intuition have led various empirically minded epistemologists to doubt that they constitute independent sources of knowledge. A closely related approach is to hold that this type of knowledge is "innate". According to Plato's theory of recollection, for example, it is accessed through a special form of remembering.


title: Knowledge

text: Testimony is often included as an additional source of knowledge. Unlike the other sources, it is not tied to one specific cognitive faculty. Instead, it is based on the idea that one person can come to know a fact because another person talks about this fact. Testimony can happen in numerous ways, like regular speech, a letter, the newspaper, or an online blog. The problem of testimony consists in clarifying under what circumstances and why it constitutes a source of knowledge. A popular response is that it depends on the reliability of the person pronouncing the testimony: only testimony from reliable sources can lead to knowledge.


title: Knowledge

text: The expression "structure of knowledge" refers to the way in which the mental states of a person need to be related to each other for knowledge to arise. Most theorists hold that, among other things, an agent has to have good reasons for holding a belief if this belief is to amount to knowledge. So when challenged, the agent may justify their belief by referring to their reason for holding it. In many cases, this reason is itself a belief that may as well be challenged. So when the agent believes that Ford cars are cheaper than BMWs because they believe to have heard this from a reliable source, they may be challenged to justify why they believe that their source is reliable. If it turns out that their reasons are not well supported, this also affects the epistemic status of the original belief. However, whatever support they present may also be challenged. This threatens to lead to an infinite regress since the epistemic status at each step depends on the epistemic status of the previous step. Theories of the structure of knowledge offer responses for how to solve this problem.


title: Knowledge

text: The three most common theories are foundationalism, coherentism, and infinitism. Foundationalists and coherentists deny the existence of this infinite regress, in contrast to infinitists. According to foundationalists, some "basic reasons" have their epistemic status independent of other reasons and thereby constitute the endpoint of the regress. Against this view, it has been argued that the concept of "basic reason" is contradictory: there should be a reason for why some reasons are basic and others are non-basic, in which case the basic reasons would depend on another reason after all and would therefore not be basic. An additional problem consists in finding plausible candidates for basic reasons.


title: Knowledge

text: Coherentists and infinitists avoid these problems by denying the distinction between basic and non-basic reasons. Coherentists argue that there is only a finite number of reasons, which mutually support each other and thereby ensure each other's epistemic status. Their critics contend that this constitutes the fallacy of circular reasoning. For example, if belief "b1" supports belief "b2" and belief "b2" supports belief "b1", the agent has a reason for accepting one belief if they already have the other. However, their mutual support alone is not a good reason for newly accepting both beliefs at once. A closely related issue is that there can be various distinct sets of coherent beliefs and coherentists face the problem of explaining why we should accept one coherent set rather than another. For infinitists, in contrast to foundationalists and coherentists, there is an infinite number of reasons. This position faces the problem of explaining how human knowledge is possible at all since it seems that the human mind is limited and cannot possess an infinite number of reasons. In their traditional forms, foundationalists, coherentists and infinitists all face the Gettier problem, i.e. that having a reason or justification for a true belief is not sufficient for knowledge in cases where cognitive luck is responsible for the success.


title: Knowledge

text: The value of knowledge is an important topic in epistemology. Its main question is whether or why knowledge is more valuable than mere true belief. There is wide agreement that knowledge is good in some sense. For example, knowledge can help a student pass the exam or ensure that a doctor prescribes the right medicine. However, the thesis that knowledge is better than true belief is more controversial. An early discussion of this problem is found in Plato's Meno in relation to the claim that both knowledge and true belief can successfully guide action and, therefore, have apparently the same value. For example, it seems that mere true belief is as effective as knowledge when trying to find the way to Larissa. According to Plato, knowledge is better because it is more stable. A different approach is to hold that knowledge gets its additional value from justification. However, if the value in question is understood primarily as an instrumental value, it is not clear in what sense knowledge is better than mere true belief since they are usually equally useful.


title: Knowledge

text: The problem of the value of knowledge is often discussed in relation to reliabilism and virtue epistemology. Reliabilism can be defined as the thesis that knowledge is reliably-formed true belief. On this view, it seems difficult to explain how a reliable belief-forming process adds additional value. According to an analogy by Linda Zagzebski, a cup of coffee made by a reliable coffee machine has the same value as an equally good cup of coffee made by an unreliable coffee machine. This difficulty in solving the value problem is sometimes used as an argument against reliabilism. Virtue epistemologists have a different approach to the value problem. They see knowledge as the manifestation of cognitive virtues and can thus argue that knowledge has additional value due to its association with virtue. However, not everyone agrees that knowledge actually has additional value over true belief. A similar view is defended by Jonathan Kvanvig, who argues that the main epistemic value resides not in knowledge but in understanding, which implies grasping how one's beliefs cohere with each other.


title: Knowledge

text: Philosophical skepticism in its strongest form, also referred to as "global skepticism", is the thesis that we lack any form of knowledge or that knowledge is impossible. This position is quite radical and very few philosophers have explicitly defended it. However, it has been influential nonetheless, usually in a negative sense: many researchers see it as a serious challenge to any epistemological theory and often try to show how their preferred theory overcomes it. For example, it is commonly accepted that perceptual experience constitutes a source of knowledge. However, according to the dream argument, this is not the case since dreaming provides unreliable information and since the agent could be dreaming in that moment. In this case, they would be unable to distinguish actual perceptual experience from the dreaming experience. Since they may be dreaming at any time without being aware of this, it is then argued that there is no perceptual knowledge. A similar often cited thought experiment assumes that the agent is actually a brain in a vat that is just fed electrical stimuli. Such a brain would have the false impression of having a body and interacting with the external world. The basic thrust of the argument is the same: since the agent is unable to tell the difference, they do not know that they have a body responsible for reliable perceptions.


title: Knowledge

text: One issue revealed through these thought experiments is the problem of underdetermination: that the evidence available is not sufficient to make a rational decision between competing theories. And if two contrary hypotheses explain the appearances equally well then the agent is not justified in believing one of those hypotheses rather than the other. Based on this premise, the general skeptic just has to argue that this is true for all our knowledge, that there is always an alternative and very different explanation. Another skeptic argument is based on the idea that human cognition is fallible and therefore lacks absolute certainty. More specific arguments target particular theories of knowledge, such as foundationalism or coherentism, and try to show that their concept of knowledge is deeply flawed. An important argument against global skepticism is that it seems to contradict itself: the claim that there is no knowledge appears to constitute a knowledge-claim itself. Other responses come from common sense philosophy and reject global skepticism based on the fact that it contradicts common sense. It is then argued against skepticism by seeing common sense as more reliable than the abstract reasoning cited in favor of skepticism.


title: Knowledge

text: Certain less radical forms of skepticism deny that knowledge exists within a specific area or discipline, sometimes referred to as "local" or "selective skepticism". It is often motivated by the idea that certain phenomena do not accurately represent their subject matter. They may thus lead to false impressions concerning its nature. External world skeptics hold that we can only know about our own sensory impressions and experiences but not about the external world. This is based on the idea that beliefs about the external world are mediated through the senses. The senses are faulty at times and may thus show things that are not really there. This problem is avoided on the level of sensory impressions, which are given to the experiencer directly without an intermediary. In this sense, the person may be wrong about seeing a red Ferrari in the street (it might have been a Maserati or a mere light reflection) but they cannot be wrong about having a sensory impression of seeing a patch of red color. The inverse path is taken by some materialists, who accept the existence of the external physical world but deny the existence of the internal realm of mind and consciousness based on the difficulty of explaining how the two realms can exist together. Other forms of local skepticism accept scientific knowledge but deny the possibility of moral knowledge, for example, because there is no reliable way to empirically measure whether a moral claim is true or false.


title: Knowledge

text: The issue of the definition and standards of knowledge is central to the question of whether skepticism in its different forms is true. If very high standards are used, for example, that knowledge implies infallibility, then skepticism becomes more plausible. In this case, the skeptic only has to show that no belief is absolutely certain; that while the actual belief is true, it could have been false. However, the more these standards are weakened to how the term is used in everyday language, the less plausible skepticism becomes.


title: Knowledge

text: Formal epistemology studies knowledge using formal tools, such as mathematics and logic. An important issue in this field concerns the epistemic principles of knowledge. They are rules governing how knowledge and related states behave and in what relations they stand to each other. The transparency principle, also referred to as the "luminosity of knowledge", is an often discussed principle. It states that knowing something implies the second-order knowledge that one knows it. So if Heike knows that today is Monday, then she also knows that she knows that today is Monday. According to the "conjunction principle", having two justified beliefs in two separate propositions implies that the agent is also justified in believing in the conjunction of these two propositions. The "closure principle" states that if the agent has a justified belief in one proposition and this proposition entails another proposition, then the agent is also justified in believing this other proposition. The "evidence transfer principle" applies this idea to evidence: if, in the case above, a certain piece of evidence justifies the first belief then it also justifies the second belief.


title: Knowledge

text: The development of the scientific method has made a significant contribution to how knowledge of the physical world and its phenomena is acquired. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning and experimentation. The scientific method consists of the collection of data through observation and experimentation, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses. Science and the nature of scientific knowledge have also become the subject of philosophy. As science itself has developed, scientific knowledge now includes a broader usage in the soft sciences such as the social sciences. Sir Francis Bacon was critical of the historical development of the scientific method; his works established and popularized an inductive methodology for scientific inquiry. His aphorism, "knowledge is power", is found in the Meditations Sacrae (1597).


title: Knowledge

text: Knowledge plays a central role in many religions. Knowledge claims about the existence of God or religious doctrines about how each one should live their lives are found in almost every culture. However, such knowledge claims are often controversial and are commonly rejected by religious skeptics and atheists. The epistemology of religion is the field of inquiry that investigates whether belief in God and in other religious doctrines is rational and amounts to knowledge. It is different from other forms of epistemology because of its unique subject matter. One important view in this field is evidentialism. It states that belief in religious doctrines is justified if it is supported by sufficient evidence. Suggested examples of evidence for religious doctrines include religious experiences such as direct contact with the divine or inner testimony as when hearing God's voice. However, evidentialists often reject that belief in religious doctrines amount to knowledge based on the claim that we lack sufficient evidence. A famous saying in this regard is due to Bertrand Russell. When asked how he would justify his lack of belief in God when facing His judgment after death, he replied "Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence."


title: Knowledge

text: However, religious teachings about the existence and nature of God are not always understood as knowledge claims by their defenders and some explicitly state that the proper attitude towards such doctrines is not knowledge but faith. This is often combined with the assumption that these doctrines are true but cannot be fully understood by reason or verified through rational inquiry. For this reason, it is claimed that one should accept them even though they do not amount to knowledge. Such a view is reflected in a famous saying by Immanuel Kant where he claims that he "had to deny knowledge in order to make room for faith."


title: Knowledge

text: Distinct religions often differ from each other concerning the doctrines they proclaim as well as their understanding of the role of knowledge in religious practice. Knowledge plays a central role in Abrahamic religions. In Jewish tradition, knowledge (Hebrew: דעת "da'ath") is considered one of the most valuable traits a person can acquire. Observant Jews recite three times a day in the Amidah "You favor people with knowledge and teach mortals understanding. Favor us with your knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Blessed are you, Adonai, who favors people with knowledge." The Tanakh states, "A wise man is strong; yes, a man of knowledge grows in strength." The Old Testament's tree of the knowledge of good and evil contained the knowledge that separated Man from God: "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil..." ()


title: Knowledge

text: In many expressions of Christianity, such as Catholicism and Anglicanism, knowledge is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. As Pope Francis points out, "the knowledge that comes from the Holy Spirit, however, is not limited to human knowledge; it is a special gift, which leads us to grasp, through creation, the greatness and love of God and his profound relationship with every creature."


title: Knowledge

text: In Islam, knowledge (Arabic: علم, "ʿilm") is given great significance. "The Knowing" ("al-ʿAlīm") is one of the 99 names reflecting distinct attributes of God. The Qur'an asserts that knowledge comes from God () and various "hadith" encourage the acquisition of knowledge. Muhammad is reported to have said "Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave" and "Verily the men of knowledge are the inheritors of the prophets". Islamic scholars, theologians and jurists are often given the title "alim", meaning "knowledgeble".


title: Knowledge

text: In Gnostic beliefs, everyone is said to possess a piece of the highest good or Ultimate God deep within themselves that had fallen from the spiritual world into the bodies of humans, sometimes called a divine spark. It is trapped in their material bodies created by the inferior God or Demiurge unless secret knowledge from the outside universe called gnosis is achieved. The one who brings such knowledge is considered the savior or redeemer.


title: Knowledge

text: Hindu Scriptures present two kinds of knowledge, "Paroksh Gyan" and "Prataksh Gyan". "Paroksh Gyan" (also spelled "Paroksha-Jnana") is secondhand knowledge: knowledge obtained from books, hearsay, etc. "Pratyaksh Gyan" (also spelled "Pratyaksha-Jnana") is the knowledge borne of direct experience, i.e., knowledge that one discovers for oneself. Knowledge is of special importance in the classical path of Hinduism known as "jnana yoga" or "path of knowledge". Its aim is to achieve oneness with the divine by fostering an understanding of the self and its relation to Brahman or ultimate reality.


title: Knowledge

text: According to the Jain texts like Tattvārthsūtra and Sarvārthasiddhi, there are five kinds of knowledge: sensory knowledge, scriptural knowledge, clairvoyance, telepathy, and omniscience (Mati Jñāna, Śruta Jñāna, Avadhi Jñāna, Manah prayāya, and Kevala Jnana). The first two kinds are regarded as indirect knowledge since the soul depends on the sense and the mind to acquire them. This is not the case for the remaining three kinds, which constitute direct knowledge.


title: Knowledge

text: It studies how knowledge is acquired, stored, retrieved, and communicated. Special interest is given to how knowledge is reproduced and undergoes changes in relation to social and cultural circumstances. In this context, the term "knowledge" is used in a very broad sense, roughly equivalent to terms like "understanding" and "culture". This means that the forms and reproduction of understanding are studied irrespective of their truth value. In epistemology, on the other hand, knowledge is usually restricted to forms of true belief. The main focus in anthropology is on empirical observations of how people ascribe truth values to meaning contents, like when affirming an assertion, even if these contents are false. But it also includes practical components: knowledge is what is employed when interpreting and acting on the world and involves diverse phenomena, such as feelings, embodied skills, information, and concepts. It is used to understand and anticipate events in order to prepare and react accordingly.


title: Knowledge

text: The reproduction of knowledge and its changes often happen through some form of communication. This includes face-to-face discussions and online communications as well as seminars and rituals. An important role in this context falls to institutions, like university departments or scientific journals in the academic context. A "tradition" may be defined as knowledge that has been reproduced within a society or geographic region over several generations. However, societies also respond to various external influences, such as other societies, whose understanding is often interpreted and incorporated in a modified form.


title: Knowledge

text: An important finding is that individuals belonging to the same social group usually understand things and organize knowledge in similar ways to one another. In this regard, social identities play a significant role: individuals who associate themselves with similar identities, like age-influenced, professional, religious, and ethnic identities, tend to embody similar forms of knowledge.


title: Shadowhunters

text: Shadowhunters, also known as Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Ed Decter, based on the book series "The Mortal Instruments" written by Cassandra Clare. It premiered in North America on Freeform on January 12, 2016. Primarily filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the series follows Clary Fray (Katherine McNamara), who finds out on her eighteenth birthday that she is not who she thinks she is, but rather comes from a long line of Shadowhunters, human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons, and has to deal with the struggle of forbidden love.


title: Shadowhunters

text: It is the second adaptation of the novel series, after the 2013 film "", which, like the series, was produced by Constantin Film, and serves as a reboot. The debut season of "Shadowhunters" received mixed responses from critics. The pilot episode attracted the largest audience for Freeform in more than two years. The show received numerous award nominations, winning one GLAAD Award, six Teen Choice Awards and five People's Choice Awards.


title: Shadowhunters

text: In March 2016, the series was renewed for a second season of 20 episodes, which premiered on January 2, 2017. In August 2016, showrunner Ed Decter left the series over "creative differences". Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer were named as Decter's replacements. In April 2017, Freeform renewed the show for a third season of 20 episodes, which premiered on March 20, 2018. In June 2018, Freeform canceled the series after three seasons, but ordered two extra episodes to properly conclude the series' story; the second half of the third season premiered on February 25, 2019, with 12 episodes ordered. The two-part series finale aired on May 6, 2019.


title: Shadowhunters

text: On her 18th birthday, Clary Fray is accepted into the Brooklyn Academy of Arts. That evening, while out celebrating with her best friend, Simon Lewis, Clary sees a group of suspicious people that nobody else can see. She follows them into the back room of the club, witnessing a fight. She interferes, grabbing a blade. Believing she has accidentally committed a murder, Clary is distraught and immediately rushes home. Her mother, Jocelyn Fray, then reveals invisible inkings on her own skin, similar to those worn by the group at the club. Knowing she will be attacked, Jocelyn fears for Clary's safety, asking their friend Dot to send her through a portal to Luke, her only father figure.


title: Shadowhunters

text: However, when she arrives, Clary believes Luke has betrayed her, leading to her returning to her apartment. When she arrives, she finds her mother missing, and a monstrous Dot asking her about a Mortal Cup. Clary is saved by a blond boy from the club, who seems to know more about herself than she does. She joins up with a group of Shadowhunters, half angel half human, to save her mother from the villainous Valentine Morgenstern, Clary's own father, and discovers powers she never knew she possessed. Clary is thrown into the world of demon hunting with the mysterious, narcissistic, and attractive Shadowhunters Jace, Isabelle and Alec and drags her loyal and geeky friend Simon along for the ride. Now living amongst the fair folk, warlocks, vampires, and werewolves, Clary begins a journey of self-discovery as she learns more about her past and what her future may hold.


title: Shadowhunters

text: In 2010, Screen Gems announced that they were going into production on the of "City of Bones", the first book in "The Mortal Instruments" series, with hopes of starting a successful film franchise. Production on a film adaptation of the second book, "City of Ashes", was due to start in September 2013, but was delayed to 2014, and eventually cancelled, after the first film failed to recoup its budget.


title: Shadowhunters

text: On October 12, 2014, at Mipcom, Constantin confirmed that "The Mortal Instruments" will return as a television series with Ed Decter as showrunner. Constantin Film and TV head Martin Moszkowicz told "The Hollywood Reporter" that, "It actually makes sense to do [the novels] as a TV series. There was so much from the book that we had to leave out of the "Mortal Instruments" film. In the series we'll be able to go deeper and explore this world in greater detail and depth." The producers hope to adapt the entire book series if the TV adaptation proves successful. In February 2015, book series author Cassandra Clare announced via Twitter that the television series would be called "Shadowhunters" rather than "The Mortal Instruments". In March 2015, ABC Family picked up "Shadowhunters" straight-to-series. The series was renewed for a second season in March 2016, consisting of 20 episodes, which premiered on January 2, 2017. In April 2017, it was announced that the series was renewed for a third season of 20 episodes. The first half of ten episodes premiered on March 20, 2018. On June 4, 2018, Freeform canceled the series after three seasons, but ordered two extra episodes to properly conclude the series' story; the second half of the third season premiered on February 25, 2019.


title: Shadowhunters

text: In August 2016, soon before filming on the second season was to begin, showrunner Ed Decter exited the series over "creative differences". Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer, who were former showrunners on "Smallville", were announced as Decter's replacements in August 2016.


title: Shadowhunters

text: On Twitter, Cassandra Clare announced that she would not be part of casting decisions, and would not be expecting any of the original film cast to return. On April 20, 2015, ABC revealed Dominic Sherwood as the first member of the "Shadowhunters" cast. On May 1, 2015, it was announced that Emeraude Toubia would be taking the role of Isabelle Lightwood and Alberto Rosende would be joining the cast as Simon Lewis. On May 6, it was reported that Katherine McNamara landed the lead role of Clary Fray. Two days later, on May 8, Matthew Daddario and Isaiah Mustafa were cast as Alec Lightwood and Luke Garroway, respectively. Harry Shum Jr. and Alan van Sprang later joined the cast on May 15, as Magnus Bane and Valentine Morgenstern. On May 18, it was announced that Maxim Roy would be playing Jocelyn Fray.


title: Shadowhunters

text: On May 28, Jon Cor was announced to play Hodge Starkweather, a Shadowhunter and former member of the Circle. David Castro was reported to be portraying vampire Raphael Santiago on June 4. Shortly after, on June 9, Lisa Marcos announced she would be joining the cast as Captain Vargas, a new character created for the series by Ed Decter. On June 12, producer McG's official Twitter account stated that Kaitlyn Leeb had been cast to play the vampire, Camille Belcourt. On June 16, Jade Hassouné was reported to be portraying the faerie, Meliorn. On August 8, Stephanie Bennett was cast as the new character Lydia Branwell, a rule-following Shadowhunter. On September 2, 2016, Alisha Wainwright was announced to play Maia Roberts in the second season, and soon promoted to series regular beginning in the third season.


title: Shadowhunters

text: The series began filming in Mississauga, Canada on May 25, 2015. The fictional New York Police Department's 89 Precinct was filmed in the Science Wing at the University of Toronto Scarborough.


title: Shadowhunters

text: "Shadowhunters (Original Television Series Soundtrack)" was released on platforms including iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music on July 21, 2017, featuring six original songs from the show.


title: Shadowhunters

text: Ben Decter composed the instrumental music score for the first season. Trevor Morris and Jack Wall composed the instrumental music score for the second and third seasons. Their music was released as a soundtrack album in 2018. The opening theme song is "This Is The Hunt" performed by Ruelle, which was written for "Shadowhunters" by Maggie Eckford (Ruelle's real name) and Jeff Bowman. Other Ruelle songs have featured in the series.


title: Shadowhunters

text: The series premiered on January 12, 2016, in the U.S. on Freeform. The second episode, "The Descent into Hell Is Easy", was released online that same day, following the premiere of the first episode. In December 2015, Netflix acquired global rights to "Shadowhunters", excluding the U.S., making the series available as an original series a day after the U.S. premiere, with the first episode having launched globally on January 13, 2016, and subsequent episodes having been released on a weekly basis.


title: Shadowhunters

text: The debut season of "Shadowhunters" received mixed responses from critics. Metacritic gave it a 45 out of 100 rating, based on 9 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Rotten Tomatoes gave the series a 44% rating, based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 5.81/10. The site's consensus states, ""Shadowhunters" boasts visual thrills and a potential-rich premise, but they're not enough to overcome the show's self-serious silliness and dull, convoluted plots."


title: Shadowhunters

text: According to James Poniewozik of "The New York Times", the series "has its assets, especially its popular source material. But it might become more fun if it learns to enjoy being the empowerment fantasy it really is."


title: Shadowhunters

text: No subtitles are available on the Region 2 DVD and the United Kingdom Blu-ray. The Region 4 DVD has closed captions, excluding season 3 part B. None of them includes extra features.


title: Time (magazine)

text: Time (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on March 3, 1923, and for many years it was run by its influential co-founder, Henry Luce. A European edition ("Time Europe", formerly known as "Time Atlantic") is published in London and also covers the Middle East, Africa, and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition ("Time Asia") is based in Hong Kong. The South Pacific edition, which covers Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, is based in Sydney.


title: Time (magazine)

text: Since 2018, "Time" has been published by Time USA, LLC, owned by Marc Benioff, who acquired it from Meredith Corporation.


title: Time (magazine)

text: "Time" has been based in New York City since its first issue published on March 3, 1923, by Briton Hadden and Henry Luce. It was the first weekly news magazine in the United States. The two had previously worked together as chairman and managing editor, respectively, of the "Yale Daily News". They first called the proposed magazine "Facts", wanting to emphasize brevity so a busy man could read it in an hour. They changed the name to "Time" and used the slogan "Take Time – It's Brief". Hadden was considered carefree and liked to tease Luce. He saw "Time" as important but also fun, which accounted for its heavy coverage of celebrities and politicians, the entertainment industry and pop culture, criticizing it as too light for serious news.


title: Time (magazine)

text: "Time" set out to tell the news through people, and until the late 1960s, the magazine's cover depicted a single person. More recently, "Time" has incorporated "People of the Year" issues which grew in popularity over the years. The first issue of "Time" featured Joseph G. Cannon, the retired Speaker of the House of Representatives, on its cover; a facsimile reprint of Issue No. 1, including all of the articles and advertisements contained in the original, was included with copies of the magazine's issue from February 28, 1938, in commemoration of its 15th anniversary. The cover price was 15¢ (equivalent to $ in ). On Hadden's death in 1929, Luce became the dominant man at "Time" and a major figure in the history of 20th-century media. According to "Time Inc.: The Intimate History of a Publishing Enterprise 1972–2004" by Robert Elson, "Roy Edward Larsen ... was to play a role second only to Luce's in the development of Time Inc". In his book "The March of Time, 1935–1951", Raymond Fielding also noted that Larsen was "originally circulation manager and then general manager of "Time", later publisher of "Life", for many years president of Time Inc., and in the long history of the corporation the most influential and important figure after Luce".


title: Time (magazine)

text: Around the time they were raising $100,000 from wealthy Yale alumni such as Henry P. Davison, partner of J.P. Morgan & Co., publicity man Martin Egan and J.P. Morgan & Co. banker Dwight Morrow; Henry Luce and Briton Hadden hired Larsen in 1922 – although Larsen was a Harvard graduate and Luce and Hadden were Yale graduates. After Hadden died in 1929, Larsen purchased 550 shares of Time Inc., using money he obtained from selling RKO stock he had inherited from his father, who was the head of the Benjamin Franklin Keith theater chain in New England. However, after Briton Hadden's death, the largest Time, Inc. stockholder was Henry Luce, who ruled the media conglomerate in an autocratic fashion; "at his right hand was Larsen", Time's second-largest stockholder, according to "Time Inc.: The Intimate History of a Publishing Enterprise 1923–1941". In 1929, Roy Larsen was also named a Time Inc. director and vice president. J. P. Morgan retained a certain control through two directorates and a share of stocks, both over "Time" and "Fortune". Other shareholders were Brown Brothers W. A. Harriman & Co., and the New York Trust Company (Standard Oil).


title: Time (magazine)

text: The Time Inc. stock owned by Luce at the time of his death was worth about $109 million , and it had been yielding him a yearly dividend of more than $2.4 million , according to Curtis Prendergast's "The World of Time Inc.: The Intimate History of a Changing Enterprise 1957–1983". The Larsen family's Time stock was worth around $80 million during the 1960s, and Roy Larsen was both a Time Inc. director and the chairman of its executive committee, later serving as Time's vice chairman of the board until the middle of 1979. On September 10, 1979, "The New York Times" wrote, "Mr. Larsen was the only employee in the company's history given an exemption from its policy of mandatory retirement at age 65."


title: Time (magazine)

text: After "Time" magazine began publishing its weekly issues in March 1923, Roy Larsen was able to increase its circulation by using U.S. radio and movie theaters around the world. It often promoted both "Time" magazine and U.S. political and corporate interests. According to "The March of Time", as early as 1924, Larsen had brought "Time" into the infant radio business with the broadcast of a 15-minute sustaining quiz show entitled "Pop Question" which survived until 1925". Then in 1928, Larsen "undertook the weekly broadcast of a 10-minute programme series of brief news summaries, drawn from current issues of "Time" magazine ... which was originally broadcast over 33 stations throughout the United States".


title: Time (magazine)

text: Larsen next arranged for the 30-minute radio program "The March of Time" to be broadcast over CBS beginning on March 6, 1931. Each week, the program presented a dramatization of the week's news for its listeners; thus "Time" magazine itself was brought "to the attention of millions previously unaware of its existence", according to "Time Inc.: The Intimate History of a Publishing Enterprise 1923–1941", leading to an increased circulation of the magazine during the 1930s. Between 1931 and 1937, Larsen's "The March of Time" radio program was broadcast over CBS radio, and between 1937 and 1945, it was broadcast over NBC radio – except between 1939 and 1941, when it was not aired. "People" magazine was based on "Time" "People" page.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In 1987, Jason McManus succeeded Henry Grunwald as editor-in-chief, and oversaw the transition before Norman Pearlstine succeeded him in 1995.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In 1989, when Time, Inc. and Warner Communications merged, "Time" became part of Time Warner, along with Warner Bros. In 2000, "Time" became part of AOL Time Warner, which reverted to the name Time Warner in 2003.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In 2007, "Time" moved from a Monday subscription/newsstand delivery to a schedule where the magazine goes on sale Fridays, and is delivered to subscribers on Saturday. The magazine actually began in 1923 with Friday publication.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In early 2007, the year's first issue was delayed for roughly a week due to "editorial changes", including the layoff of 49 employees.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In 2009, "Time" announced that they were introducing "Mine", a personalized print magazine mixing content from a range of Time Warner publications based on the reader's preferences. The new magazine was met with a poor reception, with criticism that its focus was too broad to be truly personal.


title: Time (magazine)

text: The magazine has an online archive with the unformatted text for every article published. The articles are indexed and were converted from scanned images using optical character recognition technology. The minor errors in the text are remnants of the conversion into digital format.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In January 2013, Time Inc. announced that it would cut nearly 500 jobs – roughly 6% of its 8,000 staff worldwide. Although "Time" magazine has maintained high sales, its ad pages have declined significantly over time.


title: Time (magazine)

text: Also in January 2013, Time Inc. named Martha Nelson as the first female editor-in-chief of its magazine division. In September 2013, Nancy Gibbs was named as the first female managing editor of "Time" magazine.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In November 2017, Meredith Corporation announced its acquisition of Time, Inc., backed by Koch Equity Development. In March 2018, only six weeks after the closure of the sale, Meredith announced that it would explore the sale of "Time" and sister magazines "Fortune", "Money" and "Sports Illustrated", since they did not align with the company's lifestyle brands.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In 2017, editor and journalist Catherine Mayer, who also founded the Women's Equality Party in the UK, sued "Time" through attorney Ann Olivarius for sex and age discrimination. The suit was resolved in 2018.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In September 2018, Meredith Corporation announced that it would re-sell "Time" to Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne for $190 million, a transaction completed on October 31. Although Benioff is the chairman and co-CEO of Salesforce.com, "Time" was to remain separate from that company and Benioff would not be involved in the magazine's daily operations. The sale was completed on October 31, 2018. Time USA LLC, the parent company of the magazine, is owned by Marc Benioff.


title: Time (magazine)

text: From 1942 until 1979, "Time" had a Canadian edition that included an insert of five pages of locally produced content as well as occasional Canadian covers. Following changes in the tax status of Canadian editions of American magazines, Time closed Canadian bureaus, except for Ottawa, and published identical content to the US edition but with Canadian advertising. In December 2008, "Time" discontinued publishing a Canadian advertiser edition.


title: Time (magazine)

text: During the second half of 2009, the magazine had a 34.9% decline in newsstand sales. During the first half of 2010, another decline of at least one-third in "Time" magazine sales occurred. In the second half of 2010, "Time" magazine newsstand sales declined by about 12% to just over 79,000 copies per week.


title: Time (magazine)

text: As of 2012, it had a circulation of 3.3 million, making it the 11th-most circulated magazine in the United States, and the second-most circulated weekly behind "People". As of July 2017, its circulation was 3,028,013. In October 2017, "Time" cut its circulation to two million. The print edition has a readership of 1.6 million, 1 million of whom are based in the United States.


title: Time (magazine)

text: "Time" initially possessed a distinctively "acerbic, irreverent style", largely created by Haddon and sometimes called "Timestyle". Timestyle made regular use of inverted sentences, as famously parodied in 1936 by Wolcott Gibbs in "The New Yorker": "Backward ran sentences until reeled the mind ... Where it all will end, knows God!" "Time" also coined or popularized many neologisms like "socialite", "guesstimate", "televangelist", "pundit", and "tycoon", as well as some less successful ones like "cinemactress" and "radiorator". "Time" introduced the name "World War II" in 1939. The false title construction was popularized by "Time" and indeed is sometimes called a ""Time"-style adjective".


title: Time (magazine)

text: Since its first issue, "Time" has had a "Milestones" section about significant events in the lives of famous people, including births, marriages, divorces, and deaths. Until 1967, entries in Milestones were short and formulaic. A typical example from 1956:


title: Time (magazine)

text: Died. Lieut, (j.g.) David Greig ("Skippy") Browning Jr., 24, star of the 1952 Olympics as the U.S.'s dazzling three-meter diving champion, national collegiate one-and three-meter diving champ (1951-52); in the crash of a North American FJ-3 Fury jet fighter while on a training flight; near Rantoul, Kans.


title: Time (magazine)

text: Died. Time's delightful but confusing habit of listing names, ages, claims to fame and other interesting tidbits about the famous newly deceased in its Milestones notices; then the circumstances of, and places where, the deaths occurred; of apparent good sentence structure; in New York.


title: Time (magazine)

text: Until the mid-1970s, "Time" had a weekly "Listings" section with capsule summaries or reviews of current significant films, plays, musicals, television programs, and literary bestsellers similar to "The New Yorker" "Current Events" section.


title: Time (magazine)

text: "Time" is also known for the red border on its cover, introduced in 1927. The border has only been changed eight times since 1927:


title: Time (magazine)

text: Former president Richard Nixon has been among the most frequently-featured on the cover of "Time", having appeared 55 times from August 25, 1952, to May 2, 1994.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In October 2020, the magazine replaced its logo with the word "Vote", explaining that "Few events will shape the world to come more than the result of the upcoming US presidential election".


title: Time (magazine)

text: In 2007, "Time" redesigned the magazine in order to update and modernize the format. Among other changes, the magazine reduced the red cover border to promote featured stories, enlarged column titles, reduced the number of featured stories, increased white space around articles, and accompanied opinion pieces with photographs of the writers. The changes were met with both criticism and praise.


title: Time (magazine)

text: "Time"s most famous feature throughout its history has been the annual "Person of the Year" (formerly "Man of the Year") cover story, in which "Time" recognizes the individual or group of individuals who have had the biggest impact on news headlines over the past 12 months. The distinction is supposed to go to the person who, "for good or ill", has most affected the course of the year; it is, therefore, not necessarily an honor or a reward. In the past, such figures as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin have been Man of the Year.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In 2006, Person of the Year was "You", and was met with split reviews. Some thought the concept was creative; others wanted an actual person of the year. Editors Pepper and Timmer reflected that, if it had been a mistake, "we're only going to make it once".


title: Time (magazine)

text: In 2017, "Time" named the "Silence Breakers", people who came forward with personal stories of sexual harassment, as Person of the Year.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In recent years, "Time" has assembled an annual list of the 100 most influential people of the year. Originally, they had made a list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. These issues usually have the front cover filled with pictures of people from the list and devote a substantial amount of space within the magazine to the 100 articles about each person on the list. In some cases, over 100 people have been included, as when two people have made the list together, sharing one spot.


title: Time (magazine)

text: The magazine also compiled "All-Time 100 best novels" and "All-Time 100 Movies" lists in 2005, "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time" in 2007, and "All-Time 100 Fashion Icons" in 2012.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In February 2016, "Time" mistakenly included the male author Evelyn Waugh on its "100 Most Read Female Writers in College Classes" list (he was 97th on the list). The error created much media attention and concerns about the level of basic education among the magazine's staff. "Time" later issued a retraction. In a BBC interview with Justin Webb, Professor Valentine Cunningham of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, described the mistake as "a piece of profound ignorance on the part of "Time" magazine".


title: Time (magazine)

text: During its history, on six occasions, "Time" has released a special issue with a cover showing an X scrawled over the face of a man or a national symbol. The first "Time" magazine with a red X cover was released on May 7, 1945, showing a red X over Adolf Hitler's face. The second X cover was released more than three months later on August 20, 1945, with a black X (to date, the magazine's only such use of a black X) covering the flag of Japan, representing the recent surrender of Japan and which signaled the end of World War II. Fifty-eight years later, on April 21, 2003, "Time" released another issue with a red X over Saddam Hussein's face, two weeks after the start of the Invasion of Iraq. On June 13, 2006, "Time" printed a red X cover issue following the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq. The second most recent red X cover issue of "Time" was published on May 2, 2011, after the death of Osama bin Laden. , the most recent red X cover issue of "Time" features a red X scrawled over the year 2020 and the declaration "the worst year ever".


title: Time (magazine)

text: The November 2, 2020, issue of the U.S. edition of the magazine was the first time that the cover logo "TIME" was not used. The cover of that issue used the word "VOTE" as a replacement logo, along with artwork by Shepard Fairey of a voter wearing a pandemic face mask, accompanied by information on how to vote. The magazine's editor-in-chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal explained this decision for a one-time cover logo change as a "rare moment, one that will separate history into before and after for generations".


title: Time (magazine)

text: "Time for Kids" is a division magazine of "Time" that is especially published for children and is mainly distributed in classrooms. "TFK" contains some national news, a "Cartoon of the Week", and a variety of articles concerning popular culture. An annual issue concerning the environment is distributed near the end of the U.S. school term. The publication rarely exceeds ten pages front and back.


title: Time (magazine)

text: Time LightBox is a photography blog created and curated by the magazine's photo department that was launched in 2011. In 2011, "Life" picked LightBox for its Photo Blog Awards.


title: Time (magazine)

text: TimePieces is a Web3 community NFT initiative from "Time". It included works from over 40 artists from multiple disciplines.


title: Time (magazine)

text: Richard Stengel was the managing editor from May 2006 to October 2013, when he joined the U.S. State Department. Nancy Gibbs was the managing editor from September 2013 until September 2017. She was succeeded by Edward Felsenthal, who had been "Time"'s digital editor.


title: Time (magazine)

text: In 1940, William Saroyan lists the full "Time" editorial department in the play, "Love's Old Sweet Song".


title: Stasi

text: The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (), was the state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990.


title: Stasi

text: The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state authority, i.e., the "Sword and Shield of the Party" (). This was accomplished primarily through the use of a network of civilian informants. This organization contributed to the arrest of approximately 250,000 people in East Germany. The Stasi also conducted espionage and other clandestine operations abroad through its subordinate foreign intelligence service, the Office of Enlightenment, or Head Office A (). They also maintained contacts and occasionally cooperated with West German terrorists.


title: Stasi

text: The Stasi was headquartered in East Berlin, with an extensive complex in Berlin-Lichtenberg and several smaller facilities throughout the city. Erich Mielke was the Stasi's longest-serving chief, in power for 32 of the 40 years of the GDR's existence. The HVA (), under Markus Wolf, gained a reputation as one of the most effective intelligence agencies of the Cold War.


title: Stasi

text: After German reunification, numerous officials were prosecuted for their crimes and the surveillance files that the Stasi had maintained on millions of East Germans were unclassified so that all citizens could inspect their personal file on request. The files were maintained by the Stasi Records Agency until June 2021, when they became part of the German Federal Archives.


title: Stasi

text: The Stasi was founded on 8 February 1950. Wilhelm Zaisser was the first Minister of State Security of the GDR, and Erich Mielke was his deputy. Zaisser tried to depose SED General Secretary Walter Ulbricht after the June 1953 uprising, but was instead removed by Ulbricht and replaced with Ernst Wollweber thereafter. Following the June 1953 uprising, the Politbüro decided to downgrade the apparatus to a State Secretariat and incorporate it under the Ministry of the Interior under the leadership of Willi Stoph. The Minister of State Security simultaneously became a State Secretary of State Security. The Stasi held this status until November 1955, when it was restored to a ministry. Wollweber resigned in 1957 after clashes with Ulbricht and Erich Honecker, and was succeeded by his deputy, Erich Mielke.


title: Stasi

text: In 1957, Markus Wolf became head of the Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung (HVA) (Main Reconnaissance Administration), the foreign intelligence section of the Stasi. As intelligence chief, Wolf achieved great success in penetrating the government, political and business circles of West Germany with spies. The most influential case was that of Günter Guillaume, which led to the downfall of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt in May 1974. In 1986, Wolf retired and was succeeded by Werner Grossmann.


title: Stasi

text: Although Mielke's Stasi was superficially granted independence in 1957, the KGB continued to maintain liaison officers in all eight main Stasi directorates at the Stasi headquarters and in each of the fifteen district headquarters around the GDR. The Stasi had also been invited by the KGB to establish operational bases in Moscow and Leningrad to monitor visiting East German tourists. Due to their close ties with Soviet intelligence services, Mielke referred to the Stasi officers as "Chekists". In 1978, Mielke formally granted KGB officers in East Germany the same rights and powers that they enjoyed in the Soviet Union.


title: Stasi

text: Between 1950 and 1989, the Stasi employed a total of 274,000 people in an effort to root out the class enemy. In 1989, the Stasi employed 91,015 people full-time, including 2,000 fully employed unofficial collaborators, 13,073 soldiers and 2,232 officers of GDR army, along with 173,081 unofficial informants inside GDR and 1,553 informants in West Germany.


title: Stasi

text: Regular commissioned Stasi officers were recruited from conscripts who had been honourably discharged from their 18 months' compulsory military service, had been members of the SED, had had a high level of participation in the Party's youth wing's activities and had been Stasi informers during their service in the Military. The candidates would then have to be recommended by their military unit political officers and Stasi agents, the local chiefs of the District (Bezirk) Stasi and Volkspolizei office, of the district in which they were permanently resident, and the District Secretary of the SED. These candidates were then made to sit through several tests and exams, which identified their intellectual capacity to be an officer, and their political reliability. University graduates who had completed their military service did not need to take these tests and exams. They then attended a two-year officer training programme at the Stasi college ("Hochschule") in Potsdam. Less mentally and academically endowed candidates were made ordinary technicians and attended a one-year technology-intensive course for non-commissioned officers.


title: Stasi

text: By 1995, some 174,000 "inoffizielle Mitarbeiter" (IMs) Stasi informants had been identified, almost 2.5% of East Germany's population between the ages of 18 and 60. 10,000 IMs were under 18 years of age. From the volume of material destroyed in the final days of the regime, the office of the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records (BStU) believes that there could have been as many as 500,000 informers. A former Stasi colonel who served in the counterintelligence directorate estimated that the figure could be as high as 2 million if occasional informants were included. There is significant debate about how many IMs were actually employed.


title: Stasi

text: Full-time officers were posted to all major industrial plants (the extent of any surveillance largely depended on how valuable a product was to the economy) and one tenant in every apartment building was designated as a watchdog reporting to an area representative of the Volkspolizei (Vopo). Spies reported every relative or friend who stayed the night at another's apartment. Tiny holes were drilled in apartment and hotel room walls through which Stasi agents filmed citizens with special video cameras. Schools, universities, and hospitals were extensively infiltrated, as were organizations, such as computer clubs where teenagers exchanged Western video games.


title: Stasi

text: The Stasi had formal categorizations of each type of informant, and had official guidelines on how to extract information from, and control, those with whom they came into contact. The roles of informants ranged from those already in some way involved in state security (such as the police and the armed services) to those in the dissident movements (such as in the arts and the Protestant Church). Information gathered about the latter groups was frequently used to divide or discredit members. Informants were made to feel important, given material or social incentives, and were imbued with a sense of adventure, and only around 7.7%, according to official figures, were coerced into cooperating. A significant proportion of those informing were members of the SED. Use of some form of blackmail was not uncommon. A large number of Stasi informants were tram conductors, janitors, doctors, nurses and teachers. Mielke believed that the best informants were those whose jobs entailed frequent contact with the public.


title: Stasi

text: The Stasi's ranks swelled considerably after Eastern Bloc countries signed the 1975 Helsinki accords, which GDR leader Erich Honecker viewed as a grave threat to his regime because they contained language binding signatories to respect "human and basic rights, including freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and conviction". The number of IMs peaked at around 180,000 in that year, having slowly risen from 20,000 to 30,000 in the early 1950s, and reaching 100,000 for the first time in 1968, in response to "Ostpolitik" and protests worldwide. The Stasi also acted as a proxy for KGB to conduct activities in other Eastern Bloc countries, such as Poland, where the Soviets were despised.


title: Stasi

text: The Stasi infiltrated almost every aspect of GDR life. In the mid-1980s, a network of IMs began growing in both German states. By the time that East Germany collapsed in 1989, the Stasi employed 91,015 employees and 173,081 informants. About one out of every 63 East Germans collaborated with the Stasi. By at least one estimate, the Stasi maintained greater surveillance over its own people than any secret police force in history. The Stasi employed one secret policeman for every 166 East Germans. By comparison, the Gestapo deployed one secret policeman per 2,000 people. As ubiquitous as this was, the ratios swelled when informers were factored in: counting part-time informers, the Stasi had one agent per 6.5 people. This comparison led Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal to call the Stasi even more oppressive than the Gestapo. Stasi agents infiltrated and undermined West Germany's government and spy agencies.


title: Stasi

text: In some cases, spouses even spied on each other. A high-profile example of this was peace activist Vera Lengsfeld, whose husband, Knud Wollenberger, was a Stasi informant.


title: Stasi

text: The Stasi perfected the technique of psychological harassment of perceived enemies known as "Zersetzung" () – a term borrowed from chemistry which literally means "decomposition".


title: Stasi

text: By the 1970s, the Stasi had decided that the methods of overt persecution that had been employed up to that time, such as arrest and torture, were too crude and obvious. Such forms of oppression were drawing significant international condemnation. It was realised that psychological harassment was far less likely to be recognised for what it was, so its victims, and their supporters, were less likely to be provoked into active resistance, given that they would often not be aware of the source of their problems, or even its exact nature. International condemnation could also be avoided. "Zersetzung" was designed to side-track and "switch off" perceived enemies so that they would lose the will to continue any "inappropriate" activities. Anyone who was judged to display politically, culturally, or religiously incorrect attitudes could be viewed as a "hostile-negative" force and targeted with "Zersetzung" methods. For this reason members of the Church, writers, artists, and members of youth sub-cultures were often the victims. Zersetzung methods were applied and further developed in a "creative and differentiated" manner based upon the specific person being targeted i.e. they were tailored based upon the target's psychology and life situation.


title: Stasi

text: Tactics employed under "Zersetzung" usually involved the disruption of the victim's private or family life. This often included psychological attacks, such as breaking into their home and subtly manipulating the contents, in a form of gaslighting i.e. moving furniture around, altering the timing of an alarm, removing pictures from walls, or replacing one variety of tea with another etc. Other practices included property damage, sabotage of cars, travel bans, career sabotage, administering purposely incorrect medical treatment, smear campaigns which could include sending falsified, compromising photos or documents to the victim's family, denunciation, provocation, psychological warfare, psychological subversion, wiretapping, bugging, mysterious phone calls or unnecessary deliveries, even including sending a vibrator to a target's wife. Increasing degrees of unemployment and social isolation could and frequently did occur due to the negative psychological, physical, and social ramifications of being targeted. Usually, victims had no idea that the Stasi were responsible. Many thought that they were losing their minds, and mental breakdowns and suicide were sometimes the result. There is on-going debate as to the extent, if at all, that weaponised directed energy devices, such as X-ray transmitters, were also used against victims.


title: Stasi

text: One great advantage of the harassment perpetrated under "Zersetzung" was that its relatively subtle nature meant that it was able to be plausibly denied, including in diplomatic circles. This was important given that the GDR was trying to improve its international standing during the 1970s and 80s, especially in conjunction with the "Ostpolitik" of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt massively improving relations between the two German states. For these political and operational reasons "Zersetzung" became the primary method of repression in the GDR.


title: Stasi

text: After German reunification, revelations of the Stasi's international activities were publicized, such as its military training of the West German Red Army Faction.


title: Stasi

text: Recruitment of informants became increasingly difficult towards unification, and after 1986 there was a negative turnover rate of IMs. This had a significant impact on the Stasi's ability to survey the populace in a period of growing unrest, and knowledge of the Stasi's activities became more widespread. Stasi had been tasked during this period with preventing the country's economic difficulties becoming a political problem, through suppression of the very worst problems the state faced, but it failed to do so.


title: Stasi

text: On 7 November 1989, in response to the rapidly changing political and social situation in the GDR in late 1989, Erich Mielke resigned. On 17 November 1989, the Council of Ministers "(Ministerrat der DDR)" renamed the Stasi the Office for National Security "(Amt für Nationale Sicherheit" – AfNS), which was headed by "Generalleutnant" Wolfgang Schwanitz. On 8 December 1989, GDR Prime Minister Hans Modrow directed the dissolution of the AfNS, which was confirmed by a decision of the "Ministerrat" on 14 December 1989.


title: Stasi

text: As part of this decision, the "Ministerrat" originally called for the evolution of the AfNS into two separate organizations: a new foreign intelligence service "(Nachrichtendienst der DDR)" and an "Office for the Protection of the Constitution of the GDR" "(Verfassungsschutz der DDR)", along the lines of the West German "Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz", however, the public reaction was extremely negative, and under pressure from the "Round Table" "(Runder Tisch)", the government dropped the creation of the "Verfassungsschutz der DDR" and directed the immediate dissolution of the AfNS on 13 January 1990. Certain functions of the AfNS reasonably related to law enforcement were handed over to the GDR Ministry of Internal Affairs. The same ministry also took guardianship of remaining AfNS facilities.


title: Stasi

text: When the parliament of Germany investigated public funds that disappeared after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, it found out that East Germany had transferred large amounts of money to Martin Schlaff through accounts in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, in return for goods "under Western embargo".


title: Stasi

text: Moreover, high-ranking Stasi officers continued their post-GDR careers in management positions in Schlaff's group of companies. For example, in 1990, Herbert Kohler, Stasi commander in Dresden, transferred 170 million marks to Schlaff for "harddisks" and months later went to work for him.


title: Stasi

text: The investigations concluded that "Schlaff's empire of companies played a crucial role" in the Stasi attempts to secure the financial future of Stasi agents and keep the intelligence network alive. "Stern" magazine noted that KGB officer (and future Russian President) Vladimir Putin worked with his Stasi colleagues in Dresden in 1989.


title: Stasi

text: During the Peaceful Revolution of 1989, Stasi offices and prisons throughout the country were occupied by citizens, but not before the Stasi destroyed a number of documents (approximately 5%) consisting of, by one calculation, 1 billion sheets of paper.


title: Stasi

text: With the fall of the GDR, the Stasi was dissolved. Stasi employees began to destroy the extensive files and documents they held, either by hand or by using incineration or shredders. When these activities became known, a protest began in front of the Stasi headquarters. The evening of 15 January 1990 saw a large crowd form outside the gates calling for a stop to the destruction of sensitive files. The building contained vast records of personal files, many of which would form important evidence in convicting those who had committed crimes for the Stasi. The protesters continued to grow in number until they were able to overcome the police and gain entry into the complex. Once inside, specific targets of the protesters' anger were portraits of Erich Honecker and Erich Mielke, which were torn down, trampled upon or burnt. Some Stasi employees were thrown out of upper floor windows, but there were no deaths or serious injuries. Among the protesters were former Stasi collaborators seeking to destroy incriminating documents.


title: Stasi

text: With German reunification on 3 October 1990, a new government agency was founded, called the Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic (), officially abbreviated "BStU". There was a debate about what should happen to the files, whether they should be opened to the people or kept sealed.


title: Stasi

text: Those who opposed opening the files cited privacy as a reason. They felt that the information in the files would lead to negative feelings about former Stasi members, and, in turn, cause violence. Pastor Rainer Eppelmann, who became Minister of Defense and Disarmament after March 1990, felt that new political freedoms for former Stasi members would be jeopardized by acts of revenge. Prime Minister Lothar de Maizière even went so far as to predict murder. They also argued against the use of the files to capture former Stasi members and prosecute them, arguing that not all former members were criminals and should not be punished solely for being a member. There were also some who believed that everyone was guilty of something. Peter-Michael Diestel, the Minister of Interior, opined that these files could not be used to determine innocence and guilt, claiming that "there were only two types of individuals who were truly innocent in this system, the newborn and the alcoholic". Others, such as West German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, believed in putting the Stasi past behind them and working on German reunification.


title: Stasi

text: Those on the other side of the debate argued that everyone should have the right to see their own file, and that the files should be opened to investigate former Stasi members and prosecute them, as well as prevent them from holding office. Opening the files would also help clear up some of the rumors circulating at the time. Some believed that politicians involved with the Stasi should be investigated.


title: Stasi

text: The fate of the files was finally decided under the Unification Treaty between the GDR and West Germany. This treaty took the Volkskammer law further and allowed more access and greater use of the files. Along with the decision to keep the files in a central location in the East, they also decided who could see and use the files, allowing people to see their own files.


title: Stasi

text: In 1992, following a declassification ruling by the German government, the Stasi files were opened, leading people to gain access to their files. Timothy Garton Ash, an English historian, after reading his file, wrote "The File: A Personal History".


title: Stasi

text: Between 1991 and 2011, around 2.75 million individuals, mostly GDR citizens, requested to see their own files. The ruling also gave people the ability to make duplicates of their documents. Another significant question was how the media could use and benefit from the documents. It was decided that the media could obtain files as long as they were depersonalized and did not contain information about individuals under the age of 18 or former Stasi members. This ruling not only granted file access to the media, but also to schools.


title: Stasi

text: Some groups within the former Stasi community used threats of violence to scare off Stasi hunters, who were actively tracking down ex-members. Though these hunters succeeded in identifying many ex-Stasi, charges could not be brought against anyone merely for being a registered Stasi member. The person in question had to have participated in an illegal act. Among the high-profile individuals arrested and tried were Erich Mielke, Third Minister of State Security of the GDR, and Erich Honecker, GDR head of state. Mielke was sentenced to six years prison for the 1931 murder of two policemen. Honecker was charged with authorizing the killing of would-be escapees along the east–west border and Berlin Wall. During his trial, he underwent cancer treatment. Nearing death, Honecker was allowed to spend his final years a free man. He died in Chile in May 1994.


title: Stasi

text: Reassembling the destroyed files has been relatively easy due to the amount of archives and the failure of shredding machines (in some cases, "shredding" meant tearing pages in two by hand, making the documents easily recoverable). In 1995, the BStU began reassembling the shredded documents; 13 years later, the three dozen archivists commissioned to the projects had reassembled only 327 bags. Computer-assisted data recovery is now being used to reassemble the remaining 16,000 bagsrepresenting approximately 45 million pages. It is estimated that the task may require 30 million dollars to complete.


title: Stasi

text: The CIA acquired some Stasi records during the looting of the Stasi's archives. Germany asked for their return and received some in April 2000. See also Rosenholz files.


title: Stasi

text: There are a number of memorial sites and museums relating to the Stasi in former Stasi prisons and administration buildings. In addition, offices of the Stasi Records Agency in Berlin, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt-an-der-Oder and Halle (Saale) all have permanent and changing exhibitions relating to the activities of the Stasi in their region.


title: Stasi

text: Memorial and Education Centre Andreasstraße - a museum in Erfurt which is housed in a former Stasi remand prison. From 1952 until 1989, over 5000 political prisoners were held on remand and interrogated in the Andreasstrasse prison, which was one of 17 Stasi remand prisons in the GDR. On 4 December 1989, local citizens occupied the prison and the neighbouring Stasi district headquarters to stop the mass destruction of Stasi files. It was the first time East Germans had undertaken such resistance against the Stasi and it instigated the take over of Stasi buildings throughout the country.