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How do philosophers use ordinary language to investigate the concept of knowledge?

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Four colored straws in a glass of water appear bent at the water's surface, visually demonstrating the refraction of light. — Epistemology The refraction (bending) of light as it passes from air into water causes an optical illusion: straws in the glass of water appear broken or bent at the water's surface.

Philosophers use ordinary language analysis to investigate concepts like knowledge by examining how verbal expressions function in everyday, nontechnical contexts. Rather than attempting to construct an "ideal language," proponents of this approach—such as Ludwig Wittgenstein, J.L. Austin, and Gilbert Ryle—argued that philosophical perplexity often arises from the misuse or misunderstanding of ordinary speech.123

By paying punctilious attention to how language is actually used, philosophers seek to resolve conceptual puzzles. For example, Ryle famously diagnosed the "mind-body problem" as a category mistake, arguing that traditional philosophy incorrectly treated mental terms as if they denoted invisible entities analogous to physical bodies.243

Austin suggested that ordinary language serves as the "first word" in philosophical inquiry. Because everyday distinctions have been refined over generations, they are believed to reflect actual features of the world. Consequently, by "charting the logical geography" of the concepts we use in daily life, philosophers aim to gain clarity on complex issues without falling into the traps of abstract, detached theorizing.31