Epistemology Review

Epistemology ReviewWhat is knowledge?

Epistemology One of the ‘pillars of philosophy” Explores the nature, scope, limits and origin

of human knowledge Touches on all branches of philosophy

Knowledge Justification Defining “knowledge”? Truth

Science vs Epistemology

Disciplines in constant disagreement Science: materialist (observation/evidence-

based approach) Epistemologists may question the

“evidence” of the senses (not reliable knowledge)

Einstein and Heisenberg – order vs. chaos

Kongfuzi say:

At fifteen my heart was set on learning;At thirty I stood firm;At forty I had no more doubts;At fifty I knew the mandate of heaven;At sixty my ear was obedient;At seventy I could follow my heart's desire without transgressing the norm.

Confucius  The Analects

Rationalism Reason the primary source of human

knowledge The senses are

________________________________________________________________________________________

Rationalists include: Plato, Descartes

Empiricism All knowledge comes from experience which

is ultimately acquired through the senses Mind is a _______ or _______ ________at

birth. Experiences are gained through the senses giving birth to ideas

Key players: ____________, ________________

Epistemology terms a priori –

a posteriori-

examples 5 is a prime number We had too much snow this winter All brothers are male siblings The coffee is too hot If Liam 1 has more pencils than Liam 2 and

Loredana has more pencils than Liam 1 then Loredana has more pencils than Liam 2

Why does this matter?

“I didn’t know I was that close” “I didn’t know that the ice was that thin” All facts, opinions and beliefs formed are

exercises in epistemology. Eg. “I’m not going to be late”, “That’s not dirty yet”

Common sense realism – “what you see is what you get” is ___________________________________

_________________________________________

Plato and knowledge

Knowledge is defined as a “justified true belief”

3 conditions:-_________________________-_________________________-______________________________

Problem: What if statement is based on false assumption or knowledge? Eg. Cow in the field?

Is this knowledge justified?

Did the farmer “know” that the cow was in the field?

Although he may be justified in making the claim his actual “evidence” was false

The fact that his original statement was true does not mean that he “knew” the truth at the time

Justified True Belief – Gettier style

knowledge

Statement is true

You believe your

statement is true

You are justified in believing

your statement

is true

Justification does not

depend on false

statement

Types of knowledge Direct knowledge –

________________________________________________________________________________________________

e.g. smelling someone’s perfume Indirect knowledge –

________________________________________________________________________________________________

e.g. sitting on a chair, not seeing its legs, but still knowing it will support your weight. Not always reliable (i.e. thin ice)

Types of knowledgeBertrand Russell – 20th century philosophyer Knowledge by acquaintance –

____________________________________________________________But… how do we account for knowledge of true events that we do not experience (e.g. signing of Declaration of Independence)?

Knowledge by description – ___________________

_____________________________________________

Types of knowledge Competence – “how to” knowledge. Knowledge

as ability

Propositional knowledge – information that can be conveyed in words. Propositions differ from statements as they can be judged as either _________ or __________

e.g. “Mike weighs 200 pounds” vs. “Shut the door!”Both are statements but only the 1st is a proposition as it can be said to have truth value

Foundationalism vs. Anti-

Foundationalism Foundationalists believe that knowledge

rests on the foundation of ___________ ____________ (Aristotle, Descartes, _______)

Anti-foundationalists argue that knowledge is ________. (Plato)

Innate Ideas

Experience

Knowledge

A priori

A posteriori

Anti- Foundationalist

Foundationalist