Epistemology Review
description
Transcript of 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