🤔Intro to Philosophy Unit 7 – Epistemology

What is Epistemology?

• Branch of philosophy concerned with the theory of knowledge
• Investigates the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge
• Explores questions such as "What is knowledge?", "How do we acquire knowledge?", and "What are the limits of our knowledge?"
• Examines the relationship between the knower (subject) and the known (object)
• Analyzes the reliability of various sources of knowledge (perception, reason, testimony, etc.)
• Considers the role of belief, truth, and justification in the acquisition of knowledge
• Addresses skeptical challenges to the possibility of knowledge

Key Concepts in Epistemology

• Knowledge defined as justified true belief (JTB)
  • Belief: The knower must believe the proposition
  • Truth: The proposition must be true
  • Justification: The knower must have sufficient evidence or reasons for believing the proposition
• A priori knowledge independent of experience (mathematics, logic)
• A posteriori knowledge derived from experience (empirical observations)
• Epistemic justification refers to the reasons or evidence that support a belief
• Coherence theory of truth holds that a belief is true if it coheres with a larger system of beliefs
• Correspondence theory of truth maintains that a belief is true if it corresponds to reality
• Foundationalism argues that knowledge is built upon basic, self-evident beliefs
• Coherentism claims that beliefs are justified by their coherence with other beliefs in a system

Major Theories of Knowledge

• Empiricism holds that knowledge is primarily derived from sensory experience (John Locke, David Hume)
• Rationalism asserts that knowledge is primarily acquired through reason (René Descartes, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz)
• Kant's synthesis of rationalism and empiricism
  • Argues that knowledge requires both a priori categories of understanding and a posteriori sensory experience
• Pragmatism focuses on the practical consequences of beliefs (Charles Sanders Peirce, William James)
• Naturalized epistemology applies methods from natural sciences to epistemological questions (W.V.O. Quine)
• Feminist epistemology examines the role of gender in the production and justification of knowledge
• Social epistemology investigates the social dimensions of knowledge (testimony, expertise, group belief)

Skepticism and Its Challenges

• Philosophical skepticism questions the possibility of knowledge
• Cartesian skepticism employs the method of doubt to challenge the reliability of sensory experience (evil demon thought experiment)
• Humean skepticism argues that inductive reasoning cannot be justified (problem of induction)
• Pyrrhonian skepticism suspends judgment on all matters, including the possibility of knowledge
• Responses to skepticism
  • G.E. Moore's common sense philosophy
  • Contextualism holds that knowledge attributions are context-sensitive
  • Reliabilism focuses on the reliability of belief-forming processes
• Skeptical arguments serve as a valuable tool for refining epistemological theories

Justification and Truth

• Internalism holds that justification is determined by factors internal to the knower (access to reasons)
• Externalism maintains that justification can be determined by factors external to the knower (reliability of belief-forming processes)
• Evidentialism asserts that beliefs are justified to the extent that they are supported by evidence
• Reliabilism argues that a belief is justified if it is produced by a reliable belief-forming process
• Gettier problems challenge the sufficiency of the JTB account of knowledge
  • Cases where a belief is true and justified, but not considered knowledge due to lucky coincidence
• Defeasibility theory holds that justification can be defeated by new evidence or reasons
• Virtue epistemology focuses on the intellectual virtues of the knower (open-mindedness, intellectual courage)

Contemporary Debates in Epistemology

• The value problem questions whether knowledge is more valuable than mere true belief
• The closure principle states that if S knows that P, and P entails Q, then S knows that Q
• The lottery paradox challenges the consistency of rational belief
• The preface paradox highlights the tension between rational belief and rational assertion
• Disagreement and epistemic peerhood
  • How should we respond to disagreement with epistemic peers (those with similar evidence and reasoning abilities)?
• Epistemic injustice examines how social identity can influence credibility assessments and knowledge attribution
• The role of testimony in knowledge acquisition
  • When is it rational to accept the testimony of others?

Practical Applications of Epistemology

• Legal epistemology examines the standards of evidence and proof in legal contexts
• Medical epistemology investigates the nature of medical knowledge and evidence-based medicine
• Scientific epistemology explores the methods and justification of scientific knowledge
• Religious epistemology considers the rationality of religious belief and the nature of religious experience
• Epistemology of education addresses questions about the aims and methods of education
• Epistemology of testimony has implications for the reliability of eyewitness testimony and expert opinion
• Epistemology of disagreement informs approaches to political and moral discourse

Key Thinkers and Their Contributions

• Plato's Theaetetus dialogue explores the nature of knowledge
• Aristotle's Posterior Analytics discusses demonstration and scientific knowledge
• René Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy employs methodological skepticism
• John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding advocates for empiricism
• David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding presents skeptical arguments
• Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason synthesizes rationalism and empiricism
• Edmund Gettier's "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" challenges the JTB account
• W.V.O. Quine's "Epistemology Naturalized" proposes a naturalized approach to epistemology
• Linda Zagzebski's Virtues of the Mind develops a virtue epistemology