Epistemology Lecture Notes Flashcards

These flashcards encompass key terms and concepts from the lectures on epistemology, aiding in understanding and memorization for the exam.

Inferential Belief

Beliefs formed from inferring from other beliefs.

Epistemic Regress Problem

The problem of determining the scope or end of regression of justification.

Infinitism

No repetition and no end points in the chain of justification.

Coherentism

A theory that views belief systems as coherent, with mutual interdependence to justify each other.

Foundationalism

A belief structure that holds finite justified beliefs rooted in non-inferred beliefs.

Skepticism about the regress

The rejection of the possibility of a solution to the regress problem, implying skepticism about knowledge.

Doxastic Justification

The justification of existing beliefs.

Propositional Justification

Justification for not-yet-believed propositions; also known as would-be justification.

Basic Belief

A belief that possesses justification without deriving it from other beliefs.

Booster

A factor that increases justification.

Defeater

A factor that decreases justification.

Inference to the Best Explanation (JEI)

The principle stating you are justified in believing an explanation unless a better one exists.

Justifier

Anything that helps make a belief state justified or unjustified.

Evidentialism

The view that all justifiers are evidential states.

Reliabilism

Justification that comes from processes tending to yield true belief outputs.

Unconditionally Reliable Process

A process that justifies beliefs formed without requiring validated inputs.

Conditionally Reliable Process

A process that requires justified inputs to justify beliefs formed.

Generality Problem

The issue of determining which level of processing should be analyzed for reliability.

Internalism

The position that all justifiers are internal, involving accessible mental states.

Externalism

The position that some justifiers are external to the individual.

Knowledge is Justified True Belief (K=JTB)

The definition of knowledge as comprising justified true beliefs.

Gettier Case

A true justified belief that results from luck, thus lacking knowledge.

Defeasibility Account

To know P is to have justified true belief in P with no defeaters.

Causal Account

Knowledge of P requires a causal connection between the fact and the belief.

Sensitivity Account

Knowledge of P requires that belief in P is sensitive to P's truth.

Safety Account

Knowledge of P is characterized by a belief in P that is unlikely to be false.

Relevant Alternatives Approach

For knowledge of P, one must rule out all relevant alternatives to P.

Competence Account

Knowledge arises from the exercise of intellectual competence.

Skepticism

The claim that we lack knowledge and/or justified belief.

Dream Argument

A philosophical inquiry about how to ascertain reality and avoid thinking we are dreaming.

Evil Genius Argument

A hypothetical scenario questioning certainty of reality under the influence of a deceitful power.

A Priori Knowledge

Knowledge gained independently of experience.

A Posteriori Knowledge

Knowledge derived from experience.

Reductio Ad Absurdum

A proof method that shows the absurdity of denying a proposition.

Ad Hominem Argument

An argument that targets the person instead of the position they hold.

Moorean Reasoning

An argument against skepticism using empirical claims that contradict skeptical conclusions.

Contextualism

The theory that word meanings can change based on context.

Relevant Alternatives

Knowledge claims depend on evidence ruling out contextually relevant alternatives.

Invariantism

The view that meanings of words do not change across contexts.

Loose Use

The notion that meanings of words can change through casual application.

Pragmatic Encroachment

The idea that the context or stakes involved can affect knowledge.

Norm

Cultural standards or shared assumptions that guide knowledge claims.

Perceptual Experience

Input from senses that leads to understanding properties of the known world.

Assertive Propositional Content

A proposition expressed as true, not as a mere wish.

Sellarsian Dilemma

The conflict in relating experiences to belief justification.

Dogmatism

Accepting perceptions at face value without questioning them.

Threshold View of Justified Belief

Justified beliefs only need to exceed a certain threshold of credence.

Naturalized Epistemology

The approach favoring scientific methods over traditional armchair philosophy.

Attributor

A third-party entity assessing what an individual knows.

Heuristic

Mental shortcuts that assist in decision-making but can compromise rationality.

Basic-Level Theory

A theory that prefers knowledge selection at mid-level categories.

Collective Social Epistemology

Understanding knowledge derived from groups rather than individuals.

Joint Acceptance Account

The theory that belief within a group originates from collective consensus.

Condorcet Jury Theorem

In optimal conditions, a large group's decision-making yields correct answers with high probability.