Epistemology 3 Markers

Define (a) acquaintance knowledge, (b) ability knowledge, and (c) propositional knowledge 

According to Linda Zagzebski, acquaintance knowledge is ‘knowing of’ - e.g. ‘I know Fred very well’, ability knowledge is ‘knowing how’ - e.g. ‘I know how to ride a bike’ and propositional knowledge is ‘knowing that’ - e.g. ‘I know that Paris in the capital of France. 

What is acquaintance knowledge? 

Acquaintance knowledge is gained through empirical experience of a general quality of a thing and does not usually involve formal evaluation. For instance, knowledge of other people is often seen as a type of acquaintance knowledge, such as the proposition ‘I know Fred very well’.  

What is ability knowledge? 

Ability knowledge is the capacity to perform a specific action; for instance, ‘I know how to ride a bike’. My knowledge of riding a bike would not require me to understand how a bike works; for this reason, ability knowledge is not limited to humans. For example, an ant knows how to walk.  

What is the tripartite view of propositional knowledge? 

The tripartite view holds that propositional knowledge is composed of three necessary and sufficient criteria (justification, truth and belief). For instance, according to the tripartite view, to know that ‘it is raining’: it would have to actually be raining, I would have to believe that it is raining, and I would need a justification for my belief – i.e. I looked out the window and saw the rain. 

What is reliablism ? 

Associated with the ideas of Alvin Goldman, reliablism is an epistemological position which posits that knowledge is defined, in whole or in part, as the product of a reliable process. This is in line with many schools of empirical thought as well as the principles of the scientific method. 

What is virtue epistemology? 

Virtue epistemology holds that knowledge is a belief that arises from an act of intellectual virtue. This is associated with the ideas of Linda Zagzebski, who argues that an Aristotelian approach to epistemology provides the best account of knowledge.  

What is infallibilism? 

Associated with Descartes’ method of universal skepticism, infalliablism argues that knowledge is limited to ‘clear and distinct ideas’ that cannot be doubted. He provides his own existence as a thinking thing, and the existence of God, as examples of true knowledge, accessible through rational intuition and a priori deduction. 

What is the no false lemmas definition of knowledge? 

Formulated by Gilbert Harman, the no false lemmas principle argues that knowledge should be defined as justified, true belief in which the justification for the belief contains no false premises. According to Harman, a person who believes that ‘dogs are mammals’ because ‘dogs have four legs’ would not have knowledge, as they are relying on the false premise that ‘all four-legged animals are mammals’.  

What is direct realism? 

Direct realism is the epistemological view that there is a mind-independent world and that we perceive it directly. This framework rejects the premise that knowledge arrives via a representational medium, as well as the notion that concepts are interpretations of sensory input derived from a real external world.  

What is indirect realism? 

Indirect realism is the epistemological view that there is a mind-independent world which we perceive indirectly through sense data. This is broadly in line with the scientific understanding of perception, in which all knowledge of the external world is derived through a representational medium of our conceptual frameworks.  

Define Berkeley's idealism.  

Berkeley’s idealism posits that there is no mind-independent world, only ideas that exist in the mind of individuals, and in the mind of God. Berkeley argues that the notion of a mind-independent object is inconceivable and so inherently contradictory, underpinning his denial of materialism. 

What is a synthetic truth? 

The truth of a synthetic proposition derives from how its meaning relates to the world. For instance, ‘Paris is the capital of France’ would be a synthetic proposition as its truth value is not contained within the proposition, but in external confirmation. 

What is an analytic truth? 

Analytic truths are verifiable by virtue of their meaning in accordance with the principle of non-contradiction and the law of identity. For instance, ‘all bachelors are unmarried’ would be analytically true as it as a tautology. 

What is the difference between a synthetic truth and an analytic truth? 

The truth of a synthetic proposition derives from how its meaning relates to the world, whilst analytically true propositions are true by definition. For instance, ‘all bachelors are unmarried’ would be analytically true, whilst ‘John is a bachelor’ would be synthetic.  

What is a necessary truth? 

A necessary truth is a proposition that is true in all logically possible worlds. Gottfried Leibniz argued that all necessary truths can be derived from the law of identity and the principle of non-contradiction, relating to his belief in the principle of sufficient reason.

What is a contingent truth? 

A contingent truth is a proposition that circumstantially happens to be true in our world but is not true in all logically possible worlds. For instance, ‘the capital of France is Paris’ is a contingent truth because, despite being correct, Avignon could logically be the capital instead.  

What is the difference between a contingent truth and a necessary truth? 

Necessary truths are true in all possible worlds - for example, 1+1=2. On the other hand, contingent truths are circumstantially true but are not true in every logically possible world – for instance, ‘Paris is the capital of France’.  

 

What is a priori knowledge? 

A priori knowledge is formed independently of experience. Mathematics, tautologies and deduction from reason alone are generally considered to be examples of a priori knowledge. The term was popularised by Immanuel Kant in Critique of Pure Reason, in which he argues that space, time and causality are pure a priori intuitions acquired through transcendental logic. 

What is a posteriori knowledge? 

A posteriori knowledge depends on empirical evidence. For instance, ‘snow is white’ would be a posteriori knowledge as it is derived through inductive logic based on observational evidence. Other examples include knowledge of personal experience and most scientific knowledge. 

What is the difference between a priori knowledge and a posteriori knowledge? 

A posteriori knowledge is gained through experience, whilst a priori knowledge derives from reason alone. For instance, ‘all bachelors are unmarried’ would be an a priori truth because it is true by definition, whilst ‘Barry is a bachelor’ would be a posteriori, as it could only be verified empirically. 

What is innatism?  

Innatism is the view that the human mind is born with already-formed ideas and knowledge. For instance, Gottfried Leibniz argued that we are born with the innate understanding of certain necessary concepts such as mathematical truisms, although these embedded understandings must be unlocked through sense experience to be fully developed. 

What is empiricism? 

Empiricism is the epistemological belief that true knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience as opposed to pure reason and logic. It is associated with John Locke’s notion of the mind at birth as a ‘tabula rasa’ (blank slate). It is the dominant contemporary epistemological viewpoint and informs a fundamental part of the scientific method.  

What is rationalism? 

Rationalism is the epistemological view that regards reason as the primary source of knowledge, as opposed to sensory experience. For instance, Descartes argues that knowledge of ‘eternal truths’ - including mathematics and the epistemological and metaphysical foundations of the sciences - can only be attained through reason alone. 

What does Descartes mean by clear and distinct ideas? 

Descartes argues that clear and distinct ideas are perceptions that cannot be doubted and so can be trusted as true. He provides his own existence as a thinking thing, and the existence of God, as examples of clear and distinct propositions accessible through rational intuition and a priori deduction. 

What is solipsism? 

Solipsism is an epistemological position which holds that knowledge of anything outside of one’s mind is unsure as the existence of an external world can never be proven either true or false. This is because knowledge of anything outside of one’s can only be gained through sense experience, which cannot be proven to be reliable.  

What is global skepticism? 

Global skepticism denies that it is possible to have true knowledge of anything. For instance, a global skeptic could argue that it is impossible for me to know with certainty that I am walking my dog, as I have no way of proving that I am not just a brain in a vat receiving electrical impulses that perfectly mimic the sense experience of walking my dog.