Epistemology Flashcards

Flashcards on Epistemology

Epistemology

The study of knowledge.

Propositional Knowledge

Knowledge of facts.

Practical Knowledge

Know-How.

3 features of knowledge

Belief (what you think), truth (what is reality), and justification (proof).

Rationalism

True knowledge comes from reason without the aid of sensory perception.

A Priori Knowledge

Knowledge that is independent of observation and experience.

Empiricism

All knowledge about the world comes from or is based on the senses.

Posteriori Knowledge

Empirically verifiable based on inductive reasoning from what is experienced.

Primary Qualities

Weight, size, and shape.

Secondary Qualities

Colour, tastes, and sounds.

Subjectivism

States that there can be nothing without a perceiver.

Solipsism

Claims that nothing else exists besides my own mind and its contents.

Impressions

Vivid, immediate sensory experiences.

Ideas

Less vivid, mental copies of reflections of impressions.

Phenomenal World

The world as we experience it/as it appears.

Noumenal World

Things as they are in themselves, independent of our perception.

Transcendental

Ideas that go beyond empirical observation.

Idealism

The role of the mind or consciousness in constructing reality.

Hermeneutics

Study of interpretations

Correspondence Theory

A belief or statement is true when it corresponds to objective reality or facts.

Coherence Theory

A belief or statement is true when it coheres with some specified set of accepted beliefs.

Pragmatic Theory

The truth of beliefs is dependent upon their usefulness and practicality.

Divine Illumination

True knowledge comes from gods illumination of the human mind.

Aristotle's concept of Empiricism

Knowledge begins with sensory perception (empirical observation)