Epistemology- what is knowledge?

What is propositional knowledge?

What is propositional knowledge?

Is knowing something is the case/ about knowing facts. It can be expressed in language.

E.g 2+2=4

What is practical knowledge?

Knowing how to do something.

E.g riding a bike.

What is knowledge of acquaintance?

Knowledge through direct experiences of that think.

E.g knowing somebody because we have met them.

What is a necessary condition?

It is something you need in order to have the thing in questions.

E.g water is necessary for rain but water alone does not guarantee rain and so is not a sufficient condition or rain.

What are sufficient conditions?

Sufficient conditions, when met, mean that you will always have the thing in questions.

E.g being an aunt is a sufficient condition for having relatives, it is not a necessary condition as someone can have relatives without being an Aunt

What’s an example of a condition being both necessary and jointly?

Having never been married and being a man makes someone a bachelor.

Finish: S knows that P only if…

1) P is true

2) S believes that P

3) S is justified in believing that P

What are propositions?

The meaning behind a declarative sentence.

Declarative statement ‘It is the case that..’/ is a statement.

What is the correspondence theory of truth?

A proposition is TRUE if it matches, or corresponds, to the FACTS of the world.

A proposition is FALSE if it doesn’t match, or correspond to, the FACTS of the world.

The FACTS of the world are the way the world is. They are themselves neither true nor false.

What’s a belief?

A belief is a proposition we accept as true.

Beliefs can be true or falso.

What is a justification?

The justification of a belief is what one offers as a reason or evidence to accept the belief.

What’s an experience?

Impressions in our mind such as sense impressions, or hallucinations, or internal impressions.

What is reason?

Reasons is the intellectual, rational, logical faculty (ability) of our mind by which we can make logical inferences.

What is a priori knowledge?

What can you have?

Knowledge which is not known by experiences, but instead by reason alone. It is justified by intuition and/or deduction.

For example : ‘all bachelors are unmarries’

A priori truth or a priori falsehood.

What is a posteriori knowledge?

Knowledge which is known by experience. It is known by: informally checking using the 5 senses, doing a scientific experiment, survey/ reading or learning about the experience from others.

For example: there is a bottle of milk in my fridge.

What are Zagzebskis pitfalls to avoid when giving definitions?

Definitions should not be:

1. Circular

2. Obscure

3. Negative

4. Ad hoc

A CON

What does Zagzebski believe

Treat knowledge as if it has a real essence and attempt to find the necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge to attempt to find a real definition for it.

What’s the difference between beliefs and knowledge? (Plate)

Beliefs are unstable, misleading evidence can change a belief, they are not always held on to.

Knowledge is robust and isn’t changed by misleading evidence, it is stable.