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Epistemology
knowledge study
Empiricism
belief that knowledge comes from sense
Rationalism
belief that knowledge comes from reason
Posteriori Knowledge
knowledge from sense
Posteriori Knowledge Characteristics
contingency
probability
Posteriori Knowledge Examples
science
history
Priori Knowledge
knowledge from reason
Priori Knowledge Characteristics
certainty
universality
Priori Knowledge Examples
math
tautology
Tabula Rasa
blank slate
Traditional True Belief
truth & belief
Justified True Belief
truth & belief & justification
Who introduced justified true belief?
Plato
Which text defined knowledge as justified true belief?
Theaetetus
Who wrote the text that defined knowledge as justified true belief?
Plato
Who disagreed with traditional true belief? (alongside the one who introduced justified true belief)
Bertrand Russell
Contemporary View on Knowledge
truth & belief & justification & justification not based on false statement
Direct Knowledge
knowledge through immediate experience
Indirect Knowledge
knowledge through reason power
What does indirect knowledge require?
justification (can be judged true/false)
Competence Knowledge
knowledge through doing/seeing
Propositional Knowledge
knowledge through hearing/reading
Foundationalism
belief in direct knowledge foundation
Anti-Foundationalism
belief in innate knowledge
Skepticism
belief questioning assumption
Extreme Skepticism
knowledge ≠ possible
Brain in the Vat
thought experiment challenging reality/knowledge understanding
Confucius
philosopher believing knowledge comes with age
What does Confucius urge one NOT to do?
assume one knows more than one does
Plato
philosopher believing knowledge comes from reason
What does Plato believe about sense?
sense = unreliable
based on opinion
subject to change
What distinguishes the world of senses?
visible
material
changing
particular
accessible through senses
What distinguishes the world of forms?
invisible
immaterial
unchanging
universal
accessible through reason
Who introduced an upwards reasoning journey?
Plato
What are Plato's stages of an intellectual journey?
world | what is known? | knowing “kind” |
forms | universal concepts | knowing |
forms | relations | thinking |
senses | objects perceived by senses | believing |
senses | images | dreaming |
What must one do at each stage of Plato’s intellectual journey?
question assumption
→ reasoning upwards allows new assumptions
Stage 1 of Plato’s Intellectual Journey
Imagining
images through dreams
Stage 2 of Plato’s Intellectual Journey
Believing
objects through senses
Stage 3 of Plato’s Intellectual Journey
Thinking
concepts through reason
Stage 4 of Plato’s Intellectual Journey
Knowing
forms through reason
Aristotle
philosopher believing knowledge comes from sense
What does Aristotle believe about reason?
reason = human’s distinguishing factor
BUT comes after sense
What does Aristotle believe about objects?
essence = matter
Abstract World
world based on world of senses (Aristotle)
Inductive Reasoning
specific → general
Who introduced inductive reasoning?
Aristotle
Rene Descartes
philosopher believing thinking is proof of living
Cogito ergo sum
I think, therefore I am
Who introduced the evil genius thought experiment?
Descartes
What does the founder believe about the evil genius thought experiment?
thing must exist to experience illusion
What does Descartes believe about reason?
reason = primary knowledge source
How does Descartes use skepticism?
tool to differentiate believing & knowing
What did Descartes realize he could not doubt while in doubt?
one was doubting
one had to be doubter
Deductive Reasoning
statement → certainty
Who introduced deductive reasoning?
Descartes
How did Descartes establish “I think, therefore I am?”
Statement | I doubt everything |
Statement | Doubting everything means that there must be doubting. |
Statement | If there is doubting, there must be a doubter |
Certainty | I doubt, therefore I must exist (I think, therefore I am) |
How do Plato’s beliefs differ from Descartes’?
accepted physical world
content > process
How do Descartes’ beliefs differ from Plato’s?
denied physical world
process > content
How are Plato’s and Descartes’ beliefs similar?
ideas = innate
question sense knowledge & use reason
Emmanuel Kant
philosopher believing consciousness bridges sense/reason
Unity of Consciousness
consciousness = unified in one’s mind
What does Kant believe about sense & reason?
sense & reason = unified by mind
What does Kant believe about uniting sense & reason into consciousness?
mental activity before anything can be known
What does Kant believe the mind is programmed to impose?
causality [cause-effect relationship]
Bertrand Russell
philosopher coining knowledge through acquaintance/description
Knowledge Through Acquaintance
direct knowledge
Knowledge Through Description
indirect knowledge
Edmund Gettier
philosopher believing in false justified true belief
Gettier Case (Example)
A tells B they own a laptop
B believes because B sees A with laptop every day
A uses C’s laptop
Pyrrho of Elis
philosopher believing nothing can be known
Who introduced the theory of opposites?
Pyrrho of Elis
Theory of Opposites
proposition supported by evidence also has opposite proposition supported by evidence
→ people can’t truly know anything
Aenesidemus
philosopher believing one can experience proposition/opposition
What does Aenesidemus advise against?
all judgment
Who introduced the 10 modes of doubt?
Aenesidemus
Why were the 10 modes of doubt introduced?
shows knowledge claims = unreliable
Hilary Putnam
philosopher believing in radical skepticism refutal
Who introduced the Brain in the Vat thought experiment?
Hilary Putnam
What does the Brain in the Vat thought experiment imply about words and thoughts?
words seem to refer
thoughts seem to represent
Noam Chomsky
philosopher believing theory of innate ideas explains language foundation
Foundation of Language
belief in innate ability to comprehend “deep language structure”
Surface Structure Language
belief in learned ability to comprehend language
John Locke
philosopher believing mind is tabula rasa
Sensation
sense perception (taste/smell/touch/see/hear)
What is John Locke’s journey from a sense experience to idea?
sense experience |
sensation |
impression |
reflection |
idea |
Simple Idea
idea by simple sensation
Complex Idea
idea by simple sensation & impression
How does John Locke explain non-material ideas?
imagining by originating from sensations
How does John Locke trust senses when people sense different things in different ways?
primary & secondary qualities
Primary Quality
objective characteristic
Secondary Quality
subjective characteristic
David Hume
philosopher believing impressions > ideas
Why does Hume dispute causality?
not sense
embraced because it helped world make sense
just because something happened in past doesn’t mean it’ll happen in future
connection’s realized after effect
believed these were imagined
What are the contemporary epistemology theories?
pragmatism
deconstructionism
edification
Pragmatism
theory that people only believe practical things
Pluralism
belief that reality ≠ single thing
Pluralism Beliefs
willing to accept different philosophies
truth changes as people change
meaning = effect
Deconstructionism
theory that language = unstable
Deconstructionism Beliefs
deconstructs language
Edification
theory that there’s no objective world & no essence can be known
Note 
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