definitions

proposition

declarative statement that can be true or false e.g. “the sky is blue”, “it is raining outside”

assertion

claim that a proposition is true

antecedent

proposition forming first part of a conditional statement in the form “if x then y” e.g. “if it rains then i will get wet” - “if it rains” is the antecedent

consequent

proposition forming second part of a conditional statement in the form “if x then y” e.g. “if it rains then i will get wet” - “i will get wet” is the consequent

a priori

knowledge that can be acquired independently of experience e.g. “a bachelor is an unmarried man”

a posteriori

knowledge that requires experience of the external world e.g. doing an experiment to discover the temperature at which water boils

necessary truth

proposition that is true in all possible worlds - denial results in a contradiction e.g. “a triangle has three sides”, “2 + 2 = 4”

contingent truth

proposition that is true in the actual world but not in all possible worlds - could have been false e.g. “the sky is blue”

analytic truth

proposition that is true in virtue of the meaning of the words - subject contains the predicate (part of the definition) e.g. “all bachelors are unmarried”

synthetic truth

proposition that is true in virtue of how the world is - subject does not contain the predicate (not part of the definition) e.g. “grass is green”

deductive argument

truth of the premises logically guarantees the truth of the conclusion

P1 all men are mortal

P2 socrates is a man

C therefore socrates is mortal

inductive argument

truth of the premises does not logically guarantee the truth of the conclusion - can only be probably true

P1 every swan i have seen has been white

P2 the next swan i see will likely be white

C therefore all swans are probably white

abductive argument

form of inductive argument - reasoning from evidence to a best hypothesis providing the most likely account - but other explanations are also possible

observation: the grass in the garden is wet

evidence: there are water droplets on the leaves and the ground is damp

hypothesis: it rained last night

conclusion: therefore the wet grass is most likely due to rain

tautology

statement that is true by definition e.g. “all bachelors are unmarried”, “a triangle has three sides”

solipsism

view that one’s mind is the only thing that exists - there are no mind-independent objects and no other minds

ability knowledge

knowing ‘how’ to do something e.g. i know how to ride a bike

acquaintance knowledge

knowing ‘of’ someone or something e.g. i know my mother

propositional knowledge

knowing ‘that’ something is the case e.g. i know that 2 + 2 = 4

necessary condition

condition that must be met for something to meet the definition of a concept e.g. “unmarried” is a necessary condition of “bachelor”

sufficient condition

conditions that, if all are met, guarantee that something meets the definition of a concept e.g. “unmarried” and “man” are sufficient conditions of “bachelor” - no other conditions need to be met

tripartite definition of knowledge

s knows p iff:

p is true

s believes that p

s is justified in believing that p

no false lemmas

s knows p iff:

p is true

s believes that p

s is justified in believing that p

s did not infer p from anything false

infallibilism

s knows p iff:

p is true

s believes that o

s is justified in believing that p

s’s justification guarantees the truth of p

reliabilism

s knows p iff:

p is true

s believes that p

s’s belief that p was formed through a reliable cognitive process

virtue epistemology

s knows p iff:

s believes that p

s’s belief that p arises from an act of intellectual virtue

direct realism

immediate objects of perception are mind-independent objects and their properties

properties are inherent to objects themselves - objects and properties continue to exist when unperceived

indirect realism

immediate objects of perception are mind-dependent objects and their properties - caused by (and represent) mind-independent objects

directly aware of sense data or ideas - representations of reality used to infer existence and nature of physical objects

idealism

all that exists are minds an their ideas - immediate objects of perception are mind-dependent objects

what we call physical objects are simply collections of ideas - do not exist independently of being perceived

berkeley’s idealism - universe is sustained in existence as it is always being perceived in the infinite mind of god

sense data

content of perceptual experience

private - exists in mind of an individual

caused by/represents mind-independent objects

rationalism

view that knowledge can be gained through reason without experience (a priori)

innatism

view that we are born with innate (a priori) knowledge ‘in’ our minds that can be revealed through reason

empiricism

view that knowledge is derived from sense experience (a posteriori)