BIG_Q_2-7-2025_Notes

Class Maintenance and Announcements

• Discussion post and grades will be updated soon.

• Attendance issues can be addressed via email or after class.

• Instructor is going out of town this weekend; snow may affect class on Monday.

• Students should check emails on Sunday night for any updates regarding class status.

Class Agenda

• Group Discussions

  • Students will form groups to discuss implications of Hume's theories as covered in previous class.

• Unit Review

  • Brief recap of the material covered so far in class to prepare for the upcoming midterm.

  • Awareness of midterm scheduled for week 8.

• Introduction to New Unit

  • Transition from epistemology questions about knowledge to who counts as a knower and the relationship between knowledge production and power structures, particularly regarding gender.

Discussion on Hume and Scientific Knowledge

• Inductive Reasoning

  • Example: The assumption that all swans are white can be proven false by the existence of black swans.

  • Inductive reasoning is based on the idea that the future resembles the past.

  • Issues arise as experiences and perspectives vary among individuals.

• Karl Popper's Hypothetical-Deductive Model

  • Contrasts with inductive reasoning by proposing that science works through hypotheses rather than assumptions of uniformity.

  • Hypotheses are accepted until proven false; challenges include competing hypotheses.

• Scientific Knowledge

  • The acceptance of scientific knowledge often involves uncritical acceptance in daily life, while the scientific method incorporates revisions.

  • Medicine exemplifies changing practices based on new knowledge and understanding.

Questions on Knowledge and Certainty

• Hume’s Conclusions

  • Discussion on the idea that future events will resemble past events and whether we need more certain knowledge.

• Cognitive Structures

  • Acknowledgment of unique aspects of human cognition compared to animals, such as advanced reasoning, language, and technology.

Hume's Distinctions and Theories

• Relations of Ideas vs. Matters of Fact

  • Relations of Ideas: Knowledge that is universally true.

  • Matters of Fact: Knowledge obtained through experience.

• Shared Knowledge with Animals

  • Both humans and animals acquire knowledge through experience, suggesting the potential for similarities in reasoning.

Transition into New Content on Epistemology

• Next Unit Focus

  • Explore who counts as a knower and the concept of epistemic authority: who possesses the knowledge in specific contexts.

  • Differentiate examples of epistemic authority such as mechanics and doctors based on expertise.

Feminist Epistemology and Knowledge Production

• Key Themes

  • Relation of gender to knowledge and the sociohistorical factors affecting knowledge production.

• Standpoint Theory

  • Knowledge is socially situated, emphasizing the unique insights of marginalized perspectives

  • Discussions will include implications and critiques of standpoint theory.

Upcoming Readings

• Sandra Harding's "Rethinking Standpoint Epistemology"

  • Assigned readings: Parts to be read over the next days, skipping certain parts to manage workload; posted on Canvas.

Summary of Previous Thinkers**

• Overview of the philosophical approaches of Plato, Descartes, and Hume regarding knowledge acquisition.

• Hume’s skepticism about certain knowledge and the instinctual nature of human reasoning.