Theory of Knowledge
List the 6 ways in which we understand knowledge
Common sense, Certainty, Language, Perception, Reason, and Emotion
Who was the first to coin the term and theorize about Justified true belief?
Plato
What is propositional knowledge?
the sort of knowledge we aquire when we learn that... e.g. Ithace is in New York State
What is the infinite regress problem?
Happens when we ask what are the justifications for the reasons themselves. If reasons count as knowledge, they must be themselves be justified with reasons for reasons and so on
What is falllibilism?
the epistemological thesis that no belief can ever be rationally supported or justified in a conclusive way. Always there remains a possible doubt as to the truth of the belief
What does Gettier argue about JTB?
He posits that you can be justified in believing something that turns out to be false. (Justified, False, Belief). You can imagine a scenario where you have a lot of leading evidence which makes it look like its the right thing to believe in but in actuality it is false.
Describe the theory of empiricist epistemology. Who were the main people who believed it and what does it believe?
Knowledge can only be gained a posteriori (from experience). Claims can only be supported if they are made from observation, memory, or inferences. John locke is one of the founders, writing An Essay Concerning Human understanding, influencing George Berkeley and David Hume. Sensation is sense peception, and reflection is the perception of "the internal operations of our minds" Other prponents of observational knowledge are Kant and Avicenna.
Innate Epistemology
Holds that the human mind is born with propositional knowledge. Our inherent nature from birth includes ideas, concepts. categories, knowledge, and principles. There is no good enough empirical origin for them which can be conceived. Newborns have an explicit awareness of certain ideas (idea that it lied dormant in their mind until experience made it accessible). Rationalists belives knowledge is obtained by reflecting rather than observing. Key people are Plato, Descarte, and Chomsky
Stage of doubt 1: perceptual illusion
What one perceives something about the external world through one’s senses, it could be mistaken. Things are not always as they seem at first glance and our perceptions are not always 100% reliable. Anything we are perceceiving could be wrong, and we should doubt any particular bit of apparent sensory knowledge. Examples: seeing someone in the hallway that you think is a friend at first, hair colour looking black but is brown.
Stage 2 of doubt: The dream problem
The question “how do I know I am not dreaming?” Everything one knows to be part of the physical world outside could be nothing more than a fanciful fabrication of one’s own imagination
Stage 3 of doubt: A deceiving God
What if there is an omnipotent god, but that deity devotes its full attention to deceiving me? The problem here is not merely that I might be forced by a god to beliebe something which is in fact false.
Relativism
According to relativism, there is no such thing as absolute truth that exists in an objective way independent of what anyone happens to believe is true. Truth is relative and may be different for different individuals and cultures. Relativism is the belief that there is no absolute truth, or more to the point, that a multitude of truths exist.
Moral Relativism
Moral judgments should only be assessed relative to a particular standpoint of a culture. For example, what would be considered a truth or belief in one culture, may not be the same as another culture
Aesthetic Relativism
The philosophical view that the judgement of beauty is relative to different individuals and cultures. thus there are no universal criteria of beauty
Cultural Relativism
The principle of regarding the beliefs, values, and practices of a culture. All cultures are worthy and equal in their own right
Cognitive Relativism
Asserts the relativity of truth. Truth is dependent on the standpoint from where the truth is being judged. If it is the standpoint of the individual is is subjectivism, if it is that of a culture it is cultural relativism. Based on two claims: The truth-value of any statement is always relative to some particular standpoint, No standpoint is metaphysically privileged over all others
Correspondence
A truth check. Most common and widespread way of understanding the nature of truth. The truth or falsisity of a statement is determined only by how it relates to the world and whether it accurately describes, or corresponds, with that world.
Truth is whatever matches reality
Coherence
A truth check. A belief is true when we are able to logically incorporate it into a larger or more complex system of beliefs. Associated with idealism. If everyone else agrees that something is the truth, then it must be so (social context)
Not always accurate as it relies on groupthink or conformity
E.g fruit is healthy for you
Pragmatic
A truth check. We asses the validity of a truth depending on how useful it is to believe in that truth, if not useful we reject it. Pragmatic truths can only be discovered through interaction with the world
Subjective truth
is what is true about your experience oof the world, aligned to correspondence and coherence.
deductive truth
the other hand, is that constrained within and defined by deductive logic
inductive truth
works mostly through analogy and generalization. It relies on empirical observation. It is not subjective.