Epistemology
Gig Φ Philosophy
(micro-lessons: clear + concise overviews of philosophical concepts)
PART 1
Published September, 2022 [LAST UPDATED: 2024]
'Epistēmē' = to "know" / "understand"
The study of knowledge and justified belief
Often in the business of conceptualizing systems of practical and scientific knowledge
● What is knowledge?
● What makes it differ from mere /accidentally true belief?
● What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge?
● What can we know?
● Can we know anything at all?
● What are the limitations (if any) on what one can know?
● What is it possible to know (either practically / theoretically)?
● Where does knowledge occur / reside [in the (non)physical person]?
● How do we come to know things (i.e., what is the process, what is it's foundational starting point, when can we be confident we have knowledge)?
Kinds of Knowledge & Epistemology
Procedural & Acquaintance Knowledge
Knowledge of “how” or “who”
Examples: “I know how to drive.” or “I know who Sophie is.”
Not generally of concern for traditional philosophy since it was viewed as sufficiently explained by experience & evolutionary psychology.
However, Feminist epistemologists have utilized these scientific theories to help explain how these beliefs are socially constructed and have functioned historically in maintaining inequitable power structures.
(Descriptive/ Declarative)
Knowledge “that” something is the case
Examples: “I know that it is going to rain.” or “I know that God exists.”
Traditional philosophy has been focused on the nature of, and justification for, this kind of knowledge.
Contemporary epistemologists engage in a broad range of projects, including, but not limited to: formalizing the relationship between rational belief and probability calculi, illuminating widespread forms of epistemic injustice, & modeling an account of knowledge that incorporates (rather than being at odds with) emotion, context, and values.
