Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemologists study the nature of knowledge, epistemic justification, the rationality of belief, and various related issues. Epistemology is considered one of the four main branches of philosophy, along with ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
There are four components.
Epistemology aims to answer questions such as "What do we know?", "What does it mean to say that we know something?", "What makes justified beliefs justified?", and "How do we know that we know?"
The word epistemology is derived from the ancient Greek epistēmē, meaning ‘knowledge’ and the suffix -logia, meaning ‘logical discourse’ (derived from the Greek word logos meaning discourse.’. The word in English was predated by the German term Wissenschaftslehre (literally, theory of science), which was introduced by philosophers in the late 18th century. The word "epistemology" first appeared in 1847 as a translation of the word Wissenschaftslehre as it appears in a philosophical novel by German author Jean Paul.
The concepts behind the definition were debated way before the coinage of the term.
Debates in epistemology are related to knowledge. Generally, "knowledge" is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding of someone or something, which might include facts (propositional knowledge), skills (procedural knowledge), or objects (acquaintance knowledge). Philosophers make a distinction between three different senses of "knowing" something:
Epistemology is primarily concerned with propositional knowledge. All three senses of "knowing" can be seen in ordinary use of the word. Knowing concerns a person (others or oneself), a place (one's hometown), a thing (one’s car), or an activity (how to perform mathematical equations). Relevance of knowledge of how and that can be seen in this example. Riding a bicycle can involve theoretical knowledge of physics in maintaining a state of balance, but it cannot substitute for the practical knowledge of how to ride it. This position argues that a failure to acknowledge the distinction between "knowledge of that" and "knowledge of how" leads to infinite regress (when we ask what the justifications are for the reasons themselves.
If the reasons count as knowledge, they must themselves be justified - with reasons - for the reasons. Ad infinitum.)
Another way of understanding Epistemology is through priori and posteriori knowledge.
CORE COMPONENTS
Beliefs are a core component. A belief is a view that a person holds regarding anything that they take to be true. There is no universal agreement about the nature of belief, but most contemporary philosophers hold the view that a disposition to express belief qualifies as holding the belief. There are various ways beliefs can be described:
Truth is an essential core component and stems from logic. Debates revolve around questions like:
Justification is the reason that someone holds a rationally admissible belief, on the assumption that it is a good reason for holding it. Sources of justification might include:
A belief being justified does not guarantee that the belief is true, since one could be justified in forming beliefs based on very convincing evidence that may be deceiving.
- From the Greek ἐπιστήμη, epistēmē, meaning 'knowledge'
There are four components.
Epistemology aims to answer questions such as "What do we know?", "What does it mean to say that we know something?", "What makes justified beliefs justified?", and "How do we know that we know?"
- Nature of knowledge and the conditions required for a belief to constitute knowledge, such as truth and justification
- Sources of knowledge and justified belief, such as perception, reason, memory, and testimony
- Justification of knowledge or belief, including if all beliefs must be derived from foundational beliefs or whether justification requires only a coherent set of beliefs.
- Skepticism of knowledge or beliefs which questions whether skepticism poses a threat to ordinary knowledge and whether it is possible to refute skeptical arguments
The word epistemology is derived from the ancient Greek epistēmē, meaning ‘knowledge’ and the suffix -logia, meaning ‘logical discourse’ (derived from the Greek word logos meaning discourse.’. The word in English was predated by the German term Wissenschaftslehre (literally, theory of science), which was introduced by philosophers in the late 18th century. The word "epistemology" first appeared in 1847 as a translation of the word Wissenschaftslehre as it appears in a philosophical novel by German author Jean Paul.
The concepts behind the definition were debated way before the coinage of the term.
- Plato distinguished between inquiry regarding what we know and what exists. A number of key epistemological concerns also appeared in the works of Aristotle.
- During the Hellenistic period, philosophers debated philosophical skepticism. Pyrrho and Sextus Empiricus held that eudaimonia (meaning flourishing, happiness, or "the good life") could be attained through the application of epoché (the suspension of judgment) regarding all non-evident matters.
- John Locke described it in 1689 as an inquiry "into the original, certainty, and extent of human knowledge, together with the grounds and degrees of belief, opinion, and assent".
- The Ajñana school of ancient Indian philosophy promoted skepticism. Ajñana was a movement and a rival of early Buddhism, Jainism and the Ājīvika school. They suggested that it is impossible to obtain knowledge of metaphysical nature or ascertain the truth value of philosophical propositions; and even if knowledge was possible, it was useless and disadvantageous for salvation.
- Philosophers in the early modern period posed the question of whether knowledge comes primarily from sensory experience (empiricism), or whether a significant portion of our knowledge is derived entirely from our faculty of reason (rationalism). According to scholars, this debate was resolved in the late 18th century by transcendental idealism that offered the view that although our knowledge begins with experience, it by no means follows that all knowledge arises out of experience.
Debates in epistemology are related to knowledge. Generally, "knowledge" is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding of someone or something, which might include facts (propositional knowledge), skills (procedural knowledge), or objects (acquaintance knowledge). Philosophers make a distinction between three different senses of "knowing" something:
- That ( the truth of propositions)
- How (how to perform certain actions)
- Acquaintance (perception of an object, familiarity with it, or contact with it).
Epistemology is primarily concerned with propositional knowledge. All three senses of "knowing" can be seen in ordinary use of the word. Knowing concerns a person (others or oneself), a place (one's hometown), a thing (one’s car), or an activity (how to perform mathematical equations). Relevance of knowledge of how and that can be seen in this example. Riding a bicycle can involve theoretical knowledge of physics in maintaining a state of balance, but it cannot substitute for the practical knowledge of how to ride it. This position argues that a failure to acknowledge the distinction between "knowledge of that" and "knowledge of how" leads to infinite regress (when we ask what the justifications are for the reasons themselves.
If the reasons count as knowledge, they must themselves be justified - with reasons - for the reasons. Ad infinitum.)
Another way of understanding Epistemology is through priori and posteriori knowledge.
- Priori is knowledge that is known independently of experience (that is, it is non-empirical, or arrived at before experience, usually by reason). It will be acquired through anything that is independent from experience. Views that emphasize the importance of a priori knowledge are classified as rationalist.
- Posteriori is knowledge that is known by experience (that is, it is empirical, or arrived at through experience). Views that emphasize the importance of a posteriori are classified as empiricist.
CORE COMPONENTS
Beliefs are a core component. A belief is a view that a person holds regarding anything that they take to be true. There is no universal agreement about the nature of belief, but most contemporary philosophers hold the view that a disposition to express belief qualifies as holding the belief. There are various ways beliefs can be described:
- Representations of ways that the world could be
- Dispositions to act as if certain things are true
- Interpretations for making sense of someone's actions, or as mental states that fill a particular function.
Truth is an essential core component and stems from logic. Debates revolve around questions like:
- How do we define truth?
- Is it even possible to give an informative definition of truth?
- What things are truth-bearers and are capable of being true or false?
- Are truth and falsity bivalent, or are there other truth values?
- What are the criteria to allow us to identify it and to distinguish it from falsity?
- What role does truth play in constituting knowledge?
- Is truth absolute, or is it merely relative to one's perspective?
Justification is the reason that someone holds a rationally admissible belief, on the assumption that it is a good reason for holding it. Sources of justification might include:
- Perceptual experience (the evidence of the senses)
- Reason
- An authoritative testimony
A belief being justified does not guarantee that the belief is true, since one could be justified in forming beliefs based on very convincing evidence that may be deceiving.
