The Fact-Value Distinction
LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Values are woven into how you live and relate to others. The ideals that guide your life decisions, the morals that shape how you treat others, and…
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Introduction
Figure 8.1 This photo of surrealist artist René Magritte captures him painting an unusual self-portrait. Note that the subject of the portrait is observing an egg but painting a bird in flight. The title of the painting is “Clairvoyance,” suggesting that Magritte sees art…
Summary
What Epistemology Studies Epistemology is the study of knowledge and its associated concepts, such as truth and justification. The discipline of epistemology uses many tools, including conceptual analysis, argumentation, and research. Traditional epistemology focuses on propositional knowledge, which is knowledge…
Applied Epistemology
LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Applied epistemology, like other areas of applied philosophy, takes the tools of philosophy and applies them to areas of practical concern. Specifically, it applies philosophical methods and…
Skepticism
LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Philosophical skepticism is the view that some or all knowledge is impossible. A skeptic questions the possibility of knowledge—particularly justification—in some domain. A global skeptic rejects the possibility of knowledge in…
Justification
LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this section, you will be able to: Much of epistemology in the latter half of the 20th century was devoted to the question of justification. Questions about what knowledge is often boil down to questions…
Knowledge
LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this section, you will be able to: What does it mean to say that one knows something? Knowledge is an important concept in all areas of thought. Knowledge is the goal and therefore enjoys a special status. Investigating…
What Epistemology Studies
LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this section, you will be able to: The word epistemology is derived from the Greek words episteme, meaning “knowledge,” and logos, meaning “explanation” and translated in suffix form (-logia) as “the study of.” Hence, epistemology is the study of knowledge.…
Introduction
Figure 7.1 The Thinker, sculpted by French artist Auguste Rodin at the very beginning of the 20th century, has become a symbol of the intellect-centered pursuit of truth characteristic of the Western philosophical tradition. (credit: modification of “at Rodin museum” by Evgenii/Flickr,…
Summary
Substance The Latin term substantia, translated as “substance,” is often used to refer to the basic reality supporting or standing under features that are incidental to that same thing. Ancient Greek philosophers were both monists and dualists. Indian philosophers developed the idea…