Epistemology Flashcards
Analytic
A proposition that is true in meaning of the words
Eg: A bachelor is an unmarried man, a square has 4 sides
Synthetic
A proposition that is not analytic, but true or false based on how the world is
Eg: Snow is white, the Eiffel tower is in Paris
Necessary
A proposition which is always true as it could not have been otherwise
Eg To read an essay I need to know how to read, All bachelors are unmarried
Contingent
A contingent truth is a propostion that could either be true or false, a state of affairs that may or may not be true based on the context
Eg The cat is black, It is raining
A priori
Knowledge that doesn’t require experience to be known to be true or false
A posteriori
Reasoning or knowledge which can only be known to be true or false through sense
Matters of fact
Contingent truths that only deal with experience and can be denied coherently.
Eg It is snowing
Relation of Ideas
Truths that can be known independently from experience and are intuitivly certain
Eg 2+2=4
Humes Fork
A way of categorising propositional knowledge claims into two key branches - matters of fact and relation of ideas. All truth-apt statements must be one of these
Appeal to Authority fallacy
A mistake where people accept something is correct because it is accepted by a (non-specialist) authority figure
Fallacy of equivocation
A mistake in which people use the same word with two different definitions as if the definitions are interchangeable
Valid vs invalid argument
A valid argument is a deductive argument where all the premises entail the conclusion, whereas an invalid argument does not
Inductive vs deductive argument
An inductive argument is one in which if all of the premises are true then the conclusion is unlikely to be false, whereas a deductive argument is one where if all the premises are true the conclusion cannot be false.
Problem with the Justified true belief
“Lucky true belief”
Necessary condition
One that must be true for another condition to occur
e.g sitting the exam is a necessary condition for passing the exam
Sufficient condition
One that, if true, guarantees a certain outcome
E.g: Suppose it is true that it is both raining and sunny. This is a sufficient condition for “it is raining” to be true.
Infallibilism argument
P1 No one can know what is false
C1 Therefore if I know P, I can’t be mistaken about P
C2 Therefore, for justification to secure knowledge, justification must guarantee truth
C3 Therefore, if I am justified in believing P, I can’t possibly be mistaken
C4 Therefore, if it is possible that I am mistaken, then I can’t be justified in believing P
C5 Therefore infallibilism is true
3 types of knowledge
Ability (how)
Acquintance (who)
Propositional (that)
Example of belief not being necessary for knowedge
Talented but self-doubting math student example
Example of justification not being necessary for knowledge
Luckily guessing the weather tommorow
Sosa’s AAA criteria
Adroitness - was acquired through an exercise of intellectual virtues
Accuracy - is the belief true
Aptness - is the belief true because an agent gained it through intellectual virtues
virtue
A state of a person that is good by way of helping the person achieve some purpose or goal - intellectual virtue reaches for truth
Alternative views on innate knowledge and why Locke rejects them - 1
The capacity for knowledge is innate, not knowledge itself.
Response:
Capacities are not knowledge. E.g just because vision is innate doesn’t mean what we see is innate
Alternative views on innate knowledge and why Locke rejects them - 2
What we can all know and agree on using reason is innate, no matter when we gain it
Response:
We shouldn’t need to discover it if it is innate - that would be learned
Alternative views on innate knowledge and why Locke rejects them - 3
Innate knowledge is gained after the use of reason
Response:
Using this definition, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between knowledge gained from experience and innate knowledge
Alternative views on innate knowledge and why Locke rejects them - 4
Innate knowledge is that which is self-evident
Response:
Self-Evident truths rely on sense experience (e.g white is not black - blind man)
Locke - sensation
External experiences that generate ideas
Locke - reflection
Interal experiences, such as the minds operations
Locke no innate ideas argument
P1 If there is innate knowledge it is universal
P2 For idea to be part of the mind, it must know or be conscious of it
C1 There innate knokwlege is knowledge every human knows or has been conscious of
P3 Children and idiots do not know theorems in geometry (they cannot understand them)
C2 Therefore these claims are not innate
P4 There are no claims that are universally accepted, uncluding by children and idiots
C3 Therefore, there is no innate knowlege
