Epistemology

Question 1

Three kinds of grounds of belief:
Causal - why do you believe that
Justificational - grounded/based belief
Epistemic - how do you know that (inference)

Answer 1

Sense-datum theory (perception):
Indirect realism, inspects causality. Perceptibles grasped via sense-datum; sensory experience caused by direct relation w/ sense-datum.

Question 2

Basic sources of belief, justification, and knowledge:

Perceptual, memorial, introspective, a priori, inductive and testimonial

Answer 2

Sense-datum phenomenalism:

Idealism/direct irrealism; matter doesn’t exist-ideas aren’t mind-independent. “things” aren’t metaphysically real.

Question 3

Perceptual Belief:
Basic propositional - “that” belief; based on veracity of proposition. Objectual -
“of” belief; based on object (relation of perceiver)

Answer 3

Memory is not a source of knowledge, but of justification. It is not basic to form beliefs because it preserves beliefs; memory does not generate beliefs.

Question 4

Naive Realism:
Perception is the sense that tells us about real things; no account of causality and relation. Doesn’t regard illusion/hallucination. Strong empiricism.

Answer 4

Memory: sense-datum theory of perception: indirect realism in which our beliefs are indirectly remembered.

Question 5

Theory of appearing (perceptual beliefs):

Direct realism; does not analyze causality

Answer 5

Self-evident truths

1. Understanding justifies belief
2. Belief justifies knowledge. No inference or evidence for understanding.

Question 6

Truths of reason: knowable though the use of reason as opposed to reliance on sense experience. Necessarily true.

Answer 6

Three types of knowledge:

1. Procedural, know-how
2. Acquaintance, familiarity
3. Propositional; declarative sentences

Question 7

Meta-epistemology:

what we can know about knowledge itself. What is the extent of our knowledge; are there truths we cannot know?

Answer 7

Social Epistemology:
the subfield of epistemology that addresses the way that groups, institutions, or other collective bodies might come to acquire knowledge.

Question 8

Internalism: the only factors that are relevant to the determination of whether a belief is justified are the believer’s other mental states. After all, an internalist will argue, only an individual’s mental states - her beliefs about the world, her sensory inputs (for example, her sense data) and her beliefs about the relations between her various beliefs - can determine what new beliefs she will form, so only an individual’s mental states can determine whether any particular belief is justified. In particular, in order to be justified, a belief must be appropriately based upon or supported by other mental states.

Answer 8

Coherentism: a belief derives it’s justification, not by being based on one or more other beliefs, but by virture of its membership in a set of beliefs that all fit together in the right way.

Question 9

Reliabilism: if a belief is the result of a cognitive process which reliably (most of the time - we still want to leave room for human fallibility) leads to true beliefs, then that belief is justified.

Answer 9

Rebutting defeaters directly attack the belief. Undercutting defeaters attack the ground or reason for the belief.

Question 10

Metaepistemological skepticism holds to a naturalize epistemology which reduces it to psychology; or investigates simply how beliefs are formed, Quine and Rorty

Answer 10

Transfer of justification argument: skeptical tool - justification/warrant for belief is not present and perhaps has been lost. Your car is in the parking spot where you left it, but perhaps it has been towed.

Question 11

Particularist response to skepticism says that on finds criterion for knowledge in specific cases; the burden of proof is placed on the skeptic and truths are taken prima facie, innocent until prover guilty.

Answer 11

Refuting: demonstrates argument as false. Rebutting: places burden of proof on claim

Question 12

Plantinga’s warrant:

• cognitive faculties function properly
• good design plan
• appropriate environment
• aimed at obtaining the truth

Answer 12

Coherentist theory of knowledge views beliefs as symmetrical; no beliefs carry greater weight or substance than other beliefs.

Question 13

Doxastic assumption claims that beliefs establish justification, rather than sensory experience itself.

Answer 13

Law of excluded middle: bivalence

Question 14

Three entries of correspondence:

• truth bearer
• reality of correspondence
• truth maker

Answer 14

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