~Epistemology ~
Epistemology, from the Greek episteme meaning "knowledge", is a branch of philosophy that concerns itself with the nature of knowledge and justified beliefs, how we know what we know, what are the different kinds of knowledge, and what is the extent or the limitations of knowledge.
In the world of epistemology and metaphysics (refer to tab on metaphysics), the use of thought experiments are an indispensable tool in which the philosopher or scientist comes up with a structured, carefully crafted experiment that is conducted solely in their imagination. Thought experiments are a means of working through new hypotheses and possibilities, and in the case of |
epistemology, arriving at the truth. The 17th century brought a proliferation of thought experiments from some of the more famous philosophers, scientists, and thinkers, such as Galileo, Descartes, Newton, and others. Some of the more well known thought experiments are Shroedinger's Cat, The Chinese Room, and the Trolly Problem. Some are presented below.
Implicit in epistemology is the analysis of knowledge that utilizes a tripartite series of conditions to define it. Knowledge as Justified True Belief (JTB) organizes itself around the three conditions as follows: 1) The Truth Condition, 2) The Belief Condition, and, 3) The Justification Condition. Epistemology focuses mostly on propositional knowledge, the idea that something may be true. In order to explore and understand propositional knowledge, two conditions are essential, understanding what is true, and understanding what is belief, which implies being able to distinguish between the two. While it is accepted that the first two condition of JTB, the Truth Condition, and the Belief Condition, there has been much on-going controversy as to whether or not the third condition, the Justification Condition is necessary, most notably by Edmund Gettier in his 1963 paper Is Justified True Belief, Knowledge?
Gettier is able to disprove the third condition of JTB by the following well-regarded example...
Smith and Jones are vying for the same job. Smith has been informed by the company president that Jones will get the position. Smith also happens to observe that Jones has 10 coins in his pocket. Smith therefore concludes that the person who will get the job must have 10 coins in their pocket. This would be a justified belief based upon the statements made directly to him from the president of the company himself, and the fact that Smith snooped and indeed noticed that Jones had the 10 coins in his pocket. Therefore, Smith is not simply conjecturing, he knows that both of these scenarios are true. Unfortunately, what Smith failed to realize is that he himself happens to have 10 coins in his pocket, therefore, while this is true, it is not KNOWN to be true to Smith. And, as it turns out, the president was incorrect, and it is Smith and NOT Jones that wound up getting the job. Therefore, Smith falsely assumed that the man who would get the job was based upon the coins in Jones's pocket and not in his own pocket. And while it is true that the man who got the job indeed had 10 coins in his pocket, it was not based upon the knowledge that the it was the pocket full of 10 coins, but that it was the pocket full of coins in Jones's pocket only.
While Smith was justified to have held the belief of who was to get the job, the belief turned out to be false. Therefore, this one counterargument alone, one of two that was proffered by Gettier, was able to dispel the third condition in the tripartite condition of knowledge as a Justified Belief. Some modern epistemologists offered what is referred to as a lightweight knowledge theory, it utilizes only the first two conditions to arrive at knowledge and truth.
A popular and important concept in epistemology is that of psychologism, a philosophical concept that states epistemology can only truly be defined using the scientific, empirical methods of psychological investigation. Originally conceived by James Ward and Franz Brentano, it was later elaborated upon by the American behavioral psychologist William James, and has been the uncontested bedrock for all scientific inquiry, regardless of the field of study. You can learn specifically about the Scientific Method by clicking HERE.
Want to know more? You can follow my blogs, attend a webinar or seminar, or take an e-course.
Implicit in epistemology is the analysis of knowledge that utilizes a tripartite series of conditions to define it. Knowledge as Justified True Belief (JTB) organizes itself around the three conditions as follows: 1) The Truth Condition, 2) The Belief Condition, and, 3) The Justification Condition. Epistemology focuses mostly on propositional knowledge, the idea that something may be true. In order to explore and understand propositional knowledge, two conditions are essential, understanding what is true, and understanding what is belief, which implies being able to distinguish between the two. While it is accepted that the first two condition of JTB, the Truth Condition, and the Belief Condition, there has been much on-going controversy as to whether or not the third condition, the Justification Condition is necessary, most notably by Edmund Gettier in his 1963 paper Is Justified True Belief, Knowledge?
Gettier is able to disprove the third condition of JTB by the following well-regarded example...
Smith and Jones are vying for the same job. Smith has been informed by the company president that Jones will get the position. Smith also happens to observe that Jones has 10 coins in his pocket. Smith therefore concludes that the person who will get the job must have 10 coins in their pocket. This would be a justified belief based upon the statements made directly to him from the president of the company himself, and the fact that Smith snooped and indeed noticed that Jones had the 10 coins in his pocket. Therefore, Smith is not simply conjecturing, he knows that both of these scenarios are true. Unfortunately, what Smith failed to realize is that he himself happens to have 10 coins in his pocket, therefore, while this is true, it is not KNOWN to be true to Smith. And, as it turns out, the president was incorrect, and it is Smith and NOT Jones that wound up getting the job. Therefore, Smith falsely assumed that the man who would get the job was based upon the coins in Jones's pocket and not in his own pocket. And while it is true that the man who got the job indeed had 10 coins in his pocket, it was not based upon the knowledge that the it was the pocket full of 10 coins, but that it was the pocket full of coins in Jones's pocket only.
While Smith was justified to have held the belief of who was to get the job, the belief turned out to be false. Therefore, this one counterargument alone, one of two that was proffered by Gettier, was able to dispel the third condition in the tripartite condition of knowledge as a Justified Belief. Some modern epistemologists offered what is referred to as a lightweight knowledge theory, it utilizes only the first two conditions to arrive at knowledge and truth.
A popular and important concept in epistemology is that of psychologism, a philosophical concept that states epistemology can only truly be defined using the scientific, empirical methods of psychological investigation. Originally conceived by James Ward and Franz Brentano, it was later elaborated upon by the American behavioral psychologist William James, and has been the uncontested bedrock for all scientific inquiry, regardless of the field of study. You can learn specifically about the Scientific Method by clicking HERE.
Want to know more? You can follow my blogs, attend a webinar or seminar, or take an e-course.