Epistemology Concepts

Epistemology

Justification

• The process of justifying a belief or claim to make it acceptable or valid
• Types of justification:
  • Internalist: justification based on internal mental states (e.g., thoughts, feelings)
  • Externalist: justification based on external factors (e.g., evidence, observation)
  • Foundationalist: justification based on basic beliefs or axioms
  • Coherentist: justification based on coherence with other beliefs

Truth

• The state of being in accordance with fact or reality
• Theories of truth:
  • Correspondence theory: truth as correspondence between language and reality
  • Coherence theory: truth as coherence between beliefs
  • Pragmatic theory: truth as what is useful or practical
  • Deflationary theory: truth as a trivial or redundant concept

Knowledge Acquisition

• The process of acquiring new knowledge or beliefs
• Methods of knowledge acquisition:
  • Empiricism: knowledge acquired through sense experience
  • Rationalism: knowledge acquired through reason
  • Social constructivism: knowledge acquired through social and cultural influences
  • Innatism: knowledge acquired through innate ideas or abilities

Perception

• The process of becoming aware of objects, events, or properties through the senses
• Types of perception:
  • Direct perception: perception of objects or events directly
  • Indirect perception: perception of objects or events through inference or interpretation
  • Naive realism: perception of objects or events as they really are
  • Representationalism: perception of objects or events as representations or interpretations

Skepticism

• The attitude of doubting or questioning the possibility of knowledge or certainty
• Types of skepticism:
  • Global skepticism: doubt about all knowledge or beliefs
  • Local skepticism: doubt about specific areas of knowledge or beliefs
  • Mitigated skepticism: doubt about the limits of knowledge or certainty
  • Pyrrhonian skepticism: doubt about the possibility of knowledge or certainty, with a focus on suspending judgment