Part III: Epistemology Chapter 6: Is Knowledge Possible? Chapter 7: Does Science Tell Us the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth?

Chapter 6: Is Knowledge Possible? Epistemology – the study of knowledge (how we know) Empiricism – theory that knowledge comes through experiencing with the senses Rationalism – theory that reason is the source of knowledge Skepticism – “to reflect on,” “consider,” or “examine”. Doubting or suspending judgment.

Empiricism Tabula rasa – the idea that before sense experience, the human mind is a “empty tablet” or “blank slate” A posteriori – “after experience”, the idea that we cannot know until have experience through the senses

Rationalism Innate ideas – ideas that are built into the mind at birth A priori – there is knowledge prior to or independent from experience

Skepticism Common-sense skepticism – healthy skepticism that suspends judgment at one time or another Methodical skepticism – used by philosophers and scientists to search for truth. Doubt hypothesis until it is tested to determine accuracy. Absolute skepticism – doubts the very possiblity of knowledge. Advocated by Pyrrho of Elis (about 300 BCE.)

Sufi Mysticism Sufism – an Islamic mystical movement which taught that direct and immediate experience of Allah is possible. Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali (1058) believed knowledge came through experience of intimate union or contact with the Divine

Deliverance from Error Al-Ghazali Defines knowledge as that which is true and certain without any doubt of its truth Believed that knowledge could not be reached through empiricism, rationalism, or skepticism Al-Ghazali sought knowledge of the Divine, which he believed was found through mysticism, or experience of the Divine

Is Certainty Possible? Is there absolute truth? Direct realism – reality exists apart from human sensations, and senses put us directly in touch with reality Indirect or representational realism – sensations represent physical reality. We are only directly in touch with our sensations of reality

Meditations I and II René Descartes Attempts to support the certainty of knowledge obtained from science by proving that representational realism is correct All sense-perceptions can be doubted, but one cannot doubt that he exists “. . .physical objects are grasped, not by the senses or the power of having mental images, but by understanding alone.”

Empiricism and Limited Skepticism Problem of induction – problem of discovering rational foundations for all the conclusions we draw based on experience Analytic statements – how ideas are related and synthetic statements are about facts Synthetic statements – statements about fact

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding David Hume Analyzes the empiricist theory that everything we can know about the world is ultimately derived from our senses. Questions the existence of firm foundations of knowledge other than customary and habitual associations of ideas Hume says that all reasoning concerning matters of fact is founded on cause and effect Cause and effect relies on the principle that “the future will resemble the past”, which can not be proven deductively or inductively

Should We Believe Beyond the Evidence? Evidentialism – a statement should not be accepted as true unless it can be supported by good evidence William James (1842-1910) advocated pragamatism Pragmatic theory of truth – the basis of pragmatism, that some proposition p is true if and only if the beliefe that “p is true” works Correspondence theory of truth – p is true if and only if p corresponds to the facts Coherence theory of truth – p is true if and only if p is logically implied by q, where q is a true statement, and q in turn is logically implied by r, and so on

The Ethics of Belief William K. Clifford Argues against the James’ ideas because of its denial of objectivity, reduction of truth to what one wants to believe, and relativity Argues that “it is wrong to believe on insufficient evidence, or to nourish belief by suppressing doubts and avoiding investigation.”

The Will to Believe William James Argues that an individual’s beliefs or understanding of the truth is a result of the choices they make between different truth claims or hypothesis Options (the decision between 2 hypothesis) may be: Living or dead: if it is living, then both hypothesis have some appeal Forced or avoidable: one may be able to avoid having to make a choice Momentous or trivial: it is trivial if the opportunity is not unique

Classical Indian Epistemology The Indian philosopher Udayana combined the Vaisesika and Nyaya schools of philosophy into Naiyayika Nyaya – examines the knowing subject, the object to be known, the known object, and the means of coming to know the object Naiyayika – advanced Nyaya theory that correct causes of knowledge can be analyzed in four kinds: perception Inference Comparison Reliable testimony Pramānas – causes for knowledge

Knowledge and Reality John M. Koller Examines the means of knowledge Perceptual knowledge is the true and determinate knowledge that comes from sensory data Inference moves from perception to knowledge of something that has not been perceived Comparison observes a similarity and draws a conclusion Shabda – “word”, refers to knowledge of something from a reliable person

Knowledge and Reality John M. Koller Nyaya syllogistic form for inferences Yonder hill has fire Because it has smoke Whatever has smoke has fire, for example, a stove Yonder hill has smoke such as is always accompanied by fire Therefore yonder hill has fire

Feminist Epistemology: A Non Western Perspective Feminist epistemology began as a critique of existing theories Argues ways of knowing are not universal “standpoint” epistemology – acknowledges that all knowing substantially involves the social and historical context of the knowers Positivism – theory that modern science and its methods of empirical and experimental verification are the only sure guide to knowledge

The Project of Feminist Epistemology Uma Narayan Critiques western feminist epistemology from an Indian feminist perspective Feminist epistemology poses political problems for nonwestern feminists due to traditions Positivism is not necessarily the main target of feminism for nonwestern feminists It is not always advantageous to have the “epistemic advantage,” which is the ability to see a situation from more than one context