Branch of philosophy that studies knowledge, also known as theory of knowledge and aims to understand
what knowledge is
how it arises
what its limits are
what value it has.
Further examines the nature of truth, belief, justification, and rationality.
Some of the questions addressed by epistemologists include:
"By what method(s) can one acquire knowledge?"
"How is truth established?"
"Can we prove causal relations?”
Primarily interested in declarative knowledge or knowledge of facts.
Also investigates:
practical knowledge
such as knowing how to ride a bicycle
knowledge by acquaintance
for example, knowing a celebrity personally.
One area in epistemology is the analysis of knowledge.
Assumes that declarative knowledge is a combination of different parts and attempts to identify what those parts are.
An influential theory in this area claims that knowledge has three components:
it is a belief
that is justified
and true.
This theory is controversial and the difficulties associated with it are known as the Gettier problem.
Alternative views state:
that knowledge requires additional components, like the absence of luck.
Different components, like the manifestation of cognitive virtues instead of justification.
Or deny that knowledge can be analyzed in terms of other phenomena
Another area in epistemology asks how people acquire knowledge.
Often-discussed sources of knowledge are:
perception
introspection
memory
inference
testimony
According to empiricists:
all knowledge is based on some form of experience.
Rationalists:
Rationalists reject this view and hold that some forms of knowledge, like innate knowledge, are not acquired through experience.
The regress problem is a common issue in relation to the sources of knowledge and the justification they offer.
It is based on the idea that beliefs require some kind of reason or evidence to be justified.
The problem is that the source of justification may itself be in need of another source of justification.
This leads to an infinite regress or circular reasoning
Foundationalists avoid need to justify justifications, or circular reasoning, by arguing that some sources can provide justification without requiring justification themselves
Another solution is presented by coherentists, who state that a belief is justified if it coheres with other beliefs of the person.
Many discussions in epistemology touch on the topic of philosophical skepticism, which raises doubts about some or all claims to knowledge.
These doubts are often based on the idea that knowledge requires absolute certainty and that humans are unable to acquire it.