Introduction to Epistemology

What will you learn?

1. How we can claim to know what we know.

2. How to identify the three types of knowledge: acquaintance, ability and propositional knowledge.

3. How to outline and evaluate the major Western philosophical theories of how we acquire knowledge, including whether we have innate knowledge and how we might claim to understand the nature of reality.

4. To describe the Western philosophical tradition of skepticism and discuss the contention that knowledge is unattainable.

Who is this course for?

This course gives an introduction to epistemology, aka the Philosophy of Knowledge, and it can be studied by those who have never studied Philosophy before. It will appeal to those who are simply interested in the topic; those teaching the topic who want fresh ideas on how to explain epistemology, or those wanting to take an A level qualification in Philosophy.

What does the course cover?

Epistemology, or the Philosophy of Knowledge, is essentially the foundation for all other branches of Philosophy. It gets right to the heart of how we can claim to know what we know and how well-founded those claims really are. It also addresses what the best starting point is in our search for knowledge: whether we should look inside our own minds or reach outside ourselves to the empirical world.

This course begins by discussing the different types of knowledge before focusing in on propositional knowledge in particular, in other words the kind of knowledge we communicate through language. It explores the tripartite theory of knowledge (also known as the justified true belief model) before looking at Gettier's famous challenge to this theory. Some methods of bolstering the tripartite theory are then examined, such as adding a no false lemmas clause the shortcomings of which are also explored. The course also explores other approaches to the acquisition of knowledge including infallibilism, reliabilism and virtue epistemology. It also explores the concept of epistemic luck.

Section 2 explores the empiricist approach to knowledge, which emphasises examining the information we acquire through our senses. It looks first at direct realism, the idea that the world is as it seems to us, before comparing this with John Locke's theory of indirect realism and his distinction between objects' primary and secondary qualities. This theory is then evaluated and compared with Bishop Berkeley's idealist position – the idea that our world is mental rather than physical. This is then followed by a discussion of David Hume's skeptical approach to knowledge, in particular the drawbacks to inductive reasoning. We will also look at Hume's fork, a distinction between two types of propositional knowledge.

Section 3 looks at the rationalist approach to knowledge. It begins with the Ancient Greek thinker Plato and outlines his allegory of the cave and world of the forms theory. It then looks at his contention, in his text Meno, that what might seem like fresh learning is actually the remembrance of knowledge we already had. This thread is then followed through to Gottfried Leibniz, a seventeenth century rationalist who also believed in the innate ideas thesis. We also look at his distinction between necessary and contingent truths and his rebuttal of Locke's concept of our minds as a tabula rasa, or blank slate. The last philosopher in our rationalist trio is Rene Descartes, commonly regarded as the father of modern philosophy. It introduces his famous assertion 'I think therefore I am' before looking at the waves of doubt that caused him to try and re-establish knowledge on a firmer footing. Lastly the course looks at Descartes' trademark argument for the existence of God and explains how he deploys this to try and prove that knowledge is attainable.

The course is structured to be interactive, with activities spread throughout and a multiple choice quiz after each section. Information is delivered mainly through narrated slideshows. Each slide includes images that have been paired with the ideas and concepts discussed to help make the material easier to understand and remember. There is also a transcript of each video to help you follow the material and know how to spell new terms. If any topic particularly takes your interest then you can access the additional resources section of each lecture, which will enable you to explore further. There is also a discussion group where you can discuss the ideas and concepts you will be studying.

The syllabus covered in this course is that listed in the AQA's 7172 A Level Philosophy syllabus for the Epistemology module. Further information on how this qualification is structured and assessed are attached to the introductory lecture. I have covered material from the Metaphysics of Mind module in my course Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind; from the Metaphysics of God module in my Introduction to the Philosophy of Western Religion and the Moral Philosophy module in my Introduction to Moral Philosophy course.