Epistemology Basics
What does “epistemology” mean?
The study of knowledge, how we know what we know.
Which philosopher wrote about the “Allegory of the Cave”?
Plato.
What does “ethics” study?
Moral principles about right and wrong action.
This philosopher developed virtue ethics
Aristotle
In Aristotle’s ethics, how does someone become virtuous?
By practicing virtuous actions until they form virtuous habits.
What is the traditional definition of knowledge?
Justified true belief.
What is Plato’s view of true knowledge?
Knowledge is gained through reason and understanding of the unchanging Forms, not through the senses.
The three main branches of ethics
Metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.
According to Aristotle, this is the goal of human life.
Happiness
According to Kant, which action has moral worth: telling the truth out of duty, or telling the truth because it feels good?
Telling the truth out of duty.
What is empiricism?
The view that knowledge comes from experience and sense perception.
What method did Descartes use to find certain knowledge?
Methodic doubt, doubting everything that can be doubted to find something indubitable.
The three main types of normative ethical theories
Virtue ethics, deontological ethics, and consequentialist ethics.
According to Singer, this makes an action morally right
Production of the greatest good for the greatest number (utilitarianism).
In utilitarianism, why might lying sometimes be morally right?
Because if lying produces the greatest overall happiness, it is justified.
What is rationalism?
The view that knowledge is primarily gained through reason and logic rather than experience.
According to Hume, the two types of perception that form all knowledge are...
Impressions and ideas.
This type of ethical theory judges morality based on outcomes
Consequentialism.
According to Kant, this gives an action moral worth
Action from duty with a goodwill, not because of consequences or emotions
What would a virtue ethicist say about cheating on an exam?
It reflects a character flaw and prevents the person from developing moral virtue.
Which philosopher believed that social power affects who is believed and who is not?
Miranda Fricker
How does Fricker’s approach to epistemology differ from Plato, Descartes, and Hume?
She focuses on the social dimensions of knowledge, how power and identity shape who is heard or believed.
The difference between normative and metaethics
Normative ethics gives principles for moral action; metaethics examines the meaning and foundation of moral terms and claims.
These are two assumptions about ethics Held critiques
That reason is valued over emotion and that moral agents are independent rather than relational.
How might Held’s ethics of care challenge utilitarian or Kantian ethics?
By emphasizing relationships, empathy, and context instead of abstract rules or outcomes.