Types of Epistemologies
What is the definition of epistemology?
The study/theory of knowledge
"I have a bad feeling about my upcoming history quiz."
Intuitive knowledge
Which view of epistemology does Aristotle hold to?
Soft empiricism
Which view of epistemology do Plato and Descartes both hold to?
Rationalism
Which view of epistemology does Hume hold to?
Hard empiricism
Which type of epistemology believes knowledge is obtained primarily through reason?
Rationalism
"I know that my dog barks whenever someone rings the doorbell."
Empirical knowledge
What does Aristotle think knowledge starts with?
Sense experience
In the Meno, what is the point of the geometric demonstration done by Socrates?
The slave boy had the knowledge of geometry within him all along even if he had never been educated in it before.
What is the only subject Hume believes gives us certain knowledge?
Mathematics and numbers
Soft empiricism
"I know that college is a lot harder than high school because of what my older siblings tell me."
Testimonial knowledge
What does Aristotle think is the strongest/highest form of knowledge? Define it.
Intuition; intuition is the ability to grasp basic truths that cannot be proven/demonstrated (e.g. "I exist")
What is Hume's view of experiments/science and real-world facts?
Experiments/science are useful but only give us probable information. Real-world facts are also not necessary or certain truths.
Which belief holds to the idea that knowledge is obtained through sense perception alone?
Hard empiricism
"I know that all triangles have three sides."
Rational knowledge
How does the mind recognize universal truths according to Aristotle (E.g. "fire burns you")?
Through induction; we have a specific experience of "fire" and "burning" and we understand bigger concepts "hot surfaces hurt humans"
What is Cartesian doubt? What does Descartes doubt and why does he start his meditations with doubt?
Cartesian doubt is the extreme doubt of everything he knows. Descartes doubts all truth, and assumes he may be getting deceived by an evil demon, so he can build the strongest foundation of knowledge.
What is Hume's view of causation?
We cannot know for certain whether X will cause Y. Causation is not necessary, but is merely an observation of a sequence of events.
What is the main difference between soft and hard empiricism?
Soft empiricism believes you can use reason AND sense perception to obtain knowledge; hard empiricism believes you can only use sense perception
State and define all 4 kinds of knowledge
Intuitive- based on intuition/gut feelings
Rational- based on reason/logic
Empirical- based on sense perception
Testimonial- based on other's words
What is the process of developing scientific knowledge according to Aristotle? Provide the steps
Sense perception --> X --> X --> X --> X --> scientific knowledge
Sense perception --> repeated experiences --> memories --> experience --> universal truths --> scientific knowledge
What are the two certain truths/conclusions Descartes comes to about himself and how does he arrive at them?
1. He exists, because how could he doubt or think if he does not exist.
2. He is a thinking thing, because he is able to doubt, question, desire, etc... about things.
What is the Problem of Induction?
Past experiences do not necessarily predict future events. We can't extend specific instances of knowledge to general knowledge