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This course explores the nature, possibility, source, structure, and value of knowledge (and of justified belief). We discuss a number of theories, such as internalism, externalism, contextualism, pragmatism, etc. The course helps students to form their own views on issues relating to knowledge and justify their views in a philosophically informed way.
This book provides a comprehensive survey of the history of epistemology and of those topics which have always been a constant fixture of epistemological discussions such as the problem of skepticism, as well as the main cutting-edge issues in contemporary literature such as the problem of disagreement or experimental epistemology. It also provides a thorough account of the key thinkers and movements. The book is divided into ten sections- foundational concepts, the analysis of knowledge, the structure of knowledge, kinds of knowledge, skepticism, responses to skepticism, knowledge and knowledge attributions, formal epistemology, the history of epistemology, and metaepistemological issues.
The target audience of this book includes scholars working in this field, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students. In each one of the chapters, essays that support both sides of the debate topic are presented. The topics include Should Knowledge Come First, Is Knowledge Closed under Known Entailment, Is Knowledge Contextual, Do Practical Matters Affect Whether You Know, Can Skepticism Be Refuted, Are Intellectually Virtuous Motives Essential to Knowledge, Can Knowledge Be Lucky, Is There a Priori Knowledge, Is There Immediate Justification, Can Belief Be Justified Through Coherence Alone, Is Infinitism the Solution to the Regress Problem, Can Evidence Be Permissive, Is Justification Internal, Is Truth the Primary Epistemic Goal.
This book is written for general readers with no special background in philosophy, but for students it is most appropriately studied after completing at least one more general course in philosophy. There are 14 chapters divided into 3 parts in this book. Part I introduces the genesis of justification and knowledge, including topics such as perception, memory, consciousness, reason, and testimony. Part II introduces the development and structure of justification and knowledge, including Inference and the extension of knowledge, and the architecture of knowledge. Part III discusses the nature and scope of justification and knowledge, especially touching on the topic of skepticism.
