Questions tagged [epistemology]
Epistemology is the study of knowledge, acquisition thereof, and the justification of belief in a given claim.
1,884
questions
6
votes
1
answer
367
views
Does Bergson view symbols negatively or only as a secondary source of knowledge?
In the Introduction to Metaphysics, metaphysics is defined as "that science which claims to dispense with symbols." Bergson contends that the human mind operates discursively, or by taking snapshots ...
- 2,119
19
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Do any philosophers disagree with Occam's razor?
I never bought into the razor.
For example, if I have two hypotheses A and B with equal evidence, the razor would have me pick the simpler one. But personally in my mind, I create a sort of credence-...
- 299
7
votes
3
answers
388
views
Can we justify anything without resorting to 'a priori' truths?
Without a clear answer to the infinite regress problem, can we justify anything without resorting to 'a priori' truths? And if not, how is there a reliable standard for testing the validity of a ...
- 200
1
vote
3
answers
211
views
What is the role of representation in medieval vs modern epistemologies?
What is the difference in the role and in the notion that representation had in the middle age epistemologies vs the modern ones?
- 1,112
4
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What is the difference between propositional and acquaintance knowledge?
What is the difference between propositional and acquaintance knowledge? It seems that acquaintance knowledge deals with sets of propositional knowledge - both known and unknown sets of propositional ...
- 1,388
1
vote
2
answers
129
views
How could consciousness be evolutionarily selected if it makes no difference to the organisms survival?
An overwhelming amount of evidence points to indirect realism being true. This means that all perceptions are spatio-temporally located throughout brain processes. Therefore the body you perceive is ...
- 177
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why was Socratic epistemology diminished?
My question is a follow-up from reading this answer;
"Roughly speaking, Socrates believed truth could not be discovered with certainty, Plato believed that truth could only be known via ...
- 587
6
votes
1
answer
342
views
Can philosophy overcome the observer paradox?
The proper study of mankind is man. How, then, can philosophers be objective?
This is a question I ask myself every time I think of philosophical questions. We have no choice but to view the world ...
- 161
8
votes
3
answers
539
views
Are truth-claims inappropriate?
Strictly speaking, is it inappropriate to make a truth-claim?
I am seeking an answer from Philosophy (Epistemology), and feel free to use logic
I am speaking "theoretically", not "practically"
I am ...
- 587
2
votes
5
answers
397
views
The preface paradox and the psychology of belief [closed]
For those who don't know, the "preface paradox" is an epistemic paradox wherein an author painstakingly researches every single fact he asserts in a new book he's releasing. As a result, he believes ...
3
votes
3
answers
242
views
Is there a theory of knowledge that is based on suspicions rather than beliefs?
What is the difference between the statements "I believe x is true" and "I suspect x is true"?
To my mind they are both statements about what is known. However, the former seems to rely on faith to ...
4
votes
5
answers
8k
views
Can a philosophical question be answered? [closed]
In many traditions (eg Stoicism) philosophy is not a field of knowledge but of endeavour and spiritual exercise, or in other terms a way of life and seeing life. In that light, what value has any ...
- 141
3
votes
0
answers
189
views
Parsing the actionable in standpoint theory
A recent Hugo Schwyzer article laid out the following explanation of "Strong Objectivity":
We can never adopt a true “view from nowhere.” We can defy gravity in outer space, but we can never slip ...
- 867
0
votes
4
answers
206
views
Does our limited understanding of the universe allow for the possibility that there are realms of communication that we are unaware of? [closed]
Given that there are many many aspects of our understandings that can seem unexplainable in our limited extent of knowledge, is it possible that trees can communicate on some sort of level that we may ...
- 73
5
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What's the difference between "perceiving that ..." and "perceiving to be ..."?
I'm reading this book and I'm stuck trying to understand what's the difference between these kinds of perceiving, when I read the example in italic I tend to think they're the same thing, what's wrong?...
- 1,388