An Introduction To The Philosophy Of Knowledge

A short account of the philosophy of knowledge for students reading philosophy for the first time. It also serves as a general introduction to those interested in the subject. Jennifer Trusted examines the nature of philosophy as a subject for study and suggests that it has practical use as well as intellectual appeal since it is concerned with developing our understanding through critical appraisal of the concepts we use, so making our problems clear. Dr Trusted also looks at the approach of some of the leading philosophers of the western world to the philosophy of knowledge. The views of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant are considered. There are two chapters principally concerned with the views of the twentieth-century philosophers: A.J. Ayer and Norman Malcolm. The concluding chapter summarises the various approaches and the way they contribute to clarifying our ideas.

This is the only contemporary text to cover both epistemology and philosophy of mind at an introductory level. It also serves as a general introduction to philosophy: it discusses the nature and methods of philosophy as well as basic logical tools of the trade. The book is divided into three parts. The first focuses on knowledge, in particular, skepticism and knowledge of the external world, and knowledge of language. The second focuses on mind, including the metaphysics of mind and freedom of will. The third brings together knowledge and mind, discussing knowledge of mind (other minds and our own) and naturalism and how epistemology and philosophy of mind come together in contemporary cognitive science. Throughout, the authors take into account the needs of the beginning philosophy student. They have made very effort to ensure accessibility while preserving accuracy.

Guided by the founding ideas of American pragmatism, Epistemology provides a clear example of the basic concepts involved in knowledge acquisition and explains the principles at work in the development of rational inquiry. It examines how these principles analyze the course of scientific progress and how the development of scientific inquiry inevitably encounters certain natural disasters. At the center of the book's deliberations there lies not only the potential for scientific progress but also the limit of science as well. This comprehensive introduction to the theory of knowledge addresses a myriad of topics, including the critique of skepticism, the nature of rationality, the possibility of science for extraterrestrial intelligences, and the prospect of insoluble issues in science.

A Problem-Centered, Argument-Driven Approach to Teaching Philosophy. Jacobsen's An Introduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and Reality is a single-authored approach which provides interpretations and contextualization and some anthologized material. The goal of this text is to decrease student dependence on their teachers, and increase their engagement with philosophy, without diluting the challenges that are an essential part of learning to philosophize.

Epistemology or the theory of knowledge is one of the cornerstones of analytic philosophy, and this book provides a clear and accessible introduction to the subject. It discusses some of the main theories of justification, including foundationalism, coherentism, reliabilism, and virtue epistemology. Other topics include the Gettier problem, internalism and externalism, skepticism, the problem of epistemic circularity, the problem of the criterion, a priori knowledge, and naturalized epistemology. Intended primarily for students taking a first class in epistemology, this lucid and well-written text would also provide an excellent introduction for anyone interested in knowing more about this important area of philosophy.

This textbook introduction offers a new way of approaching metaphysics and epistemology - via links to ethical and social questions. It asks questions such as: Fundamentally, what are we? And what, if anything, do we know?

An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge, 2nd Edition guides the reader through the key issues and debates in contemporary epistemology. Lucid, comprehensive and accessible, it is an ideal textbook for students who are new to the subject and for university undergraduates. The book is divided into five parts. Part I discusses the concept of knowledge and distinguishes between different types of knowledge. Part II surveys the sources of knowledge, considering both a priori and a posteriori knowledge. Parts III and IV provide an in-depth discussion of justification and scepticism. The final part of the book examines our alleged knowledge of the past, other minds, morality and God. In this extensively revised second edition there are expanded sections on epistemic luck, social epistemology and contextualism, and there are new sections on the contemporary debates concerning the lottery paradox, pragmatic encroachment, peer disagreement, safety, sensitivity and virtue epistemology. Engaging examples are used throughout the book, many taken from literature and the cinema. Complex issues, such as those concerning the private language argument, non-conceptual content, and the new riddle of induction, are explained in a clear and accessible way. This textbook is an invaluable guide to contemporary epistemology.