Ways of Knowing

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Ways of Knowing, or, more properly, epistemology, is one of the core areas of philosophical reflection. In this course, we will study the literature in analytic philosophy on the nature of knowledge and justification. Epistemologists seek answers to the following kinds of questions: - What is a justified belief? - What is knowledge (as opposed to opinion)? - Can we know facts about the future? - Is knowledge contextual? - What are the skeptics’ arguments and how do we respond to them? - If I know some proposition p and I know that p entails q, do I also know q? - Can a good theory of knowledge resolve some paradoxes in the law? These questions are usually asked within a framework where the central goal is attaining truth and avoiding falsity. This course involves an intensive study of topics/ movements that attempt to address the above questions.