Fear of Knowledge

(4 Credits)

It is often thought that knowledge is inherently valuable and that "truth" is an objective notion independent of social considerations. This course examines various reasons we might have for holding these views and various challenges that have been raised against them. Why should we care about knowledge as long as our beliefs prove useful and efficacious? Is truth and thus knowledge more accurately understood as a culturally relative notion, so that what's true for you might not be true for me?