Epistemology and Knowledge Essay

For centuries philosophers have questioned whether knowledge exists and if we know anything at all. This discipline is known as epistemology. Epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, is a branch of philosophy related to the kitchen range and nature of knowing. The subject focuses on examining the nature of knowledge and how it relates to beliefs, justification and truth. It is truly quite hard to define knowledge. The dictionary defines it as a ordinary awareness or possession of information, facts, ideas, truths, or principles, but philosophers on the separate hand define it as a belief which is in system with the facts.So what are the facts, and what do we know exactly? Christopher Norris, the author of Epistemology key verboten Cin one casepts in Philosophy, states that whatever we believe now, is only an approximation of reality and that each new observation brings us closer to an understanding. Therefore, knowledge is forever ever-changing/evolving and non pertaining t o ones beliefs. water was once defined mistily as the kind of stuff that fell as rain, filled up lakes, was liquid under normal ambient conditions, boiled or froze at certain temperatures, etc (Norris 44).Due to evolution, we now knowthat liquid water, is made up of the molecular structure H20. We no longer believe that the liquid once vaguely defined is anything other than water (H20) now we are knowledgeable. Norris believes intuition must be integrated with the natural domain of a function and the social beingness to truly understand knowledge. When we try to explain all our knowledge of the world as Descartes does we try to understand how the things we believe in science and in everyday life are connected with and warranted by the bases or ground on which we come to believe them (Stroud 209). Beliefs are things people have.They arent things that stand be picked up along the side of the road. Just because a person believes they can fly doesnt make it true. For many philos ophers, this is important. It implies that what someone thinks, could be wrong. In other words, it implies that what one thinks about the world may not match up with the way the world really is. truth occurs when ideas in the mind agree with external conditions or objects (Soccio 322). Therefore, there is a tubercle between belief and truth. Truth is not in your head. Truth is out there. Truth is factual. The molecular structure H2O is factual therefore it is truth. familiarity is a kind of interaction. It involves asking questions and inference. One cant nevertheless know because they believe. Although a person can believe that they know something, that isnt legitimate knowledge. Knowledge is a belief which is in agreement with the facts. full treatment Cited Norris, Christopher. Epistemology Key Concepts in Philosophy. New York Continuum, 2005. Print. Soccio, Douglas J. Archetypes of Wisdom An Introduction to Philosophy eighth ed. Boston Wadsworth, 2013. Print. Stroud, Barry. The Significance of Philosophical Scepticism. New York Oxford, 1984. Print.