Questions tagged [knowledge]
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something, which can include facts, information, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education.
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What is the relation between a priori and tautologies?
I have just started learning Epistemology. I am not sure about the relation between a priori and tautologies.
My textbook has given definitions for a priori and tautology.
A priori: knowledge which is ...
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How to make sense of " I know that p but I could be wrong as to p"? ( Faillibilism)
There is a well known modal fallacy regarding knowledge which says that if some subject s knows that p, then p cannot be false, and therefore , p is a necessarily true proposition.
Source : [ by ...
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Do modern philosophers of mind believe that thinking is a symbolic or visual process by nature?
Do some philosophers regard thinking as a symbolic process only because they don't actually think for themselves -- rather, like most of us, they are "having thoughts", their ...
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Is it self-defeating for commentators to tell people not to believe or trust the media?
For example: let's suppose that I am a conspiracy theorist and commentator, my job is to report what goes on in the world of politics, social media, and give my opinions.
Is it self-defeating to tell ...
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Why does Nozick rely on closest possible world in his tracking theory?
According to the truth-tracking theory of Nozick,
S knows that P iff
(1) P is True,
(2) S believes that P,
(3) If P were not True, S would not believe that P, and
(4) If P were True, S would believe ...
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Is having "skin in the game" always beneficial in "thought and action" as Taleb seems to think?
I was skimming through the tweets about Taleb when I saw one from one of his former [friends][1] which was about Taleb's "skin of the game" saying that it is neither necessary nor sufficient ...
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Goals and benefits of the process abstraction for minds
What is the philosophical importance of abstraction in regard to philosophy of mind? People seem to use abstraction all of the time, however, can someone please bring a concrete example that ...
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How is knowledge possible?
I haven't studied Philosophy and I get this is a fundamental question one cannot answer in one line.
But I want to phrase it in this particular way: even in a finite possibilities-predetermined (few) ...
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What's the difference between Justification and Evidence?
Q: In what ways does use of the term "Evidence" differ from that of the term "Justification" in philosophy?
Ive read Evidence posed as the internalist counterpoint to the ...
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Have cognitive scientists dealt with Kant’s idea of a priori knowledge using their tools?
Since Kant’s concept of a priori knowledge is about how humans perceive and construct the world in their head, that sounds very directly related to cognitive science and psychology. Have scientists ...
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Could a Pyrrhonic Skeptic Procedurally know?
is the concept of Procedural Knowledge, inconsistent with Pyrrhonic Skepticism?
i ask this as, it does not seem that Procedural Knowledge coincides with the model of Knowledge espoused by Pyrrhonic ...
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How can we differentiate between change and progress in the field of ethics?
I'm studying a branch of epistemology(theory of knowledge) and am currently working on a project concerned with the change and progress in knowledge. The topic I want to specialise in is ethics. How ...
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What is the literal meaning of "The only thing that I know is that I know nothing"? (Is not knowing anything a knowledge?)
If a person says, "The only thing that I know is that I know nothing." What exactly does that mean (not metaphorically), literally?
If the only thing they know is that they know nothing, ...
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Is knowledge from the Borsuk–Ulam theorem a priori or a posteriori?
The Borsuk–Ulam theorem proofs that on earth, there will always be at least two points that have exactly the same temperature at once. This can be mathematically proven to be true and it indeed has ...
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What might it mean to "know" another living being? [closed]
Assuming for the moment that life involves change how can one "know" another living being?
Indeed if they are changing can one fully know another living being?
Who has written about knowing ...
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Truth condition in JTB
I have been told that knowledge is usually analyzed as being justified true belief (although this conception has been criticized - namely after Gettier published his famous article - it seems to be ...
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Philosophical assumptions underlying science
I am a medical student and have been interested lately in the foundations of the scientific research method I have been taught.
I've read that there is in fact no such thing as a unique scientific ...
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How do we know certain things to be "obvious", in general?
Sometimes while discussing things, we might come across statements which are pretty obvious to us. And, in English, sometimes we use statements such as -- "It's pretty obvious". But without ...
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Are dimensions a priori for innately senseless people?
Dimensions (space, time etc.) are considered to be a priori knowledge, but if a person is born to be senseless, how can he/she perceive a world of dimensions? Since he/she is unable to have experience,...
user47471
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Can we say that "I Think Therefore I Am" was never about "I", or thinking, or "I" doing the thinking?
Strictly speaking, "Cogito ergo sum" simply means:
"The existence of your own mind can never be in doubt."
Item 1) also describes our true knowledge in its entirety.
Or we can ...
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How do philosophers respond to global skepticism?
I saw a video of a philosopher (Robert Audi) who said that common sense is the best response we can give to global skepticism. I would agree, but it's not clear to me what the nature of common sense ...
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Are mental objects timeless?
Let's suspend for a moment the How? of the body mind problem and suppose an ontological paradigm where there are two classes of objects: mental and physical. Also that physical objects are spatially ...
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Difference between *concept* and *knowledge*?
The SEP entry "Rationalism vs Empiricism" distinguishes between the terms concept and knowledge.
Is there some standard distinction between these two terms that's commonly used by most philosophers? (...
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A priori knowledge and experience in Kant
In the introduction of the critique of pure reason, Kant says
"That all our knowledge begins with experience there can be no doubt. For how is it possible that the
faculty of cognition should be ...
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How does Nozick's analysis of knowledge evade brain in a vat counterexamples?
Note: I had posted this a day ago, but I hadn't formulated it very clearly. I still recognize that the counter-example is probably not very strong, but I'm wondering where it is wrong. Any help is ...
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When and under whose influence did the JTB conception of knowledge become standard in contemporary philosophy ( i.e. after Kant)?
My question is on the history of the Justified True Belief conception of knowledge.
It is well known that this conception is considered in Plato's Meno, but dismissed.
I think Hobbes comes close ...
user37859
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What are the most rational basic beliefs?
I understand that this question might be difficult or even unresolved. But within a foundationalist view of knowledge, has anyone proposed a set of basic beliefs that seem to be the most rational for ...
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Original Text Sources for 2 Aristotle ideas - 1/ nous on nous , 2/ sprial of knowledge - which texts did Aristotle first mention these in?
I am trying to track down the first mention original sources of some ideas of Aristotle in philosophy that some philosophy professors made in some university lectures.
The first idea is
1/ Nous on ...
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How do different bodies of knowledge depend on each other for their development?
As an example, some body of knowledge can develop only so much before it's development stagnates and it requires other bodies of knowledge to develop.
As a weird analogy, the concept(s) I am ...
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I know that he knows that I know that he knows
Not sure if this is the right place for this question but here goes...
Some time in the past I've stumbled upon some site/article/post/etc that discussed the issue of 2 parties having (or not) some ...
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Why are Gettier cases so challenging to JTB = K?
Relevant
I do not understand why the problem of Gettier cases has been so challenging to the theory that knowledge consists of justified true beliefs. Let's take an example from SEP, where you are ...
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How does Plato's theory of forms relate to his epistemology and philosophy of language?
In dialogues like Cratylus and Theatatus, it seems to me that Plato paints a very skeptical picture of our capacity to know or articulate knowledge. In Cratylus he doubts the possibility of language ...
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How do we formulate philosophical theories?
Various epistemological systems have their own way of arriving at knowledge. For example, the cornerstone of arriving at scientific knowledge is both induction and observation.
Then, what is the ...
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what is called the view that all knowledge "bottoms out" in intuition and/or psychological prejudice?
Suppose I see a tree through my window; I naturally believe that there's a tree outside. From my experience, I simply intuit (so it seems to me) the existence of that tree. Of course, I could ...
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"Dinosaurs did exist once". Is it knowledge or is it only justified belief?
On Wikipedia, knowledge is defined as justified true
belief:
The concept of justified true belief states that in order to know that a given proposition is true, one must not only believe the ...
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Do 'new knowledge / old fact' replies to Jackson's Knowledge Argument imply their converse?
The various 'new knowledge /old facts' replies to Frank Jackson's 'Knowledge Argument' are among the most widely held (or, at least, the most thoroughly debated.) They claim that while its subject, ...
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Do philosophers think beliefs are bearers of truth-value?
In the literature about what sorts of things have a truth-value, the idea that acts of belief bear truth-value seems present, yet uncommon. On the other hand, objects of belief like propositions or ...
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Gettier counterexamples for Goldman
I was wondering if there are any Gettier-style counterexamples or deeper objections to either of Goldman's reliabilist (1979) or causal (1967) theories of knowledge?
Thanks in advance!
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Is usability a defining characteristic of knowledge?
A recent argument with my friend over "Presentation vs Substance" was about whether the presentation of a subject (e.g. in a talk) is more important than the actual content which is being delivered. ...
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What did Wittgenstein mean when he said "knowledge is in the end based on acknowledgement"?
What exactly is acknowledgement here?
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Is there a logical argument for the limit of knowledge?
It is justifiable to assert that certain knowledge could not be disseminated without the invention of writing. One could say that humanity needed the knowledge of writing before further knowledge ...
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Spinoza's adequate knowledge: Can he avoid being called a dogmatist?
Within Spinoza's System (laid down in the Ethics), the difference of inadequate from adequate knowledge is crucial. Perhaps it is even the central cornerstone of his system, because adequate knowledge ...
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If we say ignorance is bliss, why do we seek knowledge? [closed]
I’ve been thinking about this.
Answers?
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Why is belief needed for knowledge?
Note: my question is different from this, as this asks whether only 1 and 2 are necessary, mine is asking why actual belief is needed instead of only awareness.
Why is belief needed for knowledge? I ...
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Does externalism solve the Münchhausen trilemma?
In traditional (access-)internalist epistemology, justification is a relation between beliefs, or sets of beliefs. My belief that it will rain today is justified by beliefs about the season, my ...
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Can certain knowledge be experienced without words?
This question has been framed from a reading of Ruth Lydia Saw's book, "The Vindication of Metaphysics", (Macmillan, 1951). It's being termed, the 'parrot' example from pp.50-52.
Saw poses a very ...
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Is this argument against the possibility of epistemology correct?
(1) Epistemology is looking for a definition of knowledge.
(2) Suppose an epistemologist claims that he has come upon a correct definition, this claim would amount at saying " now, I know what is ...
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What is the fundamental axiom of reasoning?
Is it true that a fundamental axiom of logical reasoning is that reality doesn't contradict? Can someone explain why this assumption is a reasonable starting point if true or what a more accurate ...
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Should we pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge without considering the possible consequences? [closed]
For example, should Alfred Noble be blamed for suicide bombers as he created dynamite?
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How do different types of knowledge and memory relate?
At first glance it seems that "knowledge" has many more categories than "memory". However once one starts sorting, it quickly becomes apparent that certain kinds of memory will accommodate several ...
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