Epistemology

Catalog description

Epistemology is the study of knowledge and rational belief. In this course we will examine various central epistemological questions, including: What is knowledge, and how does it differ from belief? Can we ever know that the world actually is the way it appears to us, or must we concede to the skeptic that we do not really know anything? Does knowledge always have to be based on secure foundations? If you know something, will you always know that you know it? Will you always be able to prove that you know it? What sort of attitude is belief, and what sort of control do we have over what we believe? What is evidence, and what is the connection between knowledge and evidence? Do we have any good reasons to believe some things rather than others? Is it ever rational to believe in the absence of evidence? What should we do when our epistemic peers disagree with us?