Epistemology

Epistemology (from Greek ἐπιστήμη, epistēmē, meaning "knowledge, understanding", and λόγος, logos, meaning "study of") is the foundation of philosophy being it is "the study of knowledge, understanding", and is also referred to as "The Theory of Knowledge".

Put concisely, Epistemology is the discipline that shares the understanding of the difference between knowledge, belief, and opinion.

It answers what knowledge is and how it can be acquired, as it focuses on the analysis of systems for truth-values, the extent to which a truth-value can be known, or even exists at all.

Contents

• Background
• Differentiation
• Knowledge
  • Understanding how
  • By acquaintance
  • By description
  • Knowing that
• Belief
  • Justification
  • Rationalization
• Opinion
  • Personal View
• References

Background

• The term Epistemology is equivalent to the German concept of Wissenschaftslehre, which was used by Fichte^[1] and Bolzano^[2] for different projects before taken up again by Husserl^[3].
  
  The Scottish Philosopher Ferrier^[4] coined epistemology on the model of 'ontology', to designate that branch of philosophy which aims to discover the meaning of knowledge, and called it the 'true beginning' of philosophy. It was probably first introduced in his Institutes of Metaphysic: The Theory of Knowing and Being^[5]
  
  French philosophers then gave the term épistémologie a narrower meaning as 'theory of knowledge [théorie de la connaissance].' E.g., Meyerson^[6] opened his Identity and Reality, written in 1908, with the remark that the word 'is becoming current' as equivalent to 'the philosophy of the sciences.'^[7]

Differentiation

• Epistemological Certainty - Knowledge: certain of a truth-value.
• Epistemological Uncertainty - Belief: uncertain of a truth-value.
• Epistemological View - Opinion: an offering without a truth-value.

Knowledge

• Epistemology includes understanding how, by acquaintance or description, does justify knowing that.
  
  
• Understanding how:
  • Epistemology includes the understanding of how
    • 2 + 2 = 4 is known in a certain system of mathematics
    • a person (e.g., oneself), place (e.g., one's hometown), or thing (e.g., cars) is known by a certain relationship
• By acquaintance
  • is to be directly aware of a certain system or object, such as:
    • to have an understanding of a certain system of mathematics where 2 + 2 = 4 is defined
    • to have a relationship with a person, place, or thing, which begs the question^[8] "In what way?", answering to the relationship being defined.
• By description
  • is to have an understanding without relationship of a person, place, or thing, such as:
    • in knowing Christopher Columbus and things that have been said, but with no personal relationship to the individual whatsoever. This does not imply you understand what is said, it does only mean you know of things that have been said.
      • Christopher Columbus discovering a new world, without understanding 'new' is with regard to knowledge by acquaintance to him, can mean many different things.
• Knowing that
  • by acquaintance or description, it can be understood how that can be known.
    • to have an understanding of the certain system of mathematics where 2 + 2 = 4 is defined, one does understand how that 2 + 2 = 4 can be known.
    • to have a direct relationship defined by certain terms with a person, place, or thing, one does understand how that person, place, or thing, can be known.
    • to understand a description of a person, place, or thing, one does understand how that person, place, or thing, can be known.

Belief

• Epistemology includes the understanding of how all beliefs are justified, and how not all beliefs are rational.
  
  
• Justification
  • All beliefs are justified and reveal:
    • an individuals understanding of knowledge
    • an individuals mental health status
• Rationalization
  • Beliefs are found to be rational or not based on empiricism.
• An individual is justified in believing the definition of knowledge is "Justified True Belief" as it is popular, also what they've been taught to believe.
• In determining if this belief is rational or not, we look at evidence of other things related:
  1. Knowledge is to be certain of a truth-value
  2. Belief is to be uncertain of a truth-value altogether
  From this alone we find it is not rational to believe the definition of knowledge is "Justified True Belief", as it mixes belief with knowledge. An individual that holds this belief reveals they lack a proper understanding of the separation of knowledge from belief.

Opinion

• Epistemology includes the understanding of how when no truth-value does exist, a claim is a propositional opinion.
  
  
• Personal View
  • If one individual alleges a waterfall is beautiful, and a different individual alleges that same waterfall is boring. The opinion of each person is what they allege to be how they view the world.

References

1. ^ Johann Gottlieb Fichte(May 19, 1762 – January 27, 1814)
2. ^ Bernhard Bolzano(October 5, 1781 – December 18, 1848)
3. ^ Edmund Husserl(April 8, 1859 – April 27, 1938)
4. ^ James Frederick Ferrier(June 16, 1808, Edinburgh – June 11, 1864)
5. ^ J.F. Ferrier - Institutes of Metaphysic: The Theory of Knowing and Being (1854), p. 46.
6. ^ Émile Meyerson(French: [mɛjɛʁsɔn]; February 12, 1859 – December 2, 1933)
7. ^ Émile Meyerson - Identity and Reality
8. ^ Begging the Question - A Logical Fallacy