PHIL382 FA24
Theory of Knowledge (PHIL382)
Charles Wallis
Mondays & Wednesdays · 12:30pm–1:45pm · LA5–246
Is my romantic partner cheating on me? Could Alan Greenspan have failed to know that the self-interest of lending institutions would prove woefully inadequate to protect shareholders equity? What is Dubstep? Did the Trump campaign collude with Russia during the 2016 election? These questions are the ponderings of our everyday lives. However, finding satisfactory answers to such practical questions presupposes answers to deeper philosophical questions regarding the nature, sources, structure, and extent of human knowledge:
(1) What is the nature of knowledge?
(2) What are the sources of knowledge for humans (and others)?
(3) Is there a relationship or structure between individual bits of human knowledge and if so, what is that structure?
(4) What are the limitations of knowledge for humans (and others)?
An adequate answer to the first question would tell us what sorts of things can be (or are) knowledge, what properties distinguish knowledge from other states (like opinions), and how (and to what extent) knowledge benefits the knower. An adequate answer to the second question would provide a basis for identifying the sources (and potential sources) for human knowledge, how these sources give us knowledge, if these sources would provide knowledge for other creatures, how we could tell if other sources were potential sources of knowledge for some creatures, etc.. Similarly, an answer to the third question would tell us what, if anything, humans cannot know, what conditions would prevent knowledge, and even what humans might find difficult to learn and know.
The study of epistemology enriches our understanding of ourselves as cognitive creatures and leads, potentially to improvements in our efficacy as epistemic agents in the real world. This class looks at answers to the both practical and theoretical philosophical questions underlying our everyday concerns about knowledge and knowing. We will survey the works of historical and contemporary thinkers from philosophy and psychology. The class also examines the background assumptions and methodology behind the views of these thinkers and of contemporary philosophy in general.
GE/GR areas: upper-division C (humanities) and WI (writing)