PHIL 3014 - Epistemology: Knowledge, Truth and Justification

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2017

Epistemology is the theory of knowledge, the study of the nature, sources and limitations of knowledge. In studying the nature of knowledge, we will discuss the conditions that a belief must meet to qualify as knowledge. We will explore what it takes for a certain belief to be justified and the connections between being justified in believing something, being right in believing it and knowing it. In studying the sources of knowledge, we will address the extent to which perception, memory, testimony and reasoning give us knowledge. Finally, while we study the limitations of knowledge, we will consider the challenge of showing that, strictly speaking, we know anything at all. This is the challenge posed by sceptical scenarios such as The Matrix.

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