What Do We Know?

Epistemology, (in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

First published Wed Dec 14, 2005

Defined narrowly, epistemology is the study of knowledge and justified belief. As the study of knowledge, epistemology is concerned with the following questions: What are the necessary and sufficient conditions of knowledge? What are its sources? What is its structure, and what are its limits? As the study of justified belief, epistemology aims to answer questions such as: How we are to understand the concept of justification? What makes justified beliefs justified? Is justification internal or external to one's own mind? Understood more broadly, epistemology is about issues having to do with the creation and dissemination of knowledge in particular areas of inquiry. This article will provide a systematic overview of the problems that the questions above raise and focus in some depth on issues relating to the structure and the limits of knowledge and justification.

• 1. What is Knowledge?
  • 1.1 Knowledge as Justified True Belief
  • 1.2 The Gettier Problem
• 2. What is Justification?
  • 2.1 Deontological and Non-Deontological justification
  • 2.2 Evidence vs. Reliability
  • 2.3 Internal vs. External
  • 2.4 Why Internalism?
  • 2.5 Why Externalism?
• 3. The Structure of Knowledge and Justification
  • 3.1 Foundationalism
  • 3.2 Coherentism
  • 3.3 Why Foundationalism?
  • 3.4 Why Coherentism?
• 4. Sources of Knowledge and Justification
  • 4.1 Perception
  • 4.2 Introspection
  • 4.3 Memory
  • 4.5 Reason
  • 4.6 Testimony
• 5. The Limits of Knowledge and Justification
  • 5.1 The Case for Skepticism
  • 5.2 Skepticism and Closure
  • 5.3 Relevant Alternatives and Denying Closure
  • 5.4 The Moorean Response
  • 5.5 The Contextualist Response
  • 5.6 The Ambiguity Response
  • 5.7 Knowing One Isn't a BIV
• 6. Additional Issues
  • 6.1 Virtue Epistemology
  • 6.2 Naturalistic Epistemology
  • 6.3 Religious Epistemology
  • 6.4 Moral Epistemology
  • 6.5 Social Epistemology
  • 6.6 Feminist Epistemology
• Bibliography
• Academic Tools
• Other Internet Resources
• Related Entries