What is
Epistemology?
The term ‘epistemology’ comes from the Greek
word episteme which means knowledge. The
English suffix ‘-ology’ means “the study of”.
Epistemology, then, refers to the study of knowledge.
Epistemologists study the
nature, scope, limits and
origin(s) of human
knowledge.
2 Key Branches of Epistemology
RATIONALISM:
Knowledge comes
from exercising the
human ability to
reason
(a priori knowledge)
EMPIRICISM:
Knowledge comes from
evidence presented by
the senses
(a posteriori knowledge)
Some key thinkers’
epistemological
ponderings…
Confucius (551-479 BCE)
“To realize you know something is to know
the extent of one’s ignorance.”
He also claimed…
 “Real knowledge is to know the extent of
one’s ignorance”.
 wise people do not pretend or claim to
know more than they actually do
 Emphasized the concrete and the
practical, and believed that knowledge
was a lifelong process
Plato (429-347 BCE)
 The things people perceive through the
senses are subject to change because
these things disintegrate, dissolve and
wear down thus making knowledge
from the senses unreliable
 People can only generate opinions
about the sensory world
 only the power of REASON can reveal
genuine, true knowledge (theory of forms)
 Learning is simply REMEMBERING innate
knowledge
Aristotle
(384 -322 BCE)
 Supported the idea that the world of
forms is superior, and also maintained
that all knowledge comes from
experience
 Argued that reason is the
characteristic that distinguishes
human beings
 Did NOT accept Plato’s notion of
innate ideas, argued that REASON
came into play only AFTER people
experienced things through their
senses
Descartes…I think therefore I am. (1596 - 1650)
 Centuries later, Descartes
focused on epistemology by
asking:
“What can I know for certain?”
Descartes continued…
 He decided to accept nothing as true
that he did not clearly recognize to be
so he…
 Advocated ‘systematic doubt’
 Argued people could know things
independently of physical reality, and
that people come to this knowledge by
using the power of their own reason
John Locke
(1632-1704)
His theory of ‘Tabula Rasa’ (Blank Slate)
challenged the ideas of Descartes
Locke influenced by and built on the
ideas of Aristotle
Argued that ideas are the byproduct of
sensory experience
Immanuel Kant
(1724-1804)
Tried to bridge the gap between
rationalism and empiricism
He accepted aspects of each school of
thought
Made consciousness a central feature of
philosophy
Proposed ‘unity of consciousness’ idea
(your ideas are your own and no one else’s)
Kant continued…
 A person’s consciousness (thoughts, beliefs,
hopes, fears, etc.) are unified in one’s own
mind and no one else’s
 Argued that knowledge, derived from reason
or experience is bound together - or unifiedby the human mind
 Combining innate ideas and sensory
perception is a mental activity that must
take place before anything can be known
What is Epistemology?
2 Key Branches of Epistemology
RATIONALISM:
EMPIRICISM:
Confusius
Plato
Aristotle
Descartes
Locke
Kant