Epistemology

Epistemology is the study of knowledge, specifically how we can reach that knowledge. Moreover, even if it is possible to reach knowledge using a particular method, then there is still the issue of how much knowledge we must know in order to be epistemically justified in holding a particular belief. Determining the nature of knowledge will then help us answer the first class of questions relating to if it is possible in the first place, as well as questions regarding what knowledge really is (i.e. what goes on inside our brain). If it is possible to reach knowledge, then that begs the question of what kind. Mere propositional or logical knowledge is oft considered to have no bearing on the knowledge of the actual world (i.e. a logical statement doesn't necessitate its actual existence). And the nature of this knowledge must also be examined - is it mere memory? If so, then it is true that memory can fail at times, so how certain is our knowledge? This leads to the second class of questions relating to the justification of beliefs, as well as to the extent that we can gain knowledge (in other words: are there some things that we can know - perhaps mathematical truths - and some that we can’t?). A key distinction in epistemology is the difference between ‘a priori’ and ‘a posteriori’ knowledge. A priori knowledge is the type that can be known to us through reason, independent of any experience. For example, it is an a priori truth that a triangle has three sides. On the other hand, a posteriori knowledge is the type that can be known to us through experience and our sensory perception. For example, it is an a posteriori truth that there is a movie called The Joker. The different ways of answering these questions within epistemology give rise to numerous philosophical positions, such as: solipsism, skepticism, empiricism, foundationalism, structuralism, etc., as well as further distinctions, such as that between analytic statements and synthetic statements.