Philosophy Week 2 Notes Start thinking of paper 1 topics in Week 7 Paper due in week 10 What is Knowledge Fundamentals of Philosophy Metaphysics Includes the mind and nature of existence Epistemology study of the theory of knowledge Knowledge Oxford Definition is facts information and skills acquired by a person through experience or education the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject Plato originated what knowledge is Knowledge Justified True Belief Justified True Belief Justified reasonable not contradictory Reasonable A reasonable belief is a belief that a good reason can be given Page 3 A reasonable belief is logically justifiable A belief is logically JUSTIFABLE A belief is logically justifiable when it does not contradict itself True FACT not false Belief Mental state whereby the mind is directed towards being about something S knows that p IFF If and Only If p is true S believes that p is true S is justified in believing that p is true i ii iii Example of knowledge Jane knows that apples are red iff Apples being red is true Jane believes that apples are red Jane is justified in believing that apples are red i ii iii Justified A belief is logically justifiable when it doesn t contradict itself Ayer on Knowledge We can define concepts by giving necessary and sufficient conditions for knowing that something is the case Necessary Conditions A condition is said to be necessary for a condition if and only if the falsity of the condition x guarantees the falsity for a condition y truth of x guarantees the truth of y Sufficient Conditions A condition x is said to be sufficient for a condition y IFF the There are THREE individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions on knowing that p i ii iii p should be true One must be completely sure of p One must be entitled to be sure that p E g not entitled to knowledge Superstitious person walks under a ladder and something bed happened She would not be correct to say that she knew that this was going to happen page 89 She arrived at her belief by a process of reasoning which would not be genially reliable so although her prediction came true it is not a case of knowledge Page 89 Is Ayer s modification to Justified True Belief enough to give access to knowledge Success Descartes NO Theories of Knowledge Justified True Belief S knows that p is true iff i ii iii p is true S believes that p is true S is justified in believing that p is true that p i ii iii p should be true One must be completely sure that p One must be entitled to be sure that p Descartes Meditation 1 Ayer There are three individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions on knowing i ii iii iv v Sensory information about the world is unreliable My mental health could be unstable I could be dreaming An evil demon could be deceiving me I have reason to doubt that any of my perceptions and thoughts are knowledge Russell Appearance and Reality Opening Questions Is there certain knowledge Is there anything one cannot reasonably doubt Naturally starting point philosophy Begin with our present experiences see hear touch taste and smell Concepts Appearance What things seem to be Page 95 Reality What things really are Page 95 Sense Data Things that are immediately known to sensation e g colors sounds smells texture etc pages 96 97 E g Sense data vs Sensation Color is sense datum the way we feel when we see the color is the sensation Page 97 Descartes To establish any lasting knowledge I must begin from the foundations of knowledge and establish indubitable first principles But first I must purge all of my false beliefs I can do so by applying the Method of Doubt to all of my false beliefs at once Strategies in Meditation 1 Goal is to get to the foundations of knowledge 1 Point of View Persona in Mediations Person on the street na ve empiricist All knowledge from sense experience Goal of Meditation 1 To overthrow the beliefs 2 Method of Doubt Senses are sources of knowledge of the world Illusions and ambiguities of perception Muler Arrows all of the arrows seem like they are at different lengths but they aren t Each line is exactly the same length but are positions differently We can t trust our senses under all conditions but we can in ideal conditions No Madman you could be kray kray Professor Favela 2015 If conditions outside and inside observer are ideal then they are reliable No You can be dreaming No Evil Demon Some knowledge can be known with certainty and without experience e g mathematics Mediation 1 leaves us in a state of doubt about sources and beliefs Examine the Argument Meditation 1 Sensory information about world is unreliable i ii My mental health could be unstable I m looking at you Kanye Professor Favela iii iv v I have reason to doubt all perceptions and thoughts I could be dreaming And evil demon can be deceiving me