General Philosophical Concepts Flashcards
knowledge a priori
- knowledge prior to experience (“in advance”)
- deduced from ideas or concepts
- independent of training, socialization
- “a square has four sides”, “an uncle is a male relative”
knowledge a posteriori
- knowledge derived from experience/perceptions (“afterwards”)
- “the earth has a diameter of 12,742 km”
analytic claim
- derived from concepts
- may be explanatory but do not provide additional knowledge
- depend on linguistic conventions
- “a bachelor is an unmarried man”
synthetic claim
- provide new knowledge
- “there are volcanoes on Hawaii”
- synthetic claims can be a priori
- analysis of knowledge can lead to new knowledge
Truth
Only what can be true?
proposition (content of a sentence)
friends can be true only in a metaphorical sense
Correspondence Theory of Truth
- proposition is true iff it corresponds to a fact
- “the earth is an imperfect ball” true iff the earth is an imperfect ball
- problems: correspondence unclear (no similarity between proposition and external fact), no direct access to facts
- possible solution: learning the proposition implies understanding the facts allowing you to accept this proposition/make that proposition true
iff
if and only if
Coherence Theory of Truth
- proposition is true if it coheres with other accepted propositions (aka knowledge)
- “the earth is a ball” is true iff it coheres with knowledge dervied from experiments, theoretical assumptions
- inference to the best explanation
- problems: false propositions may become true, true false (if knowledge changes, truth changes too), confounds of method and meaning, strong objections
What is a necessary condition?
A condition is necessary for a state of affairs, …
if state of affairs cannot obtain without the condition being met.
- state of affairs does not have to obtain if necessary condition is met
- additional conditions possible
What is a sufficient condition?
A condition is sufficient for a state of affairs, …
if the state of affairs has to obtain if the condition is met.
- condition does not have to be met if state of affairs obtains
- other sufficient conditions possible
What is a necessary and sufficient condition?
A condition is necessary and sufficient of a state of affairs, …
if the state of affairs obtains if and only if the condition is met.
types of knowledge
- procedural knowledge / knowing how (to ride a bicycle, to swim)
- propositional knowledge / knowledge that (scientific knowledge, I know that x is p)
- phenomenal/acquaintance knowledge (I know what it is like to taste chocolate, I know what it feels like to feel pain)
other types of knowledge cannot be reduced to knowing that
knowledge as justified true belief
A subject S knows that a proposition P is true if and only if:
- P is true (no knowledge of non-obtaining states of affairs), and
- S believes that P is true, and
- S is justified in believing that P is true (accidental true belief no knowledge, justification is based on method, but method can yield wrong/not true result)
A cashier uses a machine to identify fake money, but the machine works the opposite way. Would they know that it’s real money?
No. Indeed, they believe that the money is real and they are justified in believing so, but it is not true.
“justified true belief” definition - problems
- Does justification imply truth? Can a justified statement be false (Cashier with fake money)
- Can knowledge be restricted to (conscious) persons? Do libraries store knowledge?
