H2 Knowledge and Inquiry — Arguments and Evidence

H2KnowledgeandInquiryArgumentsandEvidence GENERALEPISTEMOLOGY Argument Example Criteriafor“Good”Knowledge Scope “Allbachelorsareunmarried”● Wemightknowthat“allbachelorsareunmarried”withcompletecertainty—butsuchtautologiesseemtohavelessepistemicvalue,becausetheydon’ttellusanythingnew:ifweknewwhatabachelorwas,wewouldalreadyknowthisanalytictruththatallbachelorsareunmarried! Usefulness WilliamJames’Pragmatism● Weseemtovalueknowledgeovermerebeliefsbecauseitseemstobeusefulorprofitableinourlives—wewanttoknowwhetheritis7amratherthanjustbelieveittobethecase,sowecanaccuratelydecidewhetherwehavetimetoeatbreakfastwithoutbeinglateforwork!● That’swhysomescholarslikeWilliamJameshaveevendefinedtruthaspragmatism! Certainty,tobeuseful Pythagoras’Theorem● Thismathematicaltheoremhasalotofepistemicandpragmaticvalue,becausewehavedeductivelyderiveditfromEuclid’saxioms—thisiscertain,withnopossibilityoferror!● Thiscertaintyallowsustoapplyittoallright-angledtriangles,withoutworryingthatitwillgiveusafalseresult—itisuseful,bothinoureverydaylivesandalsointheconstructionofnewknowledgeingeometry. Reliability,tobeuseful Gamblerandtheroulettewheel● Thegambler’sbeliefthattheballwillnextlandonredisnotuseful,becauseitisnotderivedbyareliableprocess—hewillonedaybewrong! V=IR● Thislawinphysicshasalotofutilitybecauseitisreliable—wehaveverifiedthroughmanyexperimentsthatmultiplyingthecurrentandresistancedoesindeedgiveusthevoltage,allowingustosafelyusethatequationtodesigncircuitsandelectronicdevices. Objectivity/Universality,tobeuseful Moralknowledge● Thereasonphilosopherscontinuetosearchforobjectiveanduniversalmoralknowledge—suchasKant’sattemptstoformulateaCategoricalImperative—isbecausesuchobjectivityanduniversalitywouldmakemoralknowledgeparticularlyusefulinguidingourbehaviour,sincewewouldhaverulesandprincipleswecouldapplyinallinstances.Infact,wewouldbeabletoeradicateallmoraldisagreement! Coherent,tobeuseful RiseofHitler● EvenifwecouldobjectivelydiscoverallthefactsrelatingtoHitler’sriseand

listobjectivelyallthereasonsforhisrisetopower,thiswouldbeoflittlevaluetous:itwouldbeameaninglesscompilationoffactsthatdonotfitintoa‘coherent’narrativethat‘makessense’tous.Hence,historywillhavefailedinitsdesiderataofhelpingusunderstandthepastandlearnfromit!● ByattributingHitler’srisetopowertothepopularappealofhisfascistideology,evenifitneglectsothercauseslikeJewisheconomicprivilegeortheroleofpropaganda,ittellsusafarmoreusefulinsightintoourpastthatwecanlearnfrom:thatweneedtopurgesuchnoxiousideologiesfromcivildiscourse! TypesofKnowledge Propositional/Know-that “Themaniswearingahat”● Propositionalknowledgecanbeexpressedin“that”clauses:“thatthemaniswearingahat”,forinstance.● Itcanbeclearlytrueorfalse! Practical/Know-how “Iknowhowtoswim”● Nopropositionsorbeliefsinvolvedhere—it’sapracticalcompetency.● Idon’tneedtobelieve,orbeawareofthefactthatIknowhowtoswim—ifyouthrowmeintoapoolandIcanstayafloat,Iknowhowtoswim.● Noreasonrequiredhere—agoodexampleforexperientialknowledge. Acquaintance “Iknowthisstreet”● Knowl