Category: Epistemology

Modal Epistemology: Knowledge of Possibility & Necessity

"Imagine The Possibilities" by Carol Groenen
~ 1000-Word Philosophy ~ 6 Comments

Author: Bob Fischer Categories: Epistemology, Metaphysics Word Count: 998 Alice hits Betty, and Betty gets mad. Is her anger justified? Betty thinks so. After all, Alice didn’t need to hit her; Alice could have controlled her temper. This justification for Betty’s anger seems reasonable. However, it isn’t reasonable unless we know that Alice could have behaved differently, and we don’t know that … Continue reading Modal Epistemology: Knowledge of Possibility & Necessity

Idealism Pt. 2: Kant’s Transcendental Idealism

~ 1000wordphilosophy ~ 1 Comment

Author: Addison Ellis Category: Historical Philosophy, Epistemology Word Count: 1000   Editor’s Note: This essay is the second of three in a series authored by Addison on the topic of philosophical idealism. Part 1 on Berkeley's Subjective Idealism can be read here. In the 18th Century, what has become known as the empiricist picture of knowledge took the mind to have … Continue reading Idealism Pt. 2: Kant’s Transcendental Idealism

Idealism Pt. 1: Berkeley’s Subjective Idealism

Berkeley
~ 1000wordphilosophy ~ 3 Comments

Author: Addison Ellis Category: Historical Philosophy, Metaphysics, Epistemology Word Count: 1000 Editor’s Note: This essay is the first of three in a series authored by Addison on the topic of philosophical idealism. Part 2 on Kant's Transcendental Idealism can be read here. We often take it for granted that we have some knowledge about the way reality is. For instance, … Continue reading Idealism Pt. 1: Berkeley’s Subjective Idealism

The Problem of Induction

Lonely Mountain
~ 1000wordphilosophy ~ 4 Comments

Author: Kenneth Blake Vernon Category: Philosophy of Science, Epistemology, Logic and Reasoning Word Count: 1000 1. Aulë’s Artifacts Suppose you are an ethnographer newly arrived in Middle Earth, making land on the western shore, at the Gray Havens. You follow the East Road, traveling over the Misty Mountains and through the Mirkwood, eventually reaching Erebor, … Continue reading The Problem of Induction

The Gettier Problem & the Definition of Knowledge

~ 1000wordphilosophy ~ 1 Comment

Author: Andrew Chapman Category: Epistemology Word Count: 1000 1. The Traditional Analysis of Knowledge What is knowledge?1 To get clear on the notion of knowledge, many philosophers have proposed that we provide an analysis of the concept of knowledge. To provide such an analysis would be to lay out and explain each of the components of that concept. The … Continue reading The Gettier Problem & the Definition of Knowledge