PhilosophyLesson 3 of 5 in the course Epistemology

Epistemic Justification: Theories, Sources, and Fallibility

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson introduces justification, a central concept in epistemology. It explains how justification relates to reasons, truth, and knowledge.

In epistemology, justification is the support or reason a person has for accepting a belief as true. When we ask whether someone knows something, we often ask whether they have adequate grounds for believing it. For example, asking whether we know that it is raining may lead us to examine what supports our belief: seeing rain, hearing it on the roof, or checking a reliable weather report.

All flashcards

What is epistemic justification?
The evidential or rational support a person has for accepting a belief as true.
What is a defeater?
Evidence or information that undermines the justification for a belief.
What is knowledge by acquaintance?
Direct, unmediated awareness that is not reached through inference.
What is a relevant alternative?
A competing possibility that would make a belief false.
How does a cause of belief differ from a good reason?
A cause produces a belief; a good reason provides support for it.

Quiz questions

  1. According to internalism, what must be true of the factors that justify a person's belief?Answer: The believer must have cognitive access to those factors.
  2. What makes Alvin Goldman's historical reliabilism an externalist account of justification?Answer: It ties justification to reliable processes that produced the belief.
  3. What is the central claim of foundationalism about justified beliefs?Answer: They ultimately rest on justified beliefs that are non-inferential.
  4. How does coherentism distinguish coherence from mere consistency?Answer: Coherence requires beliefs to support or explain one another.
  5. What is the isolation objection to coherentism?Answer: A coherent belief system might fit together while remaining disconnected from reality.

Based on Introduction to Philosophy by Nathan Smith (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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