Philosophy Epistemology 3

Front 1

Empiricism

Back 1

The belief that all of our important knowledge (synthetic) comes from experience (a posteriori) and the mind is a tabula rasa at birth.

They do believe in a priori knowledge but don't see it as important (analytical)

Front 2

Rationalism

Back 2

The belief that all important knowledge comes a priori, through pure logic / deduction. These 'relations of idea's' are the only important pieces of knowledge as experience can't be trusted, and logic can lead us to revelations such as the existence of God. this is infallible.

Front 3

Tabula rasa

Back 3

Blank slate

Front 4

Synthetic

Back 4

Knowledge from experience

Front 5

Analytic

Back 5

A priori knowledge

Front 6

Relations of ideas

Back 6

The defending = the thing.

IE 2+2=4, Triangles= 3 sided shapes.

Front 7

Infallible

Back 7

Knowledge that cannot be questioned

Front 8

Innate knowledge

Back 8

A rationalist concept that knowledge is inborn

Front 9

Humes fork

Back 9

Humes idea that knowledge comes from two paths 'matters of fact' our 'relations of idea's' and two paths only.

Front 10

Matters of fact

Back 10

Knowledge from experience

Front 11

Synthetic a priori

Back 11

Descartes idea that there is knowledge about the world external from our minds, that doesn't come from experience.

1) by deduction: All men are mortal, Socrates is a man, Socrates is a mortal.

2) from 'rational intuition'- ideas that force themselves upon the mind and are clear and distinct (impossible to doubt) IE 'cogito ergo sum' 'trademark argument'

Front 12

Rational intuition

Back 12

Ideas that force themselves upon the mind and are clear and distinct (impossible to doubt) IE 'cogito ergo sum' 'trademark argument'

Front 13

Cartesian Circle

Back 13

-- I clearly and distinctly percieve God to exist

-- God guarantees that anything I clearly and distinctly percieve to be true is true.

Front 14

Contingent truth

Back 14

Truths that depend on the way the world is and are a posteriori

Front 15

Necessary truths

Back 15

Truths by the laws of reason and are a priori

Front 16

Mathematical argument

Back 16

Empiricists (Hume): maths is analytic and there is no real discovery in it.

Rationalists (Liebniz): such truths do add to our knowledge in a substantial way so should be thought of as synthetic a priori.

Front 17

The meno

Back 17

For Plato and Socrates knowledge was innate and you are just reminded of the pure form of it in the 'world of the forms '

Front 18

World of the forms

Back 18

The perfect world that we come from before this life. Everything we know is what we are removed about by cues in this world.

Front 19

The cave analogy

Back 19

S/P's idea that everything we see is like projections on a cave wall. The perfect world is out there, and we see reminders of it

Front 20

Slave boy analogy

Back 20

S/P's attempt to price innate knowledge.

--Slave boy who has never had and education is prompted by Socrates questioning into 'recalling' basic geometry.

Front 21

Locks arguments against innatism

Back 21

From 'An Essay Concerning Human Understanding'

--If knowledge was innate, everyone would have it

--we know what we know - knowledge is not hidden in the way the meno suggests

--There are no 'universals' on which all people agree

-- To say that concepts are somehow remembered from an earlier experience is to say that the come from experience

Front 22

Liebniz arguments for innatism

Back 22

--Why should innate knowledge be universal?

-- There are basic universal principles: something cannot be and not be at the same time.

-- Locke is attacking a strawman- none would belive the kind of innatism Locke is arguing against.

----experience is necessary but not sufficient

Front 23

Concepts vs knowledge (Locke)

Back 23

Have concepts about things we can never experience, but these concepts are built from knowledge

Front 24

Humes knowledge vs concepts

Back 24

Perceptions (concepts of the mind) are made up of impressions and ideas (immediate experience and things remembered or imagined)

Front 25

Humes perception

Back 25

All of the contents of the mind, made up of impressions of idea's

Front 26

Impression

Back 26

The part of our perception that comes from immediate experience, broke up into 'sensation' (IE sight, hearing) and 'reflection' (the emotion felt)

Front 27

Ideas

Back 27

Half of what comprises our perceptions. Things that are remembered or imagined. This is broke up into 'ideas of sensation' (knowing what red is without seeing it) and 'ideas of reflection' (remembering an emotion without feeling it)

Front 28

Complex ideas

Back 28

An ideas made up of more than one idea IE pink elephants or golden mountains. Can have an idea of these without experience.

Front 29

Simple ideas

Back 29

An idea that is based off of a simple impression, and cannot be reduced intro composite parts, IE the color blue.

Front 30

Missing shade of blue

Back 30

Humes argument that you can have simple ideas without experience, strangely undermining empiricism.

-- Liebniz response: the missing shade of blue is innate and only needs to be simulated by other blues.