Constructivist epistemology

Theaetetus is an example of Socratic dialogue, which shows Socrates and Theaetetus discussing the 3 definitions of knowledge; knowledge is perception, knowledge is true judgment, and, finally, knowledge is true judgment accompanied by an “account”. In the end, no definitive definition was given and the main conclusion was to show us what knowledge is not. By knowing what is not knowledge, Plato can make the connection between the problem of knowledge to forms. Socrates, through the process of…

A central theme in Plato’s The Meno is virtue. It is approached through posing two questions: How does one acquire virtue? And what exactly is virtue? Meno poses the question “can virtue be taught?” (70a) Meno’s goal is to understand how one can acquire virtue, but Socrates inquires as to what virtue is. Meno attempts a few definitions of virtue, which Socrates deems inaccurate through the usage of the elenchus, where he dissects each suggestion to show Meno that it does not hold all the…

When Descartes wrote “Meditation of First Philosophy” in 1641, he was looking for certainty. To do so, Descartes thought it was necessary not to only isolate himself to find the certainty he seek, but also cast a doubt on everything he once thought he knew. Rather than casting doubt on every single thing, Descartes knew that it necessary to target the source where they originated from. Descartes separated his skepticism into six different mediation which all create some sort of uncertainty in an…

In this essay, I will be presenting the philosophical views of the ancient philosopher, Heraclitus. I will begin with his explanation of Logos and how it applies to philosophical reasoning. I will then explain why the Doctrine of Universal Flux and the Doctrine of the Unity of Opposites play a major role in Heraclitus’ views. Lastly, I will describe how fire, the soul, and God play into the conception of the world as he knew it. In conclusion, I will put together the previous stated ideas to…

In Plato’s “ Allegory of the Cave,” Plato describes the cave as very dark with chained prisoners in front of a fire observing shadow of things. The shadows are the only “reality” they know. Outside the cave, there is “light” and the “truth”. A prisoner in the cave wanted freedom. But the prisoners could not get out. They were trap in the cave and all they could see were shadow illusions of people, animals and trees. So one day, one of the prisoners was granted freedom. He went out to the real…

Bas van Fraassen has centered a large part of his philosophical career on studying scientific realism and describing a form of anti-realism called constructive empiricism. Van Fraassen is certainly steadfast in anti-realist belief, but doesn’t seem to have to alter too much of the realist’s perspective to form his beliefs. According to his definition of scientific realism “Science aims to give us, in its theories, a literally true story of what the world is like.”1 This is not a statement that…

According to Euclid’s Elements, Book I, “Parallel straight lines are those straight lines which, being in the same plane and being produced indefinitely in both directions, do not meet one another in either direction.” Euclid defines about parallel lines at last of his definition of Book I which he uses to prove a lot of his proposition. He proves two lines are parallel lines in proposition 27 and uses parallel lines properties in every proposition after that. Therefore, this paper seeks to…

In Descartes Meditations, he attempts to prove indubitably that he and a separate physical world exist. By the end of the sixth meditation, he seems to believe that he has succeeded in proving these statements. However, many criticisms seem to arise when analyzing Descartes arguments, one of which involving his theory of causality and whether or not he can grant this as true. So the question is, can Descartes grant himself that his theory of causality is true before proving that he can trust his…

The great Dr. Seuss once said “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”. J.D. Salinger’s character Holden struggles with this. Holden spends most of the novel alone wandering the streets of New York, trying to fit in. Holden is a very judgemental character. He does not get to know someone before he makes a decision if he likes them; which he almost always does not. He claims that his own alienation is caused by society. His downfall is not the cause of society; but his own. The story Catcher…

In this paper, I will discuss the Problem of Induction and the Principle of Uniformity of Nature’s solution (PUN), proposed by David Hume. Another element of this paper will explore Nelson Goodman’s New Riddle of Induction that derives from Hume’s hypothesis. In addition to that, I will also recount why PUN is insufficient/problematic to justify induction according to Goodman, along with a couple examples of premises that will better demonstrate the issue. There are two types of reasoning –…