Knowledge (Central Problems of Philosophy)

This series of books presents concise, clear, and rigorous analyses of the core problems that preoccupy philosophers across all approaches to the discipline. Each book encapsulates the essential arguments and debates, providing an authoritative guide to the subject while also introducing original perspectives. This series of books by an international team of authors aims to cover those fundamental topics that, taken together, constitute the full breadth of philosophy. 1 Beginning with Plato Preamble Plato was the first philosopher in the Western world to think seriously about the nature of knowledge. To him we owe most, if not all, of our basic philosophical questions on the subject, and he invented one way of addressing the issues which, in the past half century or so, after many hundreds of years, has come to dominate the field. I am going to use him in this chapter to introduce some important themes. Plato's interest in knowledge is twofold. First, it is, for him, one among many proper topics for philosophical enquiry. It is something that human beings value, alongside justice, love, virtue, and beauty, to name a few other subjects of his investigations; because we think these things are valuable, it is natural that anyone of philosophical bent should want to understand clearly what they are. If we want people to act justly, for example, as we surely do, we need to know what just action involves. Similarly, if we want to obtain knowledge, it behoves us to get clear about what it is we want to obtain. But, secondly, as Plato conceives of it, knowledge is bound to be of special interest to anyone engaged in any philosophical enquiry at all, because knowledge, in a sense, is the object of all of them. Take the Republic. It is about justice. Plato embarks on this investigation because it is in our interest to learn what justice entails, to get to know what it is and to understand why it is worth pursuing. Knowledge is the whole point of the exercise: knowledge of what justice really is. For Plato this means understanding the nature of justice and hence what makes it valuable to What is it about knowledge that makes us value it more highly than mere true belief? This question lies at the heart of epistemology and has challenged philosophers ever since it was first posed by Plato. Michael Welbourne's examination of the historical and contemporary answers to this question provides both an excellent introduction to the development of epistemology but also a new theory of the nature of knowledge. The early chapters introduce the main themes and questions that have provided the context for modern discussions. The Platonic beginnings, Cartesian individualism and the tripartite analyses of knowledge are examined in turn. In the second half of this book, the focus shifts from conceptual analysis to an examination of the social practices surrounding knowledge, placing special emphasis on the notion of testimony. The author argues originally and persuasively that our idea of knowledge has its roots in communicative practices and that thinking about how testimony works as a source of beliefs actually gives us a handle on the very idea of knowledge itself. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in epistemology, the philosophy of language, or the intersection between the two areas. Cover......Page 1 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Introduction......Page 8 1. Beginning with Plato......Page 16 2. Analysing knowledge Plato's way......Page 38 3. Analysing knowledge the modern way......Page 51 4. Public knowledge......Page 84 5. Learning from testimony......Page 92 6. The concept of knowledge: a new theory......Page 108 7. So, why do we value knowledge? ......Page 137 A guide to further reading......Page 144 References......Page 152 Index......Page 156 What is it about knowledge that makes us value it more highly than mere true belief? This question lies at the heart of epistemology and has challenged philosophers ever since it was first posed by Plato. This title exams the historical and contemporary answers to this question that provides both an introduction to the development of epistemology.