## Definition - The [[Philosophy|philosophical]] study of **knowledge, belief, and justification** - Examines the nature, sources, limits, and validity of human knowledge - Addresses how we know what we know and what it means to truly "know" ## Core Concepts - **Knowledge as justified true belief**: A traditional starting point (Plato) later challenged by Gettier problems - **Sources of knowledge**: [[Empiricism]] (experience), [[Rationalism]] (reason), introspection, testimony, memory - **Justification**: Criteria for when a belief counts as rational or warranted - **Truth**: Correspondence, coherence, and pragmatic theories of truth - **Skepticism**: Doubt as a method for testing the limits of knowledge ## Key Characteristics - Investigates the difference between opinion and justified belief - Deals with reliability, certainty, and fallibility of human cognition - Connects to ethics (e.g., epistemic responsibility) and science (validity of methods) - Explores the role of [[perception]], language, and context in shaping knowledge ## Historical Perspectives - **Plato**: Knowledge as justified true belief - **Descartes**: Radical doubt and search for indubitable foundations - **Locke**: [[Empiricism]] and the mind as a “blank slate” - **Kant**: Synthesis of [[Empiricism]] and [[Rationalism]] - **Contemporary**: Reliabilism, virtue epistemology, and social epistemology ## Role in [[Philosophy]] & Science - Provides the framework for all inquiry and research - Grounds scientific reasoning in evidence and justification - Shapes debates on [[Skepticism]] and the limits of certainty ## Related Concepts - [[Empiricism]] - [[Rationalism]] - [[Skepticism]] - [[Foundationalism]] - [[Coherentism]] - [[Reliabilism]] ## Notable Quotes - "Knowledge is justified true belief." — Plato - "Cogito, ergo sum." — René Descartes - "All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason." — Immanuel Kant