Intro to Reason & Experience

Knowledge

Belief is something that cannot be proven whereas knowledge is true. 

Epistemology means "the study of knowledge".

There are 3 kinds of knowledge:

1) Ability knowledge -  How to do something (riding a bike).

2) Acquaintance knowledge - To know someone/something well as it's familiar.

3) Propositional knowledge - Knowledge about the world around us (measuring the height of Big Ben), this is the only knowledge that can be verified using experience and what interests philosophers.

Truths

Necessary - Truth that is "true in all possible worlds" and would be a contradiction to deny it. For example, 2 parallel lines never meet is necessary because we cannot imagine a world where 2 parallel lines meet. This would be illogical, it will always be true. 

Contingent - Truth that just happens to be the case and wouldn't be a contradiction to deny it. For example, the Prime Minister (PM) is David Cameron is contingent because someone else could have been PM. We can think of a world where someone else is PM. 

Arguments

Inductive - If all premisses are true, the conclusion is likely to be true.

P1: I have seen a red box

P2: All boxes in the world I've seen are red

C: All boxes in the world are red

This isn't a reliable argument because it is based on assumption. Just because all boxes they've seen are red, doesn't mean that they all are. Scientists use these arguments to predict things such as the weather, they are mostly successful and valid conclusions but this doesn't mean that they are always definite, they are always likely. 

Deductive - If all premisses are true, the conclusion is definitely true.

P1: If I work hard, I will pass my exams

P2: I work hard

C: I will pass my exams

This is very reliable because it isn't based on assumption but certainty. It says if you work hard you will pass exams, so if you work hard you will pass your exams! Rationalists such as Descartes use these arguments to prove their ideas such as in "The Cogito". The conclusions are always certain so it is impossible to disagree. 

Propositions

Analytic - Statement that gives no extra information about the world and is simply true by definition. For example, "Every mother has a child" is analytic because by "mother", we know it consists of having a child. Can be verified by using a priori reasoning. 

Synthetic - Statement that gives information about the world and is true by verify using a posteriori understanding or experience. For example, "Big Ben is 200 feet high" is synthetic because by "Big Ben", we don't know how high it is, so we have to go out and measure it using experience. 

Understanding 

A priori - Knowledge that can be gained just by using the mind and without needing the senses. For example, working out the exterior angle of a triangle would be a priori because no matter how long it takes us, we can work it out in our heads using mathematics. 

A posteriori - Knowledge that can be gained only by using the senses or experience. For example, working out the temperature of fire would be a posteriori because we can't work out in our heads its temperature but have to feel it or measure it in experience.