Epistemology Course

Lesson 1 • Defining Knowledge and Belief

Distinguishes knowledge from mere belief and opinion using classical criteria. Anchors the chapter by establishing the primary object of epistemological inquiry.

Lesson 2 • Core Questions of Epistemology

Maps the fundamental questions: What can we know? How do we know it? What are knowledge's limits? Frames the intellectual agenda for the entire course.

Lesson 3 • Historical Origins and Key Figures

Traces epistemology from ancient Greek inquiry through early modern philosophy. Provides historical context that explains why current debates take their present form.

Lesson 1 • Memory as an Epistemic Source

Investigates memory's role in preserving and transmitting knowledge over time. Addresses reliability concerns and the reconstructive nature of memory.

Lesson 2 • Intuition and Introspection

Assesses intuition and introspective access as contested epistemic sources. Connects to debates about self-knowledge and philosophical methodology.

Lesson 3 • Testimony and Social Knowledge

Explores how knowledge is transmitted through the reports of others. Introduces reductionist and anti-reductionist positions on testimonial justification.

Lesson 4 • Reason and A Priori Knowledge

Examines knowledge independent of sensory experience, including mathematics and logic. Contrasts rationalist and empiricist accounts of a priori justification.

Lesson 1 • Reliabilism and Process Theories

Presents reliabilism as an externalist account linking justification to reliable cognitive processes. Introduces process reliabilism and the generality problem.

Lesson 2 • Internalism vs. Externalism

Directly contrasts internalist and externalist conceptions of justification. Prepares students to evaluate which framework best handles real epistemic cases.

Lesson 3 • Coherentism

Analyzes the view that justification arises from coherence among a system of beliefs. Addresses the isolation objection and compares coherentism with foundationalism.

Lesson 4 • Foundationalism

Examines the claim that justified beliefs rest on a foundation of basic, non-inferentially justified beliefs. Evaluates classical and modest versions of the view.

Lesson 1 • Knowledge-First and Contextualist Responses

Introduces Williamson's knowledge-first approach and contextualist strategies as radical alternatives. Previews themes developed in later chapters.

Lesson 2 • The Traditional Definition Revisited

Reviews the justified true belief account before introducing its refutation. Ensures students understand what is at stake before examining counterexamples.

Lesson 3 • Gettier's Original Counterexamples

Presents Gettier's two original cases and explains why they defeat the JTB account. Students practice identifying the structural features that generate Gettier cases.

Lesson 4 • Causal and Reliability Responses

Examines causal theories and reliability-based responses to Gettier. Connects this section to reliabilism introduced in the previous chapter.

Lesson 1 • Epistemic Akrasia and Rationality

Investigates cases where agents believe against their own evidence or higher-order judgments. Connects belief norms to broader theories of rationality.

Lesson 2 • Norms of Assertion

Examines the knowledge norm of assertion and competing weaker norms. Bridges epistemology and philosophy of language for practical application.

Lesson 3 • Theories of Truth

Surveys correspondence, coherence, pragmatist, and deflationary theories of truth. Grounds subsequent discussion of truth as a condition on knowledge.

Lesson 4 • Degrees of Belief and Bayesianism

Introduces credences, probability, and Bayesian updating as a formal framework for rational belief. Extends the course beyond binary belief to graded attitudes.

Lesson 1 • Closure, Transmission, and Abductivism

Examines closure-denial strategies and inference-to-the-best-explanation responses to skepticism. Provides students with a toolkit for evaluating anti-skeptical arguments.

Lesson 2 • Forms and History of Skepticism

Surveys ancient Pyrrhonism, Academic skepticism, and Cartesian doubt. Establishes the historical depth and variety of skeptical positions.

Lesson 3 • Moorean and Commonsense Responses

Presents Moore's proof of the external world and commonsense philosophy as anti-skeptical strategies. Evaluates the philosophical force of these responses.

Lesson 4 • Contextualism and Relevant Alternatives

Explains how contextualism and relevant alternatives theory defuse skeptical arguments by relativizing knowledge standards. Connects to Gettier responses from the prior chapter.

Lesson 1 • Social Epistemology Foundations

Analyzes how social structures, institutions, and practices shape collective knowledge. Introduces the division of cognitive labor and peer disagreement.

Lesson 2 • Virtue Epistemology Foundations

Introduces intellectual virtues as stable character traits that reliably produce knowledge. Distinguishes virtue reliabilism from virtue responsibilism.

Lesson 3 • Epistemic Injustice

Examines Miranda Fricker's concepts of testimonial and hermeneutical injustice. Applies social epistemology to issues of credibility, identity, and marginalization.

Lesson 4 • Testimony, Trust, and Expertise

Deepens the Chapter 2 treatment of testimony by examining trust networks and expert authority. Addresses how laypersons should respond to expert disagreement.

Lesson 1 • Digital Epistemology and AI

Investigates how digital environments and AI systems affect knowledge acquisition and justification. Addresses algorithmic curation, machine testimony, and epistemic autonomy.

Lesson 2 • Integrating Epistemology in Practice

Synthesises course concepts into a practical framework for epistemic decision-making. Students construct personal epistemic policies grounded in the course's major theories.

Lesson 3 • Misinformation and Epistemic Pollution

Analyses the epistemology of misinformation, fake news, and propaganda. Equips students to identify and respond to threats to public knowledge.

Lesson 4 • Epistemology of Science

Examines scientific knowledge, confirmation, and the demarcation problem. Connects philosophical analysis to the practice and authority of science.