PHIL 338

Problems in Epistemology


Please note: this is archived course information from 2012 for PHIL 338.

Description

Epistemology is the study of knowledge, rationality and evidence. This course will introduce students to a variety of questions in epistemology, including the following: Can a person know that God exists even if she has no good argument for God’s existence? Can a person’s political beliefs be rational even if she knows that there are other people who disagree and who are just as smart and honest as she is? Can a person’s belief count as knowledge even if she has no idea what the belief has going for it? If a person has some argument for one of her beliefs, what must be true of the argument in order for it to make her belief rational? When does someone have evidence for her beliefs?

Availability 2012

Semester 1

Lecturer(s)

TBA

Reading/Texts

Richard Fumerton, Epistemology (Oxford: Blackwell, 2006).

Assessment

Coursework + exam

Points

PHIL 338: 15 points

Prerequisites

Any 30 points at Stage II in Philosophy

Restrictions

PHIL 218