Man is a credulous animal, and must believe in something. In the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones. -Bertrand Russell

  Truth  Belief  Justification Is it justified true belief?

 Truth

 Belief

  Running from -10 to +10…  Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ America in 1492  If A is bigger than B, and B is bigger than C, then A is bigger than C  Human beings are descended from apes  Murder is wrong  Aliens have visited the earth at some point  All metals expand when heated  Is is possible to construct a square with the same area as a given circle  Humans have an immortal soul Where do you stand on the continuum?

  Usually done via one of the Ways of Knowing (Emotion, Reason, Sense Perception, Language, Faith, Intuition, Memory, Imagination)  If asked how you know:  I saw it  Someone told me  I worked it out  It’s obvious  It feels right  I remember it  I have faith Justification

  Reliability – how often does this justification work?  Discuss this in overview: When you say you know something, you are taking responsibility for its being true. Acceptable vs Unacceptable justifications

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  What is the difference? Is there one? Distinction – Knowledge and Information

  By Acquaintance – first hand based on perceptual experience  Practical – skills based knowledge, know how  By Description – second hand knowledge which comes in the from of language…knowledge that. Types of knowledge

  Primary form of knowing  Answer 1 of these in overview:  Could someone who has never visited NYC know more about it than one who lives there?  Could a male doctor know more about childbirth than a woman who has had children?  If you have never gone without food, how might that affect your attitude towards the 900,000 people who go hungry regularly today? Acquaintance

  Description depends on acquaintance  Acquaintance spills beyond description – can you describe the taste of chocolate or garlic to one who has never tasted them? Or love, or hate?  Description colors acquaintance –  Acquaintance fades with time, and description fills it in. Journals, photos, etc Acquaintance and Description

 Practical Knowledge

  Doing and explaining – can you?  Theory and practice – when does theory help, or hinder? Example in overview  Analysis paralysis – How can you think and hit a baseball at the same time? How does too much information hinder a college choice?  Assessing know how – how do we? Aspects of practical