1. Philosophy: Questions and Theories Chapter 10
Theories and Method in Epistemology Bridging the Gap and Contemporary Thinkers
Philosophy: Questions and Theories
Chapter 10

2. Bridging the Gap Between Rationalism and Empiricism
Kant
Divided knowledge into two categories: a posteriori and a priori
A posteriori knowledge came from sense experience and a priori knowledge came from the mind which organized and unified a posteriori knowledge according to certain innate concepts
Kant classified these concepts into 12 categories the most important being causality
The mind is programmed to impose causality on events experienced by the senses
One cannot see causality but it exists because the human mind creates it
Because of this we cannot really know what the world is really like

3. Pragmatism Pragmatism is a version of anti-foundationalism
Pragmatists argue that people should believe only things that are useful to them
Leading pragmatists were John Dewey, William James and Charles Peirce

4. Pragmatism
Like scepticism, pragmatism more a philosophical position than a school of thought
Unlike traditional epistemologists who try to identity principle, pragmatists avoid the debate about the nature of knowledge
Believe that reality is not a single thing and that truth changes as people change and that human conduct is a more important issue
The meaning of an idea is identical to its effects
For example, if the belief in a supreme being results in peace and harmony throughout the world and this effect is valued by most people then this effect is the definition of a supreme being

5. Deconstructionism
Deconstructionism is another form of anti-foundationalism founded by Jacques Derrida which changed traditional ways of thinking about epistemology
Derrida tried to show that the meaning of language is not stable
The meaning intended by the writer is never the same as assumed by the reader
One word may mean one thing on one occasion and another on a different occasion

6. Deconstructionism (con’t)
Even if both the communicator and the one being communicated to use the same definition of a word, the word may still conjure up many different connotations and images
E.g.: Dog
Thus, language cannot be trusted and thus there is no certainty

7. Edifying
Richard Rorty is an anti-foundationalist who claims that there is no objective world and no inner essence that can be known
Advocates replacing traditional ideas of system building with edifying
Edifying means redefining the world over and over again in order to make it work better
Rorty says that people use language and create meaning according to their place in history and society
For example, scientists use one type of language and animal rights activists use another