[Note] What is Epistemology?

Disclaimer: Written in Obsidian in markdown, so formatting may be funky. This is just notes, not a tutorial or anything like that. thus the [Note] tag.

**Terminology**
*Axiomatic Belief*: A principle or belief wifely regarded as true based on its intrinsic merit, or self-evident nature.

**What is Epistemology?**
The study of knowledge, the study of what is necessary and sufficient to know something or to have knowledge. While this is what most philosophers focus on, a broader definition could be how a *particular discipline* gains and justifies knowledge. Epistemology is one of the central disciplines of philosophy.

**What is Knowledge?**
Knowledge is traditionally (by Plato), defined as *justified true belief*. **You must believe it, it must be true, and you must have some form of justification**. Though this is now seen to have issues, as pointed out by Edmund Gettier and the Gettier Problem. He points out there are times where you have justified, true belief, which is not knowledge. Others have disagreed to this definition for other reasons as well.

There are various positions on Epistemology (as expected), some answers that help define these positions is as follows:

**Is knowledge possible?**
No? Academic Skeptic!
I dont know? Pyrrhonian Skeptic!
Depends on "knowings" definition? Contextualist!
Yes? Epistemism

**Does knowledge Require Experience?**
Yes? Empiricist!
No? Rationalist!

**Is Justification "Internal?"**
Yes? Internalist!
No? Externalist!

**How are Particular Beliefs Justified?**
Proof from axiomatic beliefs? Foundationalism!
Agreement with other beliefs? Coherentism!

*Obviously these arent all encompassing, its just an idea.*

Here is an example of how different disciplines of philosophy will approach a object, in this case a computer.

**Epistemology**: What can we know about the computer? What can the computer itself know? How can justify what we believe about the computer? Does storing information, mean the computer knows it?

**Ethics**: Is the computer inherently good? How can it be good or evil?

**Philosophy of Mind**: Does the computer have consciousness?

**Epistemology challenges your deeply held beliefs and asking if your beliefs can be justified**