Knowledge Puzzles

by Hetherington, Stephen Cade

• ISBN13: 9780813324869
• ISBN10: 0813324866
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-02-01
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

Despite the problems students often have with the theory of knowledge, it remains, necessarily, at the core of the philosophical enterprise. As experienced teachers know, teaching epistemology requires a text that is not only clear and accessible, but also capable of successfully motivating the abstract problems that arise.InKnowledge Puzzles,Stephen Hetherington presents an informal survey of epistemology based on the use of puzzles to illuminate problems of knowledge. Each topic is introduced through a puzzle, and readers are invited to work their own ways toward a solution. Hetherington's light and undogmatic style encourages class discussion and independent thought rather than the memorization of "book" answers.Covering all of the most important epistemological issues, informed by classical and contemporary literature, and rich in probing questions and suggestions for further readings,Knowledge Puzzlesis a pedagogical breakthrough. Whether it is used as a main text or supplement, this lucid and engaging text will be welcomed by both teachers and students.

Author Biography

Stephen Cade Hetherington is senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xiii
Introducing Epistemology	p. 1
Further Reading	p. 6
Truth	p. 7
Further Reading	p. 12
Belief	p. 13
Further Reading	p. 18
Justification	p. 19
The Gettier Problem	p. 25
Further Reading	p. 30
Surface Reliability	p. 31
Further Reading	p. 36
Underlying Reliability	p. 37
Further Reading	p. 43
Causality	p. 45
Further Reading	p. 50
Defeasibility	p. 51
Further Reading	p. 55
Social Defeasibility	p. 57
Further Reading	p. 62
False Evidence	p. 63
Further Reading	p. 68
Induction	p. 69
Further Reading	p. 74
A Priori Knowledge	p. 75
Further Reading	p. 80
Externalism	p. 81
Further Reading	p. 87
Internalism	p. 89
Further Reading	p. 95
Vagueness	p. 97
Further Reading	p. 103
Fallibilism	p. 105
Further Reading	p. 110
Infallibility Skepticism	p. 111
Further Reading	p. 116
External World Skepticism	p. 117
Further Reading	p. 123
Inductive Skepticism	p. 125
Further Reading	p. 131
Rule Skepticism	p. 133
Further Reading	p. 138
Regress Skepticism	p. 139
Further Reading	p. 145
Foundationalism	p. 147
Further Reading	p. 153
Contextualism	p. 155
Further Reading	p. 161
Coherentism	p. 163
Further Reading	p. 169
Pyrrhonian Skepticism	p. 171
Further Reading	p. 177
Questioning Epistemology	p. 179
Further Reading	p. 184
References	p. 185
About the Book and Author	p. 189
Index	p. 191
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.