Epistemology
Kainan Jarrette
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What is Epistemology?
Simply put, epistemology is the study of how we know what we know. On a deeper level, epistemology looks to help identify the difference between a belief and knowledge.
Belief vs Opinion
In the context of this book, the term “belief” is not interchangeable with the term “opinion.” An opinion is a feeling about something subjective. This could be your feelings about a movie or your feelings about if something is moral. The important point is that these things aren’t falsifiable — no amount of investigation of the world can tell you if an opinion is factually right or wrong, because those terms simply don’t apply. For instance, if I think strawberries taste bad and you think they taste good, neither of us is factually wrong (unless one of us was knowingly lying about our preference).
In contrast, a belief (as we’ll explain below) relates to something objective. These are statements or ideas that are falsifiable, meaning you can investigate the world to help identify how true or false they are. For instance, if I think strawberries grow on trees and you think strawberries grow on vines from the ground, one of us is factually wrong (it’s me!). We can figure out who’s wrong by simply investigating how strawberries grow in the world, and consistently seeing that they grow on vines from the ground and never on trees.
The easiest way to begin to identify if something is a belief or knowledge is to ask:
Let’s say you ask someone if crime is getting better or worse in their city, and they answer “I believe it’s getting better.” You then ask that person why they believe that.
A belief response would sound like: “Because just look around, you can see it’s getting better.”
A knowledge response would sound like: “Because the most recent crime statistics released by local law enforcement agencies shows there has been a drop in the rate of most crime over the past year.”
Which of the two responses sounds most convincing to you?
Reality, Evidence, and Reasoning
On its own, belief is something a person holds to be true without necessarily having rational justification for it. Knowledge, in contrast, is a justified belief. By “justified” we mean that the belief has the following traits:
01. It corresponds with reality
In other words, the belief accurately reflects or represents the way things actually are.
An obvious example would be: if you believe it’s raining outside, but it’s actually bright and sunny out, your belief does not correspond with reality.
But this can also take more pernicious forms, such as holding a belief that the Earth is flat or that the moon landing was a hoax. It’s not simply that these things are controversial, it’s that they’re demonstrably false — if you travel 35,000 feet above the Earth’s surface, you’ll see the curvature; there are thousands of photos, videos, testimonials, and living astronauts of the time who can attest to the reality of the moon landing. Which leads nicely into the next trait…
02. It has strong evidence and reasoning behind it
Technically speaking, evidence is just information offered to support or refute a belief. Strong evidence is evidence that:
- Can be observed
- Can be measured
- Can be independently verified
- Cannot be accounted for by other explanations
What we mean when we say “observed”
When we say strong evidence “can be observed,” we don’t mean only personally observed.
Reliable observations can come from others. This is especially true when those observations are numerous, consistent, and independently documented. For example, it’s unlikely anyone reading this book is old enough to have personally witnessed historical events like the Holocaust, but we consider them strongly supported by evidence because of the combination of many trustworthy sources: survivor testimony, photographs, documents, physical sites, and film footage, all of which can be independently verified and cross-checked.
For example: Let’s say you want to investigate the belief of “after it rains, the ground is wet.” Strong evidence would be:
- Observing the ground was indeed wet after a storm (and having your neighbors observe the same)
- Measuring the amount of water on the ground before and after it rains
- Having somebody else verify your findings
- Ruling out other possible alternative explanations (such as a neighbor’s sprinkler system going off)
Reasoning is the process by which we analyze and evaluate evidence and arguments. Good reasoning typically involves applying logic, as well as searching for potential flaws, such as biases and logical fallacies.
If a belief is based on good reasoning of strong evidence and seems to correspond to reality, we call that belief justified because it has a much higher probability of being true.
Essentially, knowledge is where truth and belief intersect.
Let’s Check!
So, if you determine an idea is a belief and not knowledge, is it still valuable? Yes! We learn a lot about the world by understanding what people believe and why. Beliefs are the catalysts of major events, and they drive much of human behavior, both individually and collectively. Beliefs can also be respected without being shared by all who consider them.
That said, not all beliefs are equally reliable when it comes to making decisions, especially when those decisions affect others. While beliefs matter, they aren’t a substitute for evidence-based knowledge when the stakes are high. Valuing beliefs doesn’t mean treating them all as equally true.
Why is Epistemology Important?
Epistemology is important because it helps our view of the world match closer to reality. It helps us discern between something feeling true and something being true.
On a personal level this can help with things like:
- Knowing how your body works
- (You may feel you have a gluten allergy based on something you ate, but an allergy test may tell you it’s actually a different issue)
- Knowing how to assess the risk of a decision or opportunity
- (You may feel an investment opportunity is safe because you like the person running the company, but analyzing the company’s financials may tell you it’s actually a highly risky investment)
- Knowing what people think about you
- (You may feel a partner is upset with you because they didn’t immediately respond to your text, but thinking about your partner’s day may tell you it’s actually just that they’re busy with work.)
- Knowing how to manage your time
- (You may feel it will only take you an hour to write a paper for class, but reflecting on how long it’s taken you to write papers in the past may tell you it’s actually going to take a lot longer.)
In essence, it helps you put a critical eye on your own beliefs so you can better navigate the world.
TLDR;
Chapter Quiz and Short Essay
Knowledge Check: Epistemology
Short Essay: Epistemology
Vocabulary
belief
something a person holds to be true without necessarily having rational justification for it
epistemology
the study of how we know what we know
evidence
information offered to support or refute a belief
falsifiable
able to potentially be proven wrong through observation and experimentation
knowledge
something we hold to be true that’s supported by verifiable evidence and reasoning; justified belief
objective
something about the world that can be observed and tested independent of personal feelings
reasoning
the process by which we analyze and evaluate evidence and arguments
subjective
based on personal feeling and preference; cannot be “true” or “false”
Further Reading
the study of how we know what we know
something we hold to be true regardless of evidence and reasoning
something we hold to be true that's supported by verifiable evidence and reasoning; justified belief
based on personal feeling and preference; cannot be "true" or "false"
able to be potentially proven wrong through observation and experimentation
something about the world that can be observed and tested independent of personal feelings
information offered to support or refute a belief; strong evidence can be observed, measured, independently verified, and cannot be accounted for by other explanations
the process by which we analyze and evaluate evidence and arguments