What is Epistemology? The word itself comes from two Greek words: "Episteme" which means
knowledge or understanding, and "Logia" which means science or study.
So, in a philosophical context Epistemology is the study of knowledge in general. Examples of
philosophical epistemology questions are - What does knowledge mean and how does a person
get to know something and what is the basis for true knowledge?
What is knowledge? Some say it's justified true belief. It means that a person must be able to
justify the claim, and the claim itself must be true, and the person must also actually believe in it.
Let's assume that a person says - I know that people have walked on the Moon. For this to be
true knowledge, it must be possible to justify that claim, it must also be a fact, and finally the
person must also actually believe that people have walked on the Moon.
So, how do you justify a belief? Well, it's done by using evidence. This evidence must be of
good quality and it should also be a logical and reasonable piece of evidence.
Over time there's been two major branches of philosophy called epistemology, namely
Empiricism and Rationalism.
Empiricism: True knowledge is primarily founded on input from our senses; the empirical world
around us. And it's important to refer to experience and observations when beliefs and claims
are justified and proven. So, ideas or traditions, although they might be important, but they are
not the primary, most important sources for new knowledge.
Rationalism, on the other hand, emphasizes reason, rather than experience and observations, as
the primary basis for justifying beliefs and claims. Thus, the rational (hence rationalism) and
logical human mind is the source for new knowledge, not the material world around us. So,
according to rationalism, research results are verified primarily by reasoning.
In a non-philosophical context, we've seen the use of the concept of epistemology
and, this is because the task of producing new knowledge
is a major part of the everyday work of academics.
So, epistemology has a significant impact on the scientific endeavors of most scholars given the
importance of this concept for discussing the limits and
possibilities of creating and reporting new knowledge.
Further, scholars in certain academic departments and disciplines such as, for example,
curriculum and instruction, educational science, and pedagogy have, more or less, an inherent
interest in issues related to knowledge.
Formal Epistemology, what is that? Well, it is the study of questions such as - what is
knowledge, how may a belief be justified, how do we know something, and how do we know
something is true?
However, the theories, concepts, and arguments used here are used in a non-philosophical
context, for example, in mathematical logic, statistics, linguistics, computing,
and other academic fields.
Genetic Epistemology, well, it's used to understand the cognitive development among children
and how children interact, understand, learn, and acquire new knowledge about the world. So,
in short, the theory implies that symbolic systems, i.e. the individual's thoughts and knowledge
are based on sensory-motor schemes, i.e. the individual's impressions and experiences in the
world. And this concept of genetic epistemology comes
from the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget.
Social epistemology is about the social context for creating new knowledge. Social epistemology
is studied in academic fields such as sociology, psychology, and education. In focus are human
and social aspects of knowledge production. For example, historical and cultural factors, the
access to and the use of learning tools, and so on.
So, having access to YouTube and the tutorials about philosophical concepts could be a perfect
example of aspects that are in focus for those that interested in Social Epistemology.
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