Epistemology in Philosophy Simply Explained (Past to Present Day Theory)

What is Epistemology in Philosophy?

Today, we live in a world where we can access more information than ever before. But, how do you know what is true and what’s not? How do you know that you even know something? For that matter, what even is knowledge? These are questions concerning Epistemology, the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge that forms the very foundation of human understanding.

Epistemology is the study of the nature, origin, and scope of knowledge and epistemic justification. In this video, I’ll do my best to clearly and easily introduce the subject and cover significant developments and concepts from past to present-day theory. Make sure to pay attention because after all, without understanding knowledge and what is it, how can you coherently argue for and know for sure what it is you believe is true?

0:00 Introduction
0:22 Definition & Etymology
0:59 The Two Jobs of Epistemology
1:19 What is Knowledge?
1:43 Propositional Knowledge
2:04 'A Priori' vs 'A Posteriori'
2:26 Empiricists vs Rationalists
2:48 Belief & Truth
3:30 The Problem of Epistemic Luck
3:48 Justification
4:07 The Gettier Problem
5:07 Externalism vs Internalism
6:42 Foundationalism vs Coherentism
7:50 Epistemological Skepticism
8:25 The Regress Problem
9:38 Cartesian Skepticism
10:20 Humean Skepticism
12:35 Do We Know Nothing?
12:53 Mitigated Skepticism
13:05 Bayesian Epistemology
14:05 Conclusion

[hondro]

Good to see someone explaining philosophy in a direct and precise manner. You just conveyed in 15 minutes what many professors and authors convey in hours worth of words.

[dr.williamkallfelz]

Brilliant presentation! Extremely impressive how you were able to cover (in depth and breadth) all the major key ingredients in 15 minutes, so elegantly and informatively.

[reginawskr]

Bro you just saved me. I'm studying philosophy and I absolutely couldn't understand this topic. Thank you for real. You made everything easier. I'm praying I'll pass the test tomorrow.

[kehindeonakunle]

Simply the best video essay on epistemology. Keep up educating the world.

[isisgomes]

Great video, thank you for the succinct presentation! I added to my pursuit of better understanding this immense field of philosophy!

[denisdang]

not gonna lie, so easy to understand+great visuals
keep it up mate

[sansorini]

thanks ben. this was my most useful 15 min of my lifetime.

[ibtihalx]

This video was extremely helpful!!! Thank you so much

[itsJustgotti]

This will be very useful for my theist perspective for years to come. Transcendental argument we go

[FloydHarriott]

1:56 I think what is listed as "possible ways to get knowledge" can be better categorized as a list of DATA SOURCES and TOOLS to obtain knowledge ;where all data eventually is coming from "Memory". Introspection is an inward facing tool and our senses (aka Perceptions) are outward facing.

[johnmacias]

Your videos are so awesome! Thank you for your hard work!

[neozes]

Thank you! It was a great summary, and introduction into the world of epistemology.

[gabriellaokamoto]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I wish you would slow down though.

[starfishsystems]

Good coverage and excellent pacing.

It's so easy to go down the rabbit hole at any of several points (axiomatic systems, inductive vs deductive reasoning, mathematical treatment of Bayes' Theorem, belief as a cognitive state, Gödel incompleteness, parallels with ontology, dualism) but you successfully laid out the material without digression, allowing these points to be recognized for followup at a later time.

For me, anyway, this is a welcome departure from the common practice among philosophers to digress to such a degree that we may become lost in the material. And there's a place for that, certainly. But it's very useful to have some kind of map of the terrain beforehand!

[Dreadylockify]

Okay. This seems like a real great lecture, but c’mon, man. This man is absolutely stunning! I literally can’t concentrate. I have to look away to HEAR him. I’m laughing at myself, because I’m not joking. So distracting. Gorg!
Anyway, I’m definitely going to utilize this for my critical thinking course. Clear. Helpful. Detailed. Thanks!

[mysomervda]

Thanks. That's a great summary of Epistemology. Do you know if there is any work going on looking at the nature of Epistemology in complex systems? I could see Bayesian Epistemology methodology could be in play when evaluating knowledge derived from emergent properties in complex systems i.e. chemistry facts would be given a a higher credence if supports a biological fact because biology is emergent from chemistry. Systems of knowledge that biology does not emerge from would have lower credence for supporting biological knowledge.

[randywa]

I think that we know nothing in absolute truth. But I think we should, for practical purposes, believe things based on generally accepted reality. The basic reality we live in is what we perceive (real or not), and the way it functions is what matters. So for practical purposes, we ought to presume it is real and study the world so we can improve our life.

[paulanicolelayos]

difference between ancient, medieval and modern epistemology pls?

[mattphillips]

Lehrer's "Mr TrueTemp" example shows a real defect in modern philosophy (and Philosophers), that being their complete unfamiliarity with how anything actually works. For example, the imagined TempuComp device can not exist independently of a rational system of Metrology responsible for calibrating the device, verifying that the calibration is reliable, and validating that the system of control tasked with ensuring reasonable confidence in the accuracy and precision of the instrument is, itself, reliable and to be believed. Each of these steps has presuppositions, many of which are different from Mr Lehrer's.
#DunningKruger

[DarkSkay]

Thanks! I'm looking for opinions on the following, quite unusual statement+question pair:

(T1) "The number of questions one can ask about the world is astronomical. How can {a piece of software} contain all those questions?"