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Introduction to Philosophy

Key Terms

Introduction to PhilosophyKey Terms
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A posteriori knowledge
knowledge gained through experience.
A priori knowledge
knowledge that can be gained prior to or independent of experience.
Coherentism
the theory that a belief is justified if it is part of a coherent system of interconnected beliefs.
Contextualism
the view that the truth of knowledge attributions depends on the context.
Epistemic injustice
injustice that arises from or is related to epistemological issues.
Epistemic peer
a person who is in an equal epistemic position as you relative to some domain.
Epistemology
the field within philosophy that focuses on questions pertaining to the nature and extent of human knowledge.
Externalism
any epistemological theory that does not solely use a subjects’ mental states to determine justification.
Foundationalism
the belief that all truth is either self-evident or derivable from some truth that is self-evident.
Gettier case
a case, usually presented as a hypothetical scenario, that acts as a counterexample to the traditional account of knowledge as justified true belief.
Global skeptic
someone who rejects the possibility of knowledge in general.
Hermeneutical injustice
a type of epistemic injustice that occurs when a society’s language and concepts cannot adequately capture the experience of people, thereby limiting understanding of their experiences.
Historical reliabilism
an epistemological theory that proposes that processes that reliably produce true beliefs confer justification on those beliefs.
Internalism
any epistemological theory that focuses solely on subjects’ mental states to determine justification.
Knowledge by acquaintance
knowledge gained from direct contact with something and not mediated by inference.
Local skeptic
someone who question the possibility of knowledge only in particular areas of study.
Procedural knowledge
knowledge of how to successfully complete a task.
Propositional knowledge
knowledge of facts that can be expressed as statements.
Skepticism
the view that some or all knowledge is impossible.
Standpoint epistemology
study of the relationship between an individual’s social status and their epistemic position.
Statement
A declarative sentence that has a truth value, meaning that it must be either true or false.
Testimonial injustice
a type of epistemic injustice that occurs when the opinions of individuals or groups are unfairly ignored or treated as untrustworthy.
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