Question 1

Write an argumentative essay answering the question: What is knowledge? 
Your argument should have a clearly stated conclusion ("Knowledge is ..."),and develop an argument with separate premises/reasons that support the conclusion.
It should raise and answer one objection or counterargument.
Your argument should address the following issues: 
What is knowledge,and how do you know when you have it? 
How is knowledge linked to truth? 
How is knowledge linked to rationality? 
Why is knowledge worth having? 
Feel free to draw on any of the philosophers and ideas explored in chapter five,although you are not limited to these resources.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Write an argumentative essay answering the question:...

Question 2

It's often stated that we should "seek the truth." 
Write a fictional dialogue in which two (or more)people attempt to understand whether and why this is so.
The dialogue should address the meaning of "truth," exploring rationalism,empiricism,theories of truth (correspondence,coherence,pragmatic),rationality,and the notion of relativism.
It should grapple with the value and importance of the pursuit of truth: 
what areas of life depend on seeking the truth? 
What would change if we ceased to believe in this value? 
Your interlocutors can approach the issue cooperatively,as a joint inquiry,or they can try to persuade one another about the best approach to understanding truth.

Accepted Answer

The answer of It's often stated that we should "seek...

Question 3

What is skepticism? 
What sorts of things are skeptics skeptical about?
How does skepticism emerge from the philosophies of Descartes and Hume?
What is "the two world assumption," and how is skepticism linked to this hypothesis? 
How does Kant attempt to overcome skepticism? 
Is he successful?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is skepticism? 
What sorts of things...

Question 4

It's commonplace to regard science as the most authoritative form of knowledge,and as the royal road to truth about the world.
But when you begin to think more carefully about science,the picture gets more complicated.
Write an essay in which you explore what it means to call science a form of knowledge.
Your essay should address: kinds of truth; the relations between observation,hypotheses and theory; the theory-dependent nature of some facts; the challenge of understanding how scientific theories can be true,in any sense; the strengths and success of science; and the creationism-science debate.

Accepted Answer

The answer of It's commonplace to regard science as the...

Question 5

What is truth and how do come to know it?
Your essay should address the most common categories of truth (empirical and necessary),
why both statements with philosophical content ("Life is meaningful")and presuppositions of knowledge ("The world exists")don't seem to fit into either category,and how rationalists and empiricists address truth.It should also discuss the correspondence,coherence and pragmatic theories of truth.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is truth and how do come...

Question 6

What does it mean to be rational,and why should someone try to be rational? Your essay should link rationality with the three theories of truth explored in this chapter.
Specifically,it should address how the concept of rationality incorporates coherence and pragmatic approaches to truth,as well as a revised version of the correspondence theory of truth.
It should discuss the meaning and import of relativism,especially the simplistic version of relativism which says that truth is subjective: 
In what respects is relativism true? 
In what respects false? 
It should address the intellectual and practical motivations a person might have in being rational.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What does it mean to be rational,and...

Quiz 5: The Search for Truth

What is skepticism? What sorts of things are skeptics skeptical about? How does skepticism emerge from the philosophies of Descartes and Hume? What is "the two world assumption," and how is skepticism linked to this hypothesis? How does Kant attempt to overcome skepticism? Is he successful?