How do we know what we know? Can we be certain about our knowledge? Are we born with as blank slates? This line of questioning is focused on one of fields of philosophy called epistemology. Below are the major fields of philosophy so you can see how epistemology fits in the scheme of reflecting about thinking:
•Metaphysics – the study or theory of reality. Metaphysical philosophers ponder the question of what is real. A deeper analysis discusses whether or not God is a real being or just a figment of people’s imaginations.
•Epistemology – the study of knowledge. These philosophers want to know how knowledge is acquired and how the senses may contribute to the acquisition of knowledge. An even deeper question they ask is how we can be certain of anything. A burning question for epistemologists is: How do we know God exists?
•Value-theory – the study of value. What is nice about this field is that it is not centered on the value of any particular thing. With regards to God, value-theorists will ask why people place such a large amount of faith in a being who’s existence is sometimes questioned.
•Ethics – the study of moral value, right and wrong. Ethical philosophers are concerned with knowing what is morally good. They will pose the questions based on morals that make people wonder “If I do this, God will be disappointed in me and I might lose my ticket to Heaven”.
•Aesthetics – the study of beauty and art. What makes art art? Is one person’s view of art the same as another’s? If their views differ, does that make one person right and the other wrong? Is beauty only in the eye of the beholder? What makes a person beautiful? How does God perceive beauty?
•Logic – the principles of right reasoning. In other words, this is what people use when they philosophize. Without logic, rational thinking cannot happen.
For further exploration of epistemology, you might explore these websites:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemology/ (Links to an external site.)
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/knowledge-analysis/ (Links to an external site.)
http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/P059 (Links to an external site.)
