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What is this thing called Knowledge?

3rd Edition

By Duncan Pritchard

To Be Published November 1st 2013 by Routledge – 240 pages

Series: What is this thing called?

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Description

What is knowledge? Where does it come from? What kinds of knowledge are there? Can we know anything at all?

This lucid and engaging introduction grapples with these central questions in the theory of knowledge, offering a clear, non-partisan view of the main themes of epistemology. Both traditional issues and contemporary ideas are discussed in sixteen easily digestible chapters, each of which conclude with a useful summary of the main ideas discussed, study questions, annotated further reading and a guide to internet resources.

Each chapter also features text boxes providing bite-sized summaries of key concepts and major philosophers, and clear and interesting examples are used throughout. The book concludes with an annotated guide to general introductions to epistemology, a glossary of key terms, and a summary of the main examples used in epistemology, This an ideal first textbook in the theory of knowledge for undergraduates coming to philosophy for the first time.

The third edition has been revised and updated throughout and features two new chapters, on religious knowledge and scientific knowledge, as part of a whole new section on what kinds of knowledge there are. In addition, the text as a whole has been refreshed to keep it up to date with current developments.

Reviews

Praise for previous editions

"A valuable addition …A book that sets things out in a clear and elementary way, while still covering the ground properly." - Finn Spicer, University of Bristol, UK

"Clearly laid out, well organized and written by a true expert." - Michael Lynch, University of Connecticut, USA

Contents

Part 1: What is knowledge? 1. Some preliminaries 2. The value of knowledge 3. Defining knowledge 4. The structure of knowledge 5. Rationality 6. Virtues and faculties Part 2: Where does knowledge come from? 7. Perception 8. Testimony and memory 9. A priority and inference 10. The problem of induction Part 3: What kinds of knowledge are there? 11. Scientific knowledge 12. Religious knowledge 13. Moral knowledge Part 4: Do we know anything at all? 14. Scepticism about other minds 15. Radical scepticism 16. Truth and objectivity. General further reading Glossary of terms Glossary of key examples Index

Author Bio

Duncan Pritchard FRSE is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, UK. His main research area is epistemology, and he has published widely in this field, including the books Epistemic Luck (2005), Knowledge (2009), The Nature and Value of Knowledge (with A. Millar & A. Haddock, 2010), and Epistemological Disjunctivism (2012). In 2007 he was awarded a Phillip Leverhulme Prize for his research. In 2011 he was elected to a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Name: What is this thing called Knowledge?: 3rd Edition (Paperback) – Routledge 
Description: By Duncan Pritchard. What is knowledge? Where does it come from? What kinds of knowledge are there? Can we know anything at all? This lucid and engaging introduction grapples with these central questions in the theory of knowledge, offering a clear, non-partisan view of the...
Categories: Epistemology, Introductory Philosophy