PHIL2211: Epistemology

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• To critically examine theories in epistemology, about the nature of knowledge, understanding, rationality, and related phenomena.

• The specific topics may vary from year to year, but the types of topics covered could include sources of knowledge; testimony and disagreement; conspiracy theories, social media, fake news, and echo chambers; knowledge and paradoxes; practical epistemology: know how, moral and legal epistemology; feminist epistemology; formal epistemology; decision theory.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of the module, students will be able to demonstrate both knowledge and critical understanding of:
• keys ideas of epistemologists and epistemological theories;
• some key approaches to epistemology.

Subject-specific Skills:

• grasp, analyse, evaluate and deploy subject-specific concepts and arguments;
• locate, understand, assess and utilise pertinent philosophical sources (and, where appropriate, sources from other relevant disciplines, e.g. the social sciences, law, or psychology);
• utilise specialist vocabulary and concepts.

Key Skills:

• express themselves clearly and succinctly in writing;
• comprehend complex ideas, propositions and theories;
• engage in reasoned argument both in writing and peer to peer discussion.
• seek out and identify appropriate sources of evidence and information;
• tackle problems in a clear-sighted and logical fashion.

• Lectures deliver basic module-specific information and provide a framework for further study.
• Discussion groups provide opportunities for students to test their own understanding of the material studied, and defend and debate different opinions.
• The formative exercise provides the opportunity for students to test their understanding and knowledge of the module content, and their ability to present and critically evaluate relevant arguments and interpretations, uninhibited by the demands of summative assessment.
• The summative essay tests knowledge and understanding of the course material, and the ability to identify and explain issues covered in the module, and, using relevant research material, to present different approaches to those issues, and make reasoned judgement on the merits and demerits of such approaches.

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