Epistemology Is Best Looked At As An Enterprise Within Natural Science

EPISTEMOLOGY IS BEST LOOKED AT AS AN ENTERPRISE WITHIN NATURAL SCIENCE
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EPISTEMOLOGY IS BEST LOOKED AT AS AN ENTERPRISE WITHIN NATURAL
Introduction
Quine is well known for his input in the realm of philosophy, especially in the sphere of natural science. The entrenchment of epistemology into natural science is attributable to American logician and philosopher Willard Van Orman Quine. Epistemology revolves around the study of knowledge. Quine boldly argues that epistemology is a subset of natural science, and it should not be delinked from the science arena. There is increased empirical scientific research across multiple facets of philosophy. One of the critical areas of interest has been ‘naturalized epistemology,’ and philosophical enthusiasts are advancing diverse arguments based on Quine’s work. Quine’s terrain of thought is remarkably consistent. He does not perceive philosophy as a separate entity from the area of empirical science. Then discourse on philosophy within science is informed by the existing history of the episodic clash of science and philosophy. Quine, Hermann von Helmholtz, Kuhn, Carnap, and Russels, just to mention a few, are among critical philosophers who have supported the idea that philosophy lies in the domain of science. This paper will illustrate why epistemology should be classified as an enterprise in the field of natural science, as opposed to a distinct, independent sphere from science.
Epistemology
Philosophers have shown great interest in how we perceive things that we know or items that we mistakenly think we know. What we know, i.e., knowledge is traceable to memory, the consciousness that reveals inner lives, reflection on abstract matters, and testimony, which defines a way of providing knowledge that, is sourced from other persons (Audi, 2010, pp. 1). Epistemology involves knowledge and is comprised of the extent of knowledge, nature, and belief. In epistemology, knowledge is examined on how it relates to beliefs, justifications, and truth. The field of epistemology also ropes in knowledge production as well as the phenomenon of skepticism on diverse claims. Epistemology raises pertinent questions on knowledge definition, the process of gaining it, what people know, structure, its adequate conditions, limits, and what justifies beliefs (Isaac, 2012,pp.29-30). Besides, epistemology tests whether a given justification for specific ideas originates from external or internal in relation to an individual’s mind. Justification is an explanation that constitutes a body of evidence or reason to believe in a particular aspect of knowledge (Audi, 2010, pp. 2). Knowledge appears to be a gist of epistemology and could be crucial to define it. Knowledge is a body of awareness and comprehension of a specific dimension of reality and is gained via a process of reason that is infused onto reality. In crux, knowledge is justified true belief. Justification is a very crucial component of knowledge as enshrined in epistemology. Justification for believing is a primary ingredient for actual justified belief, and this underpins knowledge (Audi, 2010, pp. 2). A justified belief is laced with evidence, according to the concept of evidentialism. The school of reliabilism espouses the existence of knowledge without necessarily having justification so long as it is reliably produced true belief—aspects like the vision which originates from reliable cognitive processes can constitute justification. The theory of infallibism posits that a specific belief must be true, justified, and necessitate the truth; this makes justification infallible (Kraft, 2012 pp.50-52).
The epistemology focuses on propositional knowledge. There are two forms of this type of knowledge. First, there is a priori or non-empirical propositional knowledge, which is independent of any experience, but demand only the application of reason. For example, abstract claims and logical truths of knowledge constitute a priori (Pritchard, D., 2014, Pp.317-321). For instance, intuition is often rooted a priori. A priori embraces the concept of realism, where knowledge is rather intuitive rather than experimental. Secondly, there is a posteriori; in contrast to a priori, a posteriori is empirical, and it deploys sensory experiences and use of reason to advance knowledge (Pritchard, D., 2014, Pp.317-321). The perception involves the use of senses in a bid to acquire empirical knowledge about the physical world. Any form of knowledge should be subjected to reasoning and analysis, and possibly draw inference from it. Empiricism places emphasis on the space of experience-based on the use of senses to formulate ideas. As a result of empiricism, we have witnessed phenomenalism, logical positivism, positivism, and scientism. Other forms that explain the generation of knowledge include representationalism and constructivism. Representionalim perceives the real world as an iceberg or miniature representation of the internal representation. Constructivism is anchored on the belief that knowledge is developed based on social experiences, perceptions, and contingency traditions.
In epistemology, one ought to determine the nature of knowledge. Understanding of knowledge may entail what an individual knows or fails to know. Furthermore, the degree of knowledge must be determined; for instance, how much does a person know? Are their ceilings to what persons can get to know? Are there some concepts that we can't get to know? Are there some cases which we think we know, but in reality, we are not even aware of? And how should we manage skepticism?
Quine’s Philosophical and other philosophers’ arguments on Epistemology and Science
The placement of epistemology in sciences was a response to overwhelming speculations and metaphysical patterns of post-Kantian German idealism. Having unraveled the concept of epistemology and knowledge, what are Quine’s fundamental propositions in this topic? Quine argues that the field of epistemology as represented by knowledge represents a critical part of natural science, Quine’s centrality of the argument does not merely lie in the idea that philosophy is a portion of science but concentrates more on the reflection of nature in the scientific lens. The philosophical epistemology of natural s...