Description : Where do our beliefs come from? which ones are more reliable? What, if anything, differentiates scientific beliefs from other kinds of beliefs; and what kinds of beliefs are there? How does science, education and media built on our belief systems? These are some of the problems we will be discussing using in this course.
The course is an introduction to epistemology, and general philosophy of science
· Students are going to discuss some of the most fundamental problems of epistemology: what are the limits of human knowledge, how are we to justify our beliefs etc. Moreover they will attend to the relation of knowledge with society: how science, education and media built on our belief systems
· Students are encouraged to follow the philosophical debate on the nature, the purpose and the limits of knowledge and to discuss the arguments posed by philosophers
Teaching and learning methods:
· Lectures
· Group discussions
Language of instruction: Greek. European/International students are instructed in English.
Outline : - what is knowledge? where do our beliefs come from?
- perception
- reason
- emotion
- language
- science
- art
- education
Suggested reading
Audi R. (1998). Epistemology: A Contemporary Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge. Routledge.
Bird, A. (1998). The Philosophy of Science. UCL Press.
Chalmers, A. F. (1989). What is This Thing Called Science? Oxford University Press.
Quine W. V. O. & Ullian J.S. (2002). The web of Belief.
Stroud, B. (1984). The Significance of Skepticism. Clarendon Press.
Williams Michael. 2001. Problems of Knowledge: A Critical Introduction to Epistemology. Oxford University Press.