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COURSE NAME: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND EPISTEMOLOGY IN

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COURSE CODE: BAEL 202

ASSIGNMENT NO.: _____2____________________________________

ASSIGNMENT TITTLE:

Question Delineate the epistemological problems that are caused by different

philosophers’ doctrines on human knowledge.

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BAEL202 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND EPISTEMOLOGY IN

ORGANISATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Assignment 2

Delineate the epistemological problems that are caused by different philosophers’ doctrines on
human knowledge.

The central problem in the epistemology of perception is that of explaining how perception could
give us knowledge or justified belief about an external world, about things outside of ourselves.
This problem has traditionally been viewed in terms of a skeptical argument that purports to
show that such knowledge and justification are impossible. The writer is going to outline the
epistemological problems that are caused by different philosophers’ doctrines on human
knowledge. A conclusion will be the summary of the outline.

Definition of key terms

Epistemology according to Bernecker S. (2006) is the study of the nature of knowledge,

justification, and the rationality of belief.

Knowledge according to Cohen S. (2002) is defined as justified true belief.

The outline is going to be centered on the philosophers like Democritus, Parmenides, Heraclitus,
Anaxagoras, Sophists and Socrates amongst others. These philosophers had their disagreements
on doctrine of human knowledge based on determining the aboriginal elements of the matter and
also in discussing the nature and attributes of reality. They all had their beliefs where their
arguments were based. The Parmenides according to Ayer, A. J. (1956), believed that human
knowledge is unchangeable whereas Heraclitus argues that it constantly changes.

The Democritus provides it with an external inherent motion while the Anaxagoras requires an
independent and intelligent motor. Sophists however questions the possibility of certitude and
they prepared the way for their skeptical tendencies. Some philosophers like Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle oppose the Sophists. The power of mind to know the truth and reach certitude is
vindicated and the conditions for the validity of knowledge are examined.
According to Brewer Bill (1999), these problems arise out of epistemological questions which
are still to be treated on their own merits nor kept sufficiently distinct from purely logical and
metaphysical enquires. Another philosopher, Stoic is primarily practical and is of the position
that human action supposes the possibility of knowledge. There is a conflict of opinion arising
from the impossibility of demonstrating everything, the relativity of opinion became again the
main arguments of skepticism. This doctrine on human knowledge is claimed by Pyrrho that
nature of things is unknowable and consequently one must not judge but look at human virtue
and happiness.

Middle academics are also skeptical although less radical. Arcesilaus on the other hand are
denying the possibility of certitude and they claim that the duty of wise man is to refuse his
assent to any proportion. They however admit that a degree of probability sufficient for the
conduct of life is attainable. This same idea was developed by Caneades and further made
emphasis on skeptical aspect. The Academician further asserts that nothing is true, yet they
protest against the claim of the Dogmatist that truth is attainable and this is the reason why both
are counted as skeptics in the wide sense.

Aristotle on the other hand argues that knowledge always begins with sense experience
concerning particular substances. This view as well as methodological empiricism concerning
cognition was conjoined by Aristotle with the moderating role of reason. It was necessary
because Aristotle retained Plato's idea of episteme. According to Aristotle, knowledge (as
episteme) has forms (as components of substances, not as Platonic independent entities) as its
objects.

Much of the philosophical tradition has viewed the central epistemological problems concerning
perception largely and sometimes exclusively in terms of the metaphysical responses to
skepticism. Skepticism about the external world highlights a number of epistemological
difficulties regarding the nature and epistemic role of experience, and the question of how
perception might bring us into contact with a mind-independent reality. The issues that arise are
of central importance for understanding knowledge and justification more generally, even aside
from their connection to skepticism.
Bernecker S. (2006) believes that philosophers like Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics had their
philosophical problems which were simply subordinated to the ethical enterprise. The Epicureans
developed a very radical sensualist epistemology consistent with their materialism. The Stoics
were also empiricists, but they admitted intuition. Scepticism was perhaps the purest
epistemological current of ancient philosophy. Sceptical maxims proposing ways to achieve
happiness are only of historical significance, the sceptical challenges have become one of the
most stable ingredients of epistemology. For scepticism, epistemology was simply an
introduction to ethics and had no intrinsic value. There is a standard objection against scepticism
and academism as raised by Clement of Alexandria, one of the first Christian philosophers. Let S
be a statement expressing the sceptical or academic view. Now we ask: what about S itself? If it
is isostenic with respect to negation (scepticism) or asserted as not true (academism) it loses its
strength, according to Clement and similar critics. The Pyrronists explained that they expressed
their views as guesses or posits. The answer given by Carneades was that all statements should
be regarded as merely probable.

The thesis that no truth is attainable is consistent with probabilism. Moreover according to
Brennan, J. (2010), the ancient sceptics sometimes accepted statements de se as epistemically
legitimate. In this view, scepticism is not a thesis about the external world, but about perceiving
human beings. This point shows an interesting aspect of scepticism. It seems that ancient
scepticism criticized the concept of episteme as something concerning the external world, but
admitted considerations of cognitive activities from a subjective point of view. McGinn, C.
(1993) asserts that Skepticism rejects knowledge as episteme, but tolerates epistemology. Based
on the skeptical view, everybody who admitted knowledge of the external world as episteme was
dogmatic, independently of whether it was generated by reason or senses. Plato, Aristotle, the
Epicureans, and the Stoics belonged, according to scepticism, to the dogmatic variety. It shows
how the concept of episteme was widespread in ancient philosophy.

The ancient philosophers, were more interested in practical issues than in theoretical
epistemology. An important point derived by Augustine and all later Christian philosophers was
that human beings could be successful in knowledge of God, and that the revelation had to be
accepted as an unquestionable source of knowledge. Augustine followed Plato and Neo-
Platonism in nativism, although with some modifications demanded by religious principles.
Augustine proposed the conception of illuminatio (enlightenment) as a condition of knowledge.
He rejected Tertulian's dictum credo qua absurdum (I believe, because it is an absurd) as a
correct account of the status of
religious belief.

Conclusion

Epistemological problems and theories are often interconnected with problems and theories in
the philosophy of mind. Many philosophers differed based on observation and perception to the
five senses. There is no deductive connection between perception and the physical world or
behavior and mental states or inductive grounds. Consequently, accepting the deductive model
makes it impossible to explain how philosophers can have knowledge of the material world,
other minds, or contingent generalizations. Philosophers’ doctrines on human knowledge varies a
lot and this will forever pose.
Reference

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Brennan, J. (2010). Scepticism about philosophy. Ratio.

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Greco, J. (2007). Putting skeptics in their place: The nature of skeptical arguments and their role
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