Epistemology Series - Introduction

By Josh Hickok

     Epistemology is the study of how we know.  It is a search for the means of how we fill our minds with knowledge of ourselves and the outside world (if we do at all).  There have been many purported methods of uncovering truth, but since most of them are at complete odds with each other, only a select few can be chosen.  This is a very important choice, as it serves as the backbone of our worldview.  Consistency, predictive power and sensibility are all things we will look for in this study. 

     Quite understandably, this is a very difficult topic to write about and understand.  Because we live in a Western nation, we go about things differently than they would in, say, India.  But this doesn’t mean that we cannot discover the truth-value of the opposing framework.  Indeed, this is where we need to have a common ground before proceeding to other issues.  Would it make sense to criticize how a certain person acted when they thought everything was an illusion?  Of course not.  This is epistemology comes before ethics.  We must be on the same playing field before you throw a ball to another, which is why such importance is stressed on this theme.