Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction

Jennifer Nagel

Very Short Introductions

Includes both historical and contemporary developments in the theory of knowledge
Expresses complicated ideas in a clear and accessible way, using many detailed examples
Considers the relationship between knowledge and truth
Explores the central issues and debates in epistemology
Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series - millions of copies sold worldwide

Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction

Jennifer Nagel

Description

What is knowledge? How does it differ from mere belief? Do you need to be able to justify a claim in order to count as knowing it? How can we know that the outer world is real and not a dream?

Questions like these are ancient ones, and the branch of philosophy dedicated to answering them - epistemology - has been active for thousands of years. In this thought-provoking Very Short Introduction, Jennifer Nagel considers these classic questions alongside new puzzles arising from recent discoveries about humanity, language, and the mind. Nagel explains the formation of major historical theories of knowledge, and shows how contemporary philosophers have developed new ways of understanding knowledge, using ideas from logic, linguistics, and psychology. Covering topics ranging from relativism and the problem of scepticism to the trustworthiness of internet sources, Nagel examines how progress has been made in understanding knowledge, using everyday examples to explain the key issues and debates

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction

Jennifer Nagel

Very Short Introductions

Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction

Jennifer Nagel

Very Short Introductions

Author Information

Jennifer Nagel is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Chair at the University of Toronto. Her research covers both historical and contemporary topics in epistemology. She has published on scepticism and empirical knowledge in Descartes and Locke and has also written a series of articles on intuitive ascriptions of knowledge.

Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction

Jennifer Nagel

Very Short Introductions

From Our Blog

Why do you love the VSIs?

The 400th Very Short Introduction, 'Knowledge', was published this week. In order to celebrate this remarkable series, we asked various colleagues at Oxford University Press to explain why they love the VSIs.

Posted on September 27, 2014

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What's so great about being the VSI commissioning editor?

With the 400th Very Short Introduction on the topic of 'Knowledge' publishing this month, I've been thinking about how long this series has been around, and how long I have been a commissioning editor for the series, from before the 200th VSI published (number 163 ' Human Rights in fact), through number 300 and 400, and how undoubtedly I'll still be here for the 500th VSI!

Posted on September 26, 2014

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What commuters know about knowing

If your morning commute involves crowded public transportation, you definitely want to find yourself standing next to someone who is saying something like, 'I know he's stabbed people, but has he ever killed one?' . It's of course best to enjoy moments like this in the wild, but I am not above patrolling Overheard in London for its little gems ('Shall I give you a ring when my penguins are available?'), or, on an especially desperate day, going all the way back to the London-Lund Corpus of Spoken English, a treasury of oddly informative conversations.

Posted on September 19, 2014

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Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction

Jennifer Nagel

Very Short Introductions

Reading Guide

PDF download Download this VSI Reading Guide as an Adobe PDF (28 KB)

Questions for Thought and Discussion

Describe a moment in your own life when you were convinced that you knew something, and later found out that you were wrong about it.
Can you explain why some people might be attracted to relativism, and resistant to the idea of objective truth? Do you find relativism appealing?
If you had to be a sceptic, would you rather be an Academic Sceptic or a Pyrrhonian Sceptic? Why?
Do you have any evidence that you are awake right now, and not dreaming? Does it matter?
Would you be deeply disturbed to discover that you are living in a computer-generated virtual reality, rather than an ordinary physical reality?
Do you side with Descartes or with Locke on the question of innate ideas?
Develop your own example of a situation in which someone has a true belief which doesn’t amount to knowledge, despite being reasonable or justified.
Does it make sense to think of knowing as a simpler or more basic state than believing?
Think of some random trivial fact that you’d ordinarily describe yourself as knowing. What kind of evidence, if any, could you offer in support of your claim to know that fact?
Do you think it’s possible to know something while having no idea how it is that you know it?
How much would it limit your body of knowledge if you couldn’t get knowledge second-hand, through the testimony of other people?
When, if ever, does Wikipedia succeed in transmitting knowledge to its users?
Are the standards for knowledge higher in a court of law than in a casual street encounter?
Imagine that it’s suddenly a life-or-death matter whether your front door at home is locked right now. Do the high stakes make it harder for you to count as knowing that your door is locked?
What kind of signals do you think we pick up on when we get an intuitive sense that someone knows something?
To what extent do you expect other people to share your intuitions about knowledge?