Branches Within Epistemology

Author: Carrol Rogers

Introduction

Epistemology is the learning of the justified belief, scope of knowledge and nature. It studies the type of knowledge and how it connects to identical ideas like justification, belief and truth. It deals also with the ways of skepticism and at the same time production of knowledge regarding various knowledge claims. It is primarily regarding matters having to correspond with the dissemination and creation of knowledge in specific fields of inquiry.

Essentialism

Essentialism is the outlook which for any particular entity likes a group of people, an animal, a concept and a physical object, there is user defined attributes that are needed for identification and functioning. According to the western thought the idea is found during the period of Aristotle and Plato. The earliest known theory of Platonic idealism regarding how all known concepts and things have an important reality behind form or idea, an essence which turns those concepts and things what they are.

Historical

Essentialism in history as a branch of study involves listing and discerning essential cultural typicality of a specific culture or nation, in the belief which a culture or people can be known in this manner.

Perennialism

Perennialism also known as the Perennial Philosophy is a perception into the philosophy of religion that observes every religious traditions of world as sharing a solo, worldwide truth on which the basis of all doctrine and religious knowledge has grown.

Progressivism

Progressivism is an extensive political philosophy depending on the concept of progress that emphasizes that advances in technology, science, social organization and economic development can develop the condition of human being. Progressivism became very important at the time of enlightenment in Europe, based on the conviction that Europe was representing those societies which could develop in civility from conditions of barbaric to civilization by means of strengthening the foundation of empirical knowledge.

Empiricism

Empiricism is a hypothesis that illustrates that knowledge originates primarily or only from sensory understanding. One main view of epistemology, the learning of human knowledge along with skepticism and rationalism, empiricism stresses the role of evidence and experience, particularly sensory experience.

Idealism

Idealism in philosophy is the group of philosophies that affirms that reality is basically mentally constructed, mental or else immaterial. Epistemologically, idealism patents as a skepticism regarding the feasibility of understanding any mind autonomous thing.

Rationalism

Rationalism in epistemology is the outlook which takes into account reason as the main source and depth of knowledge or any outlook engaging to reason as an origin of justification or knowledge.

Constructivism

Constructivism influences theory of instruction by encouraging collaborative learning, discovery learning, experiential learning, hands-on learning, task-based learning, and project-based learning. Constructivist epistemology offers as a branch of philosophy of science, an elaboration of how mankind develop knowledge from data produced by earlier experiences.

Conclusion

More or less these above noted terms are branches of epistemology.