The Biological and Social Dimensions of Human Knowledge

Philosophers have traditionally argued that epistemology is a normative discipline, but this approach only makes sense if human knowledge has normative features. However, philosophers have not been able to find these features unless they are selective in their choice of examples. This book demonstrates that natural selection has adapted human sense impressions to deliver reliable information without meeting the traditional commitments for having knowledge, providing experiential knowledge that helps animals navigate their environment.

Format: Hardback
Length: 315 pages
Publication date: 02 October 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

Philosophers have long debated the nature of epistemology, with some arguing that it is a normative discipline concerned with analyzing the necessary and sufficient conditions for a belief to be considered knowledge. However, this approach only holds if human knowledge possesses certain normative features that can be uncovered through conceptual analysis. Unfortunately, philosophers have not been able to identify these features without being selective in their choice of examples of knowledge. Much of what we intuitively consider knowledge, both in humans and non-human animals, does not share these normative characteristics.
The aim of this book is to demonstrate that natural selection has adapted human sense impressions to provide reliable information without meeting the traditional criteria for knowledge. Specifically, sensory and bodily information provides animals with experiential knowledge, which helps them navigate their environment. Experiential knowledge serves different functions depending on whether it originates from the organism's external or internal senses.

Weight: 555g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031391361
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023