This course will introduce students mainly to contemporary epistemological studies and some issues in the philosophy of science. Epistemology is a major philosophical foundation. We all value knowledge and try every effort to pursue it. Bu, why? And, how? Main issues and problems in contemporary epistemology are the following. (1) Do we have knowledge? Is it possible that we have knowledge? These questions concern the possibility of knowledge in an age-old skeptical tradition. (2) Assuming we have knowledge, how to we gain knowledge? This is a question concerning the sources of knowledge. (3) What is knowledge? What is it in virtue of which a something comes to have the status of being knowledge? This has to do with the nature of knowledge. (4) What is it in virtue of which our beliefs are justified? This has to do with the nature and condition of epistemic justification. (5) What is the nature of the epistemological inquiry? This is a meta-epistemological question. Naturalistic epistemology will be introduced. Related is al the new approach to evolutionary epistemology concerning the progresses of scientific knowledge.
In the second part, this course will introduce basic ideas and problems of logical empiricism. Then, we will discuss the scientific realism vs. anti-realism debate. The last issue to be taken up concerns theoretical reductions.
本門課主要介紹知識論，其次介紹一些科學哲學的議題。知識論是哲學的基礎領域之一。我們都珍視知識，將知識當作是極有價值的事物，並極盡個人與社群的力量來追求知識，理由何在？什麼是知識呢？本門課將探討哲學家對於知識的研究，主題包括：(1)我們人類是否有可能獲得知識？這是關於人類知識可能性的問題。對於這問題的討論將會使我們面臨懷疑論的挑戰。(2)如果我們人類有可能獲得知識，或者確實是擁有知識，則我們是如何獲得知識的？這是關於知識來源的問題。對於這問題的回答，我們必須要討論知覺、推論等心理機制和知識的相關性。(3)知識是什麼？這是關於知識本質的問題。我們將討論傳統對於知識的分析。(4)如何理解「識知理證」？對於這問題我們將會討論當代知識論的幾個主要立場：內在論（包括基礎論以及融貫論）以及外在論（包括因致論和可靠論）。(5)知識論的研究本身是一門什麼樣的學問？這是從後設的角度來進行探討知識論本身的性質。我們將討論自然主義知識論所帶來的衝擊。另外，也將介紹新近的演化知識論的研究。
在科學哲學部分，本門課主要介紹邏輯經驗論的主要想法及其問題、關於科學實在論的論辯、以及理論化約方面的議題。