Instruction
The following assignment is due in 30 hours. It is a two page paper.
Epistemology is concerned with explaining how we acquire knowledge. It is also concerned with the notion of truth, that is, how we come to see or understand that our beliefs about the world are true. In chapter 1, Audi begins by discussing perception and how it is causally tied to the beliefs we have about the world. Generally we take perception for granted. The information we gather from the world through it seems obviously true and we do not take thought about the complexity of the process through which we acquire our beliefs. We are also not puzzled by the possibility of error and how that might affect the efficacy of our beliefs.
Understanding the role of perception in belief acquisition is an important first step in setting out a theory of knowledge. Audis analysis shows us that perception is a complex structure of moments in the process of forming beliefs. It begins with simple perception, where we are aware of objects in the world making themselves manifest to us. From there we see that objects seem to appear in a certain way. Then we arrive at the moment when we see that in fact these objects are as we see them. This perceptual process leads to what Audi calls objective belief, which in turn is the basis of propositional knowledge.
You are to write a paper in which you explain this process where we move from simple seeing to object belief. The discussion should explain why Audi says that the relationship between object and belief is a causal one. The paper should conclude with a discussion of the role of justification in this perceptual process.