How Do We Know? : An Introduction to Epistemology

What does it mean to know something? Can we have confidence in our knowledge?Epistemology, the study of knowledge, can often seem like a daunting subject. And yet few topics are more basic to human life. We are inquisitive creatures by nature, and the unending quest for truth leads us to raise difficult questions about the quest itself. What are the conditions, sources and limits of our knowledge? Do our beliefs need to be rationally justified? Can we have certainty? In this primer on epistemology, James Dew and Mark Foreman guide students through this discipline in philosophy. By asking basic questions and using clear, jargon-free language, they provide an entry into some of the most important issues in contemporary philosophy.

James K. Dew Jr. (PhD, Southeastern Baptist) is associate professor of the history of ideas and philosophy and dean of the College at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has previously published Science Theology: An Assessment of Alister McGrath's Critical Realist Perspective (Wipf Stock).

Mark W. Foreman (PhD, University of Virginia) is associate professor of philosophy and religion at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He is also the author of Christianity and Bioethics: Confronting Clinical Issues.