How do we know what we know? A clear, careful look at the problem of knowledge.
Douglas Clyde Macintosh’s classic study surveys the main positions in epistemology and examines how we come to know the world. It traces debates from dualism and idealism to realism, and it explains how these ideas affect our understanding of sense data, perception, and truth. The book also surveys alternative theories and critiques major thinkers, offering a framework for thinking about knowledge that remains influential today.
Designed for readers who want a solid overview without getting lost in jargon, this edition presents the key questions, arguments, and methods philosophers use to analyze knowledge. It builds a map of the field, showing how different approaches try to explain what counts as certain knowledge and how we might test our beliefs against experience and reason.
- Accessible explanations of immediate versus mediate knowledge and the role of perception.
- Overview of competing views, including realism, idealism, and epistemological dualism.
- Engagement with the critiques of well-known philosophers and the logical implications of their theories.
- Guidance on how philosophy uses method and argument to examine the problem of knowledge.
Ideal for readers of philosophy seeking a clear entry into epistemology and its major debates.