Epistemology: 9. ‘Knowledge First’ Epistemology

After many failed attempts to construct an analysis of knowledge, some philosophers began to wonder whether knowledge was resistant to analysis, and why that might be so.  In this Wireless Philosophy video, Jennifer Nagel (University of Toronto) looks at the reasons why philosophers like Linda Zagzebski have thought that knowledge can’t be reductively analyzed, and explores the “Knowledge First” approach of Timothy Williamson.

Professor of Philosophy at University of Toronto

My research focuses on knowledge, belief, and our capacities to track these states in ourselves and others. I’m interested in the history of epistemology, both in the Western tradition back to Plato, and in the Classical Indian and Tibetan traditions.  I also work in contemporary philosophy of mind, with special interests in metacognition and mental state attribution.

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