Epiostemology Essay
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Liberty University *
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Course
420
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
4
Uploaded by kritzia85
Epistemology
Student
School of Behavioral Science, Liberty University
PSYC420: Psychology and Christianity
Professor Phillip H. Waugh
January 29, 2024
Epistemology
Epistemology is described as the “branch of philosophy that deals with the grounds and nature of knowledge”. It considers the nature, possibilities as well as the limitations of knowledge. An aspect of epistemology is whether or not our knowledge claims can withstand investigation to the point that we can distinguish between an opinion and justified belief. To utilize knowledge the right way we have to ensure that we possess the necessary intellectual qualities, exercise crucial virtues and that we are competent in the way we use these epistemic methods. There are different methods of knowing used in epistemology and there will be discussed below (Entwistle, 2015).
The first one is the logical approach which assumes that people are able to separate facts from believes by looking at the rational consistency of their reasoning. This approach can be separated into two categories; these are deductive and inductive. A deductive argument is comprised of three elements; premises which is simply a statement that can be either true or not, an inference which is a new proposition that follows the original statement, almost like a second option, and lastly the conclusion which is a new statement that can either be true or false depending on the validity of the premise and interference (Entwistle, 2015). Empiricism is the second way of knowing, which relies on experience to evaluate claims of knowledge. Empiricism is similar to the scientific method in that it makes an observation, followed by a theory and a hypothesis, this leads to an experiment and observation to test such hypothesis, and it report its finding to either support or disprove the theory (Entwistle, 2015). Revelation and interpretation are used by Christians who are committed to historic expressions of faith and believe that God has revealed Himself indirectly through general revelation and directly through special revelation as well as human understanding and interpretations of the Scriptures
(Entwistle, 2015). Lastly, we have hermeneutics which has been adopted by most evangelicals committed to understand the Scriptures as fully as possible. They seek to understand the meaning
of Scripture as it was intended to the original audience, culture, language, and history (Entwistle,
2015). As Christians, I believe that it its appropriate for us to use the previously mentioned methods with the right heart desire, which I believe is to better understand God’s words for His people and to lead others to Salvation. There have been many situations in which people have used God’s words out of context and it ends up causing more damage than good. Personally, I tend to lean more into the hermeneutic method since it helps to add context to what Scriptures are actually saying and it removes the temptation to misuse God’s words either as motivational speech or to condemn others, though the different methods all add value to learning.
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References
Entwistle, D. (2015).
Integrative approaches to psychology and Christianity: An introduction to worldview issues, philosophical foundations, and models of integration
(3rd ed.). Eugene,
OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers.