What gives rise to the concept “epistemology?” I can think of seven different purposes.
1. Given any particular state of knowledge, some questions are more difficult to solve than others.
2. Given any particular answer to a question, one’s level of certainty on the truth of that answer may vary.
3. The total summation of one’s judgments and answers form one’s philosophy. If epistemology studies the process of answering questions, then epistemology is necessary for people to answer fundamental, philosophic questions. It is unsettling to proceed in one’s life without having an answer to important questions, particularly ethical ones.
4. To conform man’s history of knowledge to the crow epistemology. Man’s history of knowledge is of great benefit to future generations – but it is of absolutely no benefit if Man cannot know that the Men who discovered answers in the past were absolutely certain about their answers. Without such certainty, we could not proceed from where they left off; we would have to re-investigate and re-test their ideas, opinions and answers ourselves, and we would spend all of our time doing that that we never get around to moving on to the next issue.
5. As a psychological benefit, epistemology gives on an advantage in clearly understanding and controlling their mental actions.
6. Epistemology is famously helpful to us in polemics. Whenever we must debate, negotiate, or argue, epistemology guides our defense.
7. Epistemology acts as the foundation for all other sciences, including philosophy.
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