EPISTEMOLOGY
What is epistemology?
Epistemology is the part of perspectivity that deals with how we know about reality. A philosophical dictionary defines it as The branch of philosophy concerned with questions of knowledge, belief, opinion, certainty, doubt, etc. Epistemology is sometimes called theory of knowledge but theory of cognition would be better (TALKING PHILOSOPHY by A.W. Sparkes). Conceptually speaking, there are three basic ways whereby we can know about reality: (1) empiricism - knowing based on observing facts; (2) rationalism - knowing based on thinking or calculation; and (3) constructivism - knowing based on inventing ideas. These approaches are "ideal types" in the sense that Max Weber meant the term - they are archetypes of knowing that can be used to assess the different knowledge claims that various people make. By applying alternate epistemologies, the rationale for different explanations becomes apparent.
How is epistemology used?
Some people have adopted a "public persona" regarding their epistemology that emphasizes one or another of the basic concepts. Empiricism gets its name from an ancient school of physicians who claimed that all their rules of practice were derived from experience alone. To say that a philosopher is an empiricist is to say that he places particular emphasis on experience, observation, and perception in his account of knowledge and belief (TALKING PHILOSOPHY, A.W. Sparkes). In the modern age, such a person would both gather information from existing sources, and engage in experiments to discover information where it was not recorded previously. In speaking knowledgably, such a person would always refer back to "the facts" as the reference point from which to make any claims believed to be correct.
Rationalism emphasizes the cognitive component of knowing - thinking and calculation. This is why Descartes is often considered the modern archetypal rationalist - his maxim "I think, therefore I am" seems to epitomize the rationalist perspective. The rationalist doesn't deny the use of information, but reserves the term "knowing" for those cognitive processes that deal with the information after it is received (i.e., thinking and calculation).
Constructivism is an epistemology based on the recognition that all of the signs, symbols, concepts, and frameworks whereby human knowledge is stored, retrieved, and manipulated, are socially created and conventionally used. In other words, the medium for knowledge is invented rather than discovered - so knowledge products are artifacts rather than naturally occurring entities. The implication of this approach is that when different people define the same term differently, they may be using the same words but meaning quite different things. And, when people attach different labels to the same things, they may be assuming or implying different characteristics or consequences regarding preferences or policies.
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