Caveat Academy course · Grades 10 to 12

Epistemology: How Do We Know?

The philosophy of knowledge, from the stopped clock to the brain in a vat: what knowledge is and why justified true belief may not be enough, skepticism from the Greeks to Descartes, reason and experience, perception, induction, testimony and experts, how science knows, echo chambers, base rates and the ethics of belief. You test each argument yourself, at your own pace, with a certificate at the end.

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Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the High school electives library, $119 for 66 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 13 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: What is knowledge?

    Explain the justified true belief analysis of knowledge and analyze Gettier cases and the main responses to them.

    • The questions of epistemology
    • Justified true belief
    • The Gettier problem
    about 2.1 h

  2. Module 2: Skepticism

    Explain ancient and Cartesian skepticism, including Agrippa's trilemma and the brain in a vat, and evaluate common-sense, contextualist and fallibilist replies.

    • Ancient skepticism and the regress problem
    • Descartes and methodical doubt
    • Responses to skepticism
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: Reason, experience and perception

    Compare rationalism and empiricism, classify claims as a priori or a posteriori and analytic or synthetic, and analyze theories of perception.

    • Rationalism and empiricism
    • A priori, a posteriori and Kant's synthesis
    • Perception and the external world
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: Justification

    Compare foundationalism, coherentism, internalism and reliabilism, and evaluate Hume's problem of induction and inference to the best explanation.

    • Foundationalism and coherentism
    • Internalism, externalism and reliabilism
    • Induction and inference to the best explanation
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: Knowledge from others and from science

    Evaluate testimony and expert claims, explain falsifiability and paradigm change in science, and analyze disagreement, bubbles and echo chambers.

    • Testimony and trusting experts
    • How science knows
    • Disagreement, bubbles and echo chambers
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: Weighing evidence and believing well

    Apply base rates to evidence, identify cognitive biases and fallacies, and evaluate positions on the ethics of belief and intellectual virtue.

    • Degrees of belief and probability
    • Biases and reasoning errors
    • The ethics of belief and intellectual virtues
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 6 · Degrees of belief and probability

Worked example: reading the screening table

  1. Base rate: 2 percent of 1,000 is 20 people with the condition.

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Academics · High School$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished course in the theory of knowledge: you can state the justified true belief analysis and build a Gettier case against it, lay out Agrippa's trilemma, Descartes's doubt and the brain in a vat and weigh the replies to them, place a claim in the a priori and analytic grid, compare rationalism and empiricism and three theories of perception, explain foundationalism, coherentism and reliabilism, state Hume's problem of induction, judge testimony and expert claims, explain falsifiability and paradigm change, read laterally, compute what a positive test result really means and name the virtues of a careful thinker. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 10 to 12 who have started philosophy, are taking theory of knowledge, ethics or critical thinking, or want to argue more carefully in debate and writing, and homeschool families looking for a rigorous humanities elective. It presents each position with its strongest objections and leaves the verdict to the student.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 144 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 13 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the High school electives library ($119) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The High School space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

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Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts were checked against these free, open references, which are also good places to read further.

  1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, entries on the analysis of knowledge, skepticism, rationalism and empiricism, foundationalism, reliabilism, testimony and the problem of induction: plato.stanford.edu
  2. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, peer-reviewed entries on epistemology and its history: iep.utm.edu
  3. Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (1641), and Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748), public-domain texts at Project Gutenberg: gutenberg.org
  4. Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), and Berkeley, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710), at Project Gutenberg: gutenberg.org
  5. Stanford History Education Group, research on lateral reading by professional fact-checkers: cor.inquirygroup.org

Epistemology: How Do We Know? is a self-paced course from Caveat Academic Services. Quotations from public-domain works are short and named; other summaries are paraphrases. Numbers marked as examples are for practice only. It does not replace a school course and awards no credit. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.