Epistemology, at its core, is a study in the theory of knowledge and can be characterized by the investigation into the nature and grounds of knowledge; it seeks to answer questions about what kinds of things we know and how we know them1. The field is broad and relevant to many different areas of society, but there are numerous facets to epistemology that contribute to significant debate between philosophers. Churchland covers a lot of ground in this introductory chapter in epistemology, but I plan to focus on just a couple of key components presented in the chapter. In this paper, I will briefly touch upon the distinction between rational and empirical epistemology, highlighting the key arguments presented by each side. Additionally, I plan …show more content…
It its essence, Darwinian evolution suggests that natural selection is responsible for the heritable traits that exist in our genome1. Applied to an epistemological standpoint, the field of evolutionary epistemology has emerged. Although not mainstream, evolutionary epistemology is a specific naturalistic approach that subscribes to the idea that cognition is a product of biological evolution1,3. There are disagreements in the field about things like where to draw the line between defining cognitive and non-cognitive, which aspects of cognition should be studied from within evolutionary theory, and which aspects of evolutionary theory should apply to the study of recognition, but one thing they all agree on is that cognition needs to be studied within evolutionary theory3. There are two main distinctions within the field of evolutionary epistemology. The first approach, known as Evolution of Epistemological Mechanisms (EEM), focuses on the development of physiological traits that control cognitive mechanisms, that is, philosophers extend the biological theory of evolution to the biological substrates of cognition (i.e. the brain, sensory systems, motor systems, etc.)3. Proponents of this program assert that language, science, and/or culture are understood to be the result of biological evolution3. The other view, known as the Evolutionary Epistemology of Theories (EET), focuses more on discerning the evolution of ideas, scientific theories, and epistemic norms by appealing to relevant biological considerations to develop various models and metaphors3. This program was introduced as a way in which to draw analogies between the evolution of science and natural