epistemology's main characters

Here's an interesting video.

belief: a mental state of acceptance. 

suspension of belief: You neither accept nor reject a belief (the skeptic's position)

justification: the reasons for believing (not all reasons for believing are necessarily reasonable; we'll talk about that).

explanation: Explaining means describing what IS. 

truth: truth is a fact. a fact IS (you don't need to prove it). 

Examples: "1+1=2," a mathematical fact; "H20 is water," a chemical fact; "slavery is wrong," a moral fact, 

What do we do if we don't have the facts? We look for alternative definitions. 

pragmatic definition of truth: Truth is what best does the job at hand. Meaning: if it works, it's likely true. 

coherence definition of truth: Truth is what coheres with the rest of our knowledge.

Why is H304 a good class? 

Justification: 

1. The ground is wet because I saw it raining this morning.
   → The observation is offered as a reason for believing that the ground is wet.
2. The accused was at home at 10 p.m. because three witnesses saw him there.
   → The witnesses' testimony supports the belief that he was at home.

Explanation

1. The ground is wet because it rained this morning.
   → The rain is offered as the cause or mechanism accounting for the wet ground.
2. The glass broke because it fell from the table.
   → The fall accounts for the occurrence of the breaking.
3. The Roman Empire declined because political instability weakened its institutions.
   → Political instability is offered to account for the historical phenomenon of decline.