Compare and contrast the <span title="foundationalist(cartesian)?">foundationalist(cartesian...</span>

Question

compare and contrast the foundationalist (cartesian) versus the RTK appraches to esistemology. what are the necessary and suffiecient condition for genuine knowledge? what is hte best way to respond to an espistemological skeptic.

Answer 1

Foundationalism believes that there is some rock we can stand on so that we know our belief in science or consequences of science are true.  For Descartes this mean that the cogito and believe in God can ensure our belief in his metaphysics and his approach to ensuring that our perception of the world can be explained through a new understanding of what our perception can give us.  Don&#039;t know what RTK is.  

A necessary and sufficient condition for genuine knowledge is a difficult topic.  To be a necessary condition means that if we have knowledge then we know some things had to be in place.  To be a sufficient condition means that if we have something in place, then we are ensured that we have genuine knowledge.  You are going to have to decide what conditions are necessary and sufficient, just know that this isn&#039;t decided in epistemology.

I think the best way to respond to a skeptic is to try to do a reductio ad absurdum.  Basically, if you adopt the skeptical position, then you are relying on the reliability of knowledge in order to argue for your point.  You have to argue that in order to adopt the skeptical position you have to assume the in some, perhaps limited, sense one has to assume that some knowledge is okay.

Good luck!!!