ABSTRACT
Epistemology is a normative discipline—it aims at providing standards, not just describing what we do. Disciplines such as psychology or cognitive sociology are descriptive disciplines; they describe and explain how we acquire our beliefs. We can see the normative aspect of epistemology in a fairly simple explanation of epistemology. Epistemology is the study of the nature of knowledge and justification, and this includes looking at the sources and conditions of knowledge and justification. In identifying, for example, the conditions of knowledge, theorists say that in order to have knowledge, you must meet certain conditions you have to “measure up” to the conditions of, or the standard for, knowledge¹. Similarly, in identifying the conditions of justified belief, epistemologists claim that some beliefs are better than others; some beliefs “measure up” to the standard for justification. In identifying the sources of knowledge, epistemologists are also trying to say why a particular “source” satisfies the conditions of knowledge or justified belief². For example, perception is a source for many of our beliefs. We have beliefs as a result of what we see or hear. In looking at perception as a source of justified beliefs, epistemologists explain why “perceptual beliefs” satisfy the conditions for justification. Implicit in the preceding talk of standards and “measuring up” is the notion of a goal or aim. If we want our beliefs to measure up, we have in mind some goal that we hope to achieve. This goal is an epistemic goal; it’s the goal we have for our beliefs when we are concerned about knowledge or justification. The epistemic goal of the acquisition of true beliefs and the avoidance of false beliefs has received special emphasis and attention in the history of epistemology. Other epistemic goals have also been suggested, but this one figures into most epistemological discussions about what we want or should expect in our beliefs. In reasoning, in thinking, in seeing, listening, or tasting, in remembering, we are often enough trying to acquire true beliefs and avoid acquiring false beliefs. We might sometimes have prudential goals—say, making a decision in a timely fashion. But aiming at truth, which often has practical consequences, we consider an epistemic goal. So, among other things, an epistemological theory articulates and defends a theory of knowledge or a theory of justification. The theorist tells us what are the conditions of knowledge or justified belief and explains to us why the theory is the best account.
