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Noah Marcelino Lemos
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An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge Paperback – 15 February 2007

by Noah Lemos (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 37 ratings
Edition: 1st
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Epistemology or the theory of knowledge is one of the cornerstones of analytic philosophy, and this book provides a clear and accessible introduction to the subject. It discusses some of the main theories of justification, including foundationalism, coherentism, reliabilism, and virtue epistemology. Other topics include the Gettier problem, internalism and externalism, skepticism, the problem of epistemic circularity, the problem of the criterion, a priori knowledge, and naturalized epistemology. Intended primarily for students taking a first class in epistemology, this lucid and well-written text would also provide an excellent introduction for anyone interested in knowing more about this important area of philosophy.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0521603099
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0521603096
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Cambridge University Press
  5. Publication date
    15 February 2007
  6. Part of series
    Cambridge Introductions to Philosophy
  7. Language
    English
  8. Dimensions
    16.99 x 1.4 x 24.41 cm
  9. Print length
    239 pages
  10. See all details
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Product description

Book Description

A clear and accessible introduction to epistemology or the theory of knowledge.

About the Author

Noah Lemos is Professor of Philosophy at the College of William and Mary, Virginia. He is author of Intrinsic Value (1994) and Common Sense (2004).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press; 1st edition (15 February 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 239 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0521603099
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0521603096
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.99 x 1.4 x 24.41 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

About the author

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Noah Marcelino Lemos

Noah Marcelino Lemos

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4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
37 global ratings

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Top review from Australia

James
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy read.
Reviewed in Australia on 22 October 2022
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Easy to read. Informative introduction to the topic, with clear explanations of the key areas. Good place to start studying.
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Top reviews from other countries

Ben Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2020
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Conversational yet technical to undergraduate level. Delightful
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Philonous
5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Useful Introduction
Reviewed in the United States on 14 March 2012
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Noah Lemos' An Introduction to Theory of Knowledge is a very useful introduction of the philosophy branch of Epistemology. What makes Lemos' introduction useful is he focuses on the general and important philosophical positions in epistemology and evaluates those arguments in "pros" and "cons", or in other words evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of those positions by providing counter arguments. While Lemos concedes through out the book that he could not go over the subtleties and convulsions of the more difficult arguments, he does try to reiterate the more general, basic, and comprehensible arguments for many of the important positions in epistemology such as classical foundationalism, moderate foundationalism, reliablism, intellectual virtues, coherentism, and natural epistemology. He even evaluates one of the most important contemporary arguments such as Gettier Problem which provides thought experiments that are counterexamples to the definition of knowledge according to various views of foundationalism. For every claim he quotes, Lemos carefully evaluates those claims to see whether or not they hold up to scrutiny. Because it is not entirely clear what Lemos personally believes in this makes a fine introduction since Lemos tries to objectively evaluate these positions without influencing the reader favor a specific kind. There are certain positions Lemos would explain to be untenable which could influence reader to be more careful in selecting which views he or she endorses. But in the end the purpose of the introduction is critically introducing different positions rather than merely introducing them. Unfortunately, because there are not that many introductory books on epistemology for beginners this is probably the only book for beginner interested in epistemology; it would be wise any beginner of epistemology should not pass off the opportunity to obtain this book, it might really help to read it.
12 people found this helpful
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Steve Lookner
5.0 out of 5 stars Good introductory survey
Reviewed in the United States on 28 May 2007
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Philosophy is woefully lacking in good introductory surveys in its various subdisciplines... which is why it's so great to see a book like this -- an accessible, clearly-written, comprehensive intro to epistemology. It covers all the basics (the "standard view" of knowledge as justified true belief, Gettier problems, foundationalism/coherentism/relaibilism, etc.) and has a decent balance of theoretical discussion and specific examples. Also, it highlights some of the more recent developments in the field (e.g. writings by Ernest Sosa). While not perfect -- for example, sometimes terms aren't defined as thoroughly as they could/should be -- for my money this is the best intro epistemology survey out there. (Though Richard Feldman's is also good. Feldman's is probably best if you have no background in philosophy, while this is a little more philosophically rigorous.)
27 people found this helpful
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Dave
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use
Reviewed in the United States on 2 January 2020
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My daughter needed this for school
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John Saunders
4.0 out of 5 stars learning epistemology
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 November 2010
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I came to this book after difficulty finding a suitable introduction and frustration at the effort I seemed to be putting in, yet making little progress. After Lemos's book, I think I have a basic grasp of concepts and ideas in epistemology. The book is good on -isms: foundationalism, coherentism, reliabilism, internalism, skepticism and so on. At 218 pages divided into 10 chapters it's about right for its ambitions. It's clearly written, only a few americanisms that hold up the UK reader for a few seconds, and only one or two misprints. Occasionally an additional example would help; and it would be even better if the authors could make some limited use of text boxes to highlight definitions or contrasts with bullet points (there seems to be a reluctance to do this in philosophy although many other areas of discourse do this in basic texts). But some of those points are minor: this is a four star book and I warmly commend it to other beginners. It's helped too by attractive paper, binding and print. I defy anyone who has had difficulty with the Gettier problem to do so after reading the relevant chapter here. The bibliography is exhaustive and a, perhaps additional, shorter annotated bibliography with some direction would help onward study. I look forward to the second edition.
6 people found this helpful
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