Epistemology: A Contemporary Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge, 3rd Edition

Audi does a fantastic job here introducing the concepts and criteria in current philosophical discussions on epistemology. He presents the terms used in contemporary discourse, different positions advocated today,and the limits and benefits of each. Particularly interest to me was his chapter on scientific, moral, and religious knowledge where he explains the limits of each and yet demonstrates that they each have plausible claims in a real sense. Overall, he doesn't push a specific theory, but he does acknowledge that he would advocate a moderate realist position.Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone with some exposure to philosophy and an interest in the theory of knowledge.

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Robert Audi is one of the central figures in contemporary epistemology. His thorough introduction to the field is the work of someone who has put much thought into the subject.Simplified, part one covers theories of perception, possible sources of knowledge, and reason. Part two covers inference and theories of the architecture of knowledge, such as foundationalism and coherentism. Part three finally analyzes what knowledge is, the internalism/externalism debate, important types of knowledge (scientific, moral, and religious), and skepticism.Good #1: The book is structured very well. It begins with sources of knowledge, going from there to how knowledge from these sources can be extended by inference and how this knowledge is structured. Next, it analyzes what exactly makes beliefs knowledge by exploring the contemporary debate on justification and how we can have certain other types of knowledge (scientific, moral, and religious). Finally, the book ends by providing and overview and response to epistemological skepticism.Good #2: Audi uses thought experiments that makes the material easier to understand.Good #3: The book can serve as a great reference work after it has been read. He provides definitions and basic principles in epistemology that one can go back to over and over again.Good #4: Audi sums up views he opposes charitably while still managing to disagree with them in a way that you know you're getting an intro to contemporary epistemology instead of an intro to Audi's epistemology.Bad #1: Although much of the book is accessible, Audi's sentences can sometimes be long and tiring. Someone without much background in epistemology may very well get lost among some of the long sentences with multiple commas. This is my only complaint.In short, this book is a great intro to a sometimes daunting subject.

Dr. Audi does a great job in providing a solid groundwork for understanding epistemology; I'd recommend it, as it's super readable and an absolute pleasure. (Also, I really liked that skepticism was handled at the end, after delving into what could provide justification, truth, and knowledge. The book has a great structure.)

I wanted to like this book. I wanted to love it. But 100 pages in I realize I have better things to do with my time.I cannot comment on the concepts of the book because I cannot get past the sentence structures.They are so fragmented the book reads like a broken stream of consciousness, or some kind of rambling, inner decision-making process that loses itself.If there is to be a 4th edition, I recommend enlisting a competent editor who enforces the rule:At most, one comma per sentence.The hope here is that this restriction will help the author focus on what he means to say and strip off the tangential asides.And thus get some kind of point across.I admit that I am not the brightest person in the world. It may be that I just don't 'get it'.For potential buyers, I will offer two examples to show where my brain falls.You can determine where your brain falls and then decide if this book is a good match for you.First Example:From the back cover:"... Robert Audi's Epistemology, Third Edition, is the most authoritative, comprehensive, and state-of-the-art textbook in the field. In clear, masterful prose, Audi covers all the main topics in epistemology... Every student of epistemology-- new and old-- should read this book."-Peter Graham, University of California, Riverside.My level of intelligence understands everything Graham has stated. I understand it enough that I disagree with him on the 'clear, master prose' claim. The prose is not clear. It is not masterful. (To me.) After 100 pages I have concluded I should not read this book-- despite the fact that I am a new student of epistemology.Second Example:From the text page 76:"If, for instance, I do not in fact remember meeting Jane, perhaps the only reason why I do not is that it was her identical twin, of whose existence I had no idea, whom I met. That excusable ignorance may prevent my knowing that I met Jane, but it does not preclude my justifiedly believing that I did."I understand Jane, the twin, mistaken identity and all that.But if I do not remember meeting her, how can I be justified that I believe I did...?Granted, one has to know what is meant by 'knowing' and 'justifiedly believing' to really swag a guess here. But after reading the book-- and taking notes in an attempt to makes sense of if-- I am at a loss on the point the author tries to make.I may have failed as the student here. But there is failure on the teacher's side as well.The transfer of knowledge hit-to-miss ratio for this book favors miss (at least for the first 100 pages).I'd gladly sacrifice half the masterful prose for some diagrams.Show me what you are trying to say.What you are saying (how you are saying it) is not getting across.