A Companion to Epistemology, 2 Volume Set
Blackwell Companions to Philosophy
3. Edition December 2025
1440 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
A Companion to Epistemology, 2 Volume Set, 3rd Edition
A Companion to Epistemology provides a comprehensive, up-to-date reference for understanding the theory of knowledge. Edited by distinguished scholars, this expanded third edition explores classic questions about knowledge and justified belief alongside contemporary topics such as social and political epistemology, the ethics of belief, and the epistemology of perception. With contributions from established and younger voices in the field, each entry offers insights into key issues, definitions, and debates, creating a rich resource for both introductory and advanced exploration.
Extending its reach with critical coverage of emerging and underexplored areas, this third edition contains more than 50 new survey articles and an updated "Epistemology A-Z" glossary containing hundreds of entries. It also brings in wider perspectives, covering classical Indian and Islamic epistemology and featuring new entries on historical and present-day women philosophers, for example. With clear explanations and thoughtful analysis, the Companion captures the diversity and relevance of epistemology today.
Ideal for undergraduate and graduate students studying philosophy, cognitive science, or ethics, A Companion to Epistemology is also an indispensable reference for educators, scholars, and researchers. Its accessible yet thorough structure makes it a valuable addition to any academic collection, supporting coursework, independent study, and advanced research.
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the Third Edition
SECTION 1
1 Ancient Greek and Roman Epistemology
2 Plato's Epistemology
3 Empiricism in Aristotle
4 Epistemology in Classical Chinese Epistemology
5 Sanskrit Epistemology
6 Classical Islamic Epistemology
7 Early Modern Epistemology
8 Descartes's Clarity-First Epistemology
9 Kant on Truth and Reason
10 Early Analytic Epistemology
11 Continental Epistemology [reprint, moved from A-Z]
12 African Epistemology
13 Cross-Linguistic Studies in Epistemology
SECTION 2
14 The Analysis of Knowledge
15 Internalism vs. Externalism
16 The Structure of Justification
17 The Basing Relation
18 The Nature of Induction [reprint, moved from A-Z]
19 Problems of Induction [reprint, moved from A-Z]
20 Bayesian Epistemology [reprint]
21 Defeat
22 Scepticism
23 Conservatism in Epistemology
24 A Priori Knowledge
25 Self-Knowledge
26 Intuition
27 Memory
28 Knowing from Words: In Defense of Cautious Optimism
29 Other Minds [reprint, moved from A-Z]
30 Perceptual Knowledge
31 Practical Knowledge
32 Religious Belief [reprint moved from A-Z]
33 Evidentialism
34 Reliabilism [reprint, moved from A-Z]
35 Sosa's Epistemology in Perspective
36 Responsibilism
37 Knowledge-First Epistemology
38 Objectivity in Feminist Epistemology
SECTION 3
39 Pragmatic Encroachment
40 Understanding
41 Inquiry
42 Attention
43 Epistemology of Skills
44 Epistemology of Modality
45 Agent Functionalism
46 The Ethics of Belief
47 Permissivism
48 Epistemic Reasons
49 Disagreement
50 Opinion Pooling
51 Convergence to the Truth
52 Optimism and Pessimism about Testimonial Knowledge
53 Testimonial Injustice and the Nature of Epistemic Injustice
54 Political Epistemology
55 Standpoint Epistemology
56 Vice Epistemology
57 Ideology
Index
JONATHAN DANCY is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. Known for his influential work in epistemology, moral philosophy, and the philosophy of practical reason, Dancy is the author of several foundational books in ethics and epistemology, including Contemporary Epistemology, Ethics without Principles, and Practical Reality.
ERNEST SOSA is Board of Governors Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University. He previously taught at Brown University for more than forty years. A pioneer in virtue epistemology and inventor of telic virtue epistemology, Sosa has authored many influential books on knowledge and belief, including Judgement and Agency and Epistemic Explanations.
MATTHIAS STEUP is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has published influential articles on the structure of justification, internalism vs. externalism, doxastic control, and the ethics of belief. He is co-editor of Wiley Blackwell's Contemporary Debates in Epistemology, Third Edition.