Examining Your

EpistemologyDr. Chase Young

Cunningham, J. W., & Fitzgerald, J. (1996). Epistemology and reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 31, 36-60.

e·pis·te·mol·o·gyiˌpistəˈmäləjēNoun PHILOSOPHYthe theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.

Three Main Concerns

1. What constitutes or counts as knowledge?2. Where is knowledge located?3. How is knowledge attained?

Examining Your Epistemological Beliefs

P RE H R SC PS PM

Examining Your Epistemological Beliefs

Can we have knowledge of a single reality which is independent of the knower?

If Yes: RIf No: P, RE, H, SC, PS, PM

Examining Your Epistemological Beliefs

Is there such a thing as truth?

If Yes: RE, H, R, SC, PSIf No: P, PM

Examining Your Epistemological Beliefs

What primary test must proposed knowledge pass in order to be true?

If Correspondence: REIf Coherence: RE, H, SCIf Pragmatic: P, H, SC, PS, PM

Examining Your Epistemological Beliefs

Is knowledge primarily universal or particular?

If Universal: H, R, SCIf Particular: P, RE, PS, PM

Examining Your Epistemological Beliefs

Where is knowledge located relative to the knower?

If Outside: P, REIf Between: H, RIf Inside: RIf Monism: SCIf Pluralism: PS, PM

Examining Your Epistemological Beliefs

What are the relative contributions of sense data and mental activity to knowing?

If Sense Data: P, RE, HIf Mental Activity: SC, PS, PMMix of Both: R

Examining Your Epistemological Beliefs

To what degree is knowledge discovered versus created?

If Discovered: P, RE, H, RIf Created: SC, PS, PM

Examining Your Epistemological Beliefs

Calculate the Most Salient and Secondary Responses

Theories of Knowledge in Five Clusters

P = positivismRE = radical empiricism H = hypothetico- deductivism/formalism R = realism/essentialism SC = structuralism/ contextualism PS = poststructuralismPM = postmodernism

Your Epistemological “Horoscope”

Examining Existing Models of Reading

Examining The Interactive ModelCan we have knowledge of a single reality which is independent of the knower? Yes and no

Is there such a thing as truth? Yes: RE, H, R, SC, PS

What primary test must proposed knowledge pass in order to be true? Correspondence: RE

Is knowledge primarily universal or particular? Universal: H, R, SC

Where is knowledge located relative to the knower? Between: H, R

What are the relative contributions of sense data and mental activity to knowing? Sense Data: P, RE, H

To what degree is knowledge discovered versus created? Discovered: P, RE, H, R

Examining The Interactive Model• hypothetico- deductivism/formalism • realism/essentialism

Examining The Transactional ModelCan we have knowledge of a single reality which is independent of the knower? No: P, RE, HF, SC, PS, PM

Is there such a thing as truth? No and Yes

What primary test must proposed knowledge pass in order to be true? Coherence: RE, H, SC

Is knowledge primarily universal or particular? Universal: H, R, SC

Where is knowledge located relative to the knower? Monism: SC

What are the relative contributions of sense data and mental activity to knowing? Mental Activity: SC, PS, PM

To what degree is knowledge discovered versus created? Created: SC, PS, PM

Examining The Transactional Model

• structuralism/ contextualism • Poststructuralism/postmodernism?

Three Main Concerns

1. What constitutes or counts as knowledge?Can we have knowledge of a single reality which is independent of the knower? Is there such a thing as truth? What primary test must proposed knowledge pass in order to be true? Is knowledge primarily universal or particular?

2. Where is knowledge located?Where is knowledge located relative to the knower?

3. How is knowledge attained? What are the relative contributions of sense data and mental activity to knowing? To what degree is knowledge discovered versus created?

Richer UnderstandingEvaluating Models of ReadingEmphasis of ModelsDetermine Epistemology of Self and OthersInstructional ImplicationsResearch Implications