◈ Phil 210 — Duke University

What does it mean
to know something?

An interactive guide to epistemology — the philosophical study of knowledge, belief, and justification. Explore the central debates of Phil 210 through visualization, worked examples, and interactive thought experiments.

Course PHIL 210: Introduction to Epistemology
Modules 5 live
Approach Interactive · Visual · Analytic

Interactive Modules

5 modules
Module 01
🕯
Descartes' Stages of Doubt
Step through the three stages of Cartesian doubt. Watch the belief inventory shrink at each stage — until only the Cogito survives.
Dream Argument Evil Demon Cogito
→
Module 02
🔍
Gettier Problem Explorer
Step through the two cases that shattered JTB. Test all four proposed solutions and see each break on a variant.
JTB Gettier Cases Solutions
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Module 03
🌐
Nozick's Tracking Theory
Explore knowledge as modal sensitivity via an interactive possible worlds blob diagram. Click worlds to see sensitivity and adherence in action.
Sensitivity Adherence Possible Worlds
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Module 04
⚖️
Contextualism & the Bank Cases
Drag a stakes slider and watch the knowledge verdict shift. Compare three theories that explain why the same evidence yields different verdicts.
Bank Cases DeRose Stakes
→
Module 05
⚡
Epistemic Injustice
Explore testimonial and hermeneutical injustice through four real-world scenarios. Identify credibility deficits, hermeneutical gaps, and Fricker's analysis.
Fricker Testimony Hermeneutics
→

Why interactive epistemology?

Epistemology is uniquely suited to interactive exploration. Its central questions — What is knowledge? How do we form justified beliefs? How do we respond to skepticism? — are directly about the cognitive acts we perform when we engage with any argument or example.

The thought experiments at the heart of this course (Gettier cases, BIV scenarios, Fake Barn County, the Bank Cases) rely on modal intuitions. By visualizing them, we make the structure of the argument legible, not just propositionally correct.

Primary Sources