In The Fear of Knowledge, Boghossian deduces how knowledge is defined, created, and perceived by different collective groups due to the context of time, place, and cultural perspectives. Although Boghossian is a strong supporter for attaining and conveying knowledge that is objective and universally understood by everyone, the structures of language and social situations cause the interpretation of knowledge to be much more complex. In response, Boghossian explores various theories of knowledge such as the classical picture, social dependence conception, fact constructivism, and epistemic relativism to further understand the unique human processes and reasoning of knowledge.
The Classical Picture of Knowledge
The classical picture of knowledge Boghossian defends in The Fear of Knowledge is that there is knowledge that can be universally understood by anyone despite time or social situation someone is positioned in. In other words, the classical picture of
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For example, as Boghossian states his knowledge of Zunis ancestry stems from geographical deductions, the Zunis themselves believe their ancestry is one that involves a supernatural force. Based on the premise of the social dependence conception of knowledge, Boghossian’s statement can be considered true and Zunis false and vice vs. versa due to whose view one may resonate with based on his or her background such as the context of time period, culture, and experience. Consequently, social dependence conception of knowledge can encounter the issue of bias in its beliefs and rationale to support such beliefs because it deals with subjective truths on the notion of whose perspective is something being viewed