Which Ways of Knowing Work? Building an Epistemology Tier List
linch.substack.com> Most philosophy (D tier) is overrated.
Well, OK, then I guess we don't need an Epistemology Tier List, because Epistemology is a branch of Philosophy.
Directly addressed in the article!
> Unlike monists, I think our epistemic tools matter far more than our frameworks for thinking about them. Monists correctly see that rigor yields better results, but mistakenly believe all knowledge derives from a "One True Way," whether it's the scientific method, pure reason, or Bayesian probability. But many ways of knowing don't fit rigid frameworks. Like a foolish knight reshaping his trustworthy sword to fit his new scabbard, monists contort tools of knowing to fit singular frameworks.
> Frameworks are only C-Tier, and that includes this one! The value isn't in the framework itself, but in how it forces you to consciously evaluate your tools. The tier list is a tool for calibrating other tools, and should be discarded if it stops being useful.
> The real work of knowledge creation is done by tools themselves: literacy, mathematical modeling, direct observation, mimicry. No framework is especially valuable compared to humanity's individual epistemic tools. A good framework fits around our tools rather than forcing tools to conform to it.