Final answer:
Early philosophers, like Plato and Socrates, believed that knowledge was obtained through reason, logical thinking, and justification of beliefs, not through experiment and observation. This focus on 'justified true belief' and dialectic over practical experimentation distinguished their epistemological approach.
Step-by-step explanation:
Most early philosophers, particularly those from ancient Greece, believed knowledge was gained predominantly through reason and logical thinking. Plato, one of these philosophers, proposed that knowledge consists of justified true belief. For Plato, someone knows a proposition if they believe it to be true, can justify it, and it is, in fact, true. His student, Socrates, also emphasized that knowledge must stand up to criticism and be definable and justifiable through rational argument.
In contrast to modern scientific methods, these philosophers did not rely on experiment and observation to acquire knowledge. This approach led them to develop many interesting ideas, but also caused them to miss potential discoveries, such as the significance of Democritus' theory of atomos. Their method of understanding the world was "all thought and no action," prioritizing philosophical inquiry and dialectic over practical experimentation.
Plato also introduced the idea of Anamnesis, which posits that knowledge is a form of recollection from experiences the soul had before entering the body, drawing from Greek beliefs in reincarnation. The Greek philosophers' pursuit of knowledge was rooted in challenging and questioning the prevailing myths and beliefs of their culture, seeking to find truth through rational discourse and debate.