Question

which branch of philosophy examines if we can trust our senses?

Answer 1

Hi Nrkelly,

There is a great little BBC documentary on how our senses can be misled and manipulated - it was part of a larger discussion about Plato's Allegory of the Cave. You can find the video on this theology blog: http://loretotheology.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-far-can-we-trust-our-senses.html. Plato believed that knowledge gained through the senses is no more reliable than opinion.

I think what you're looking for is Epistemology, which includes things that are mental,like memory, logical reasoning, ideas, emotions, etc. To learn more about it, you might just Google it and find an encyclopedia or other educational site that will go more in depth on the topic. Hope this helps.