Philosophy Lecture Notes: What is Knowledge?

Introduction

• Topic: Exploring the definition of knowledge.
• Importance: Understanding definitions is crucial to philosophical reasoning.
• Scope: Focus on propositional knowledge (knowledge of facts), not ability knowledge or acquaintance knowledge.

Definitions of Knowledge

Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

• Necessary Conditions: Essential criteria for something to be defined as knowledge.
• Sufficient Conditions: Conditions that, if met, guarantee something is knowledge.
• Venn Diagram Metaphor: Perfect overlap between definition and instances of knowledge.
• Issues:
  • Too narrow: Excludes genuine knowledge.
  • Too broad: Includes non-knowledge.

Types of Knowledge

• Propositional Knowledge: Knowledge of facts (e.g., "Paris is the capital of France").
• Ability Knowledge: Skills-based knowledge (e.g., biking, juggling).
• Acquaintance Knowledge: Knowing someone or something personally.

Tripartite Definition (Justified True Belief)

• Origin: Plato's "Theaetetus" (~4th century BC).
• Components:
  • Justified: Supported by evidence or reason.
  • True: Factually accurate.
  • Belief: The person holds it as true.
• Criticism (Gettier Problem):
  • Gettier cases show justified true belief is not sufficient for knowledge.

Gettier Cases

• Example 1: Smith & Jones Job Interview
  • Smith has a justified true belief based on false assumptions.
  • Coincidence, not knowledge.
• Example 2: Phone Call Misinterpretation
  • Justified true belief due to luck, not knowledge.

Post-Gettier Definitions

No False Lemmas

• Definition: Justified true belief not based on any false assumption (lemma).
• Flaw: Still susceptible to counterexamples, such as the "Fake Barn County."

Infallibilism

• Definition: Knowledge requires absolute certainty, impossible to doubt.
• Flaw: Too narrow; rules out nearly all knowledge.

Virtue Epistemology

• Definition: Knowledge is a true belief resulting from intellectual virtues.
• Analogies: Moral virtue parallels; Archery (Sosa)
• Flaw: Too narrow; excludes knowledge by children and animals.

Reliabilism

• Definition: Knowledge is a true belief formed via a reliable method.
• Advantage: Allows children and animals to have knowledge.
• Flaw: Fails in Gettier cases.

Conclusion

• Challenge: No single definition sufficiently addresses all issues.
• Philosophical Methodology: Analyze and critique definitions through necessary and sufficient conditions.
• Further Reading:
  • Gettier's "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?"
  • Plato's "Theaetetus"
  • Descartes' "Meditations"
  • Jonathan Dancy's "Introduction to Contemporary Epistemology"

Reflection

• Purpose: To illustrate how philosophical reasoning and debates over definitions operate.
• Invitation: Readers are encouraged to consider their own definitions or explore further readings.