Epistemology: 14.Nozick's Truth Tracking Reliabilism

Question 1

What is Nozick’s Truth Tracking Reliabilism?

Answer 1

S knows that P iff :
(1) P is true;
(2) S believes that P;
(3) if P were not true, then S would not believe that P, AND
(4) if P were true, S would believe that P.

Question 2

What is the scenario of Fake Barn County?

Answer 2

Henry is in Fake Barn Country (FCB) where he sees façades of barns.
-He looks at one real barn, forming a true belief through a reliable process, but it doesn’t count as knowledge because he is merely lucky.

Question 3

How does tracking work in the Fake Barn scenario?

Answer 3

If p is ‘Henry is seeing a barn’, then (3) If p were true, S would believe it was true (which he does), and (4) If p were not true, S would not believe it was true (but it seems he would anyway).

Question 4

What happens if all barns in Fake Barn Country are fake?

Answer 4

-When Henry sees a barn façade, his belief will be false. -He believes he is seeing a real barn formed by a reliable cognitive process, but the barn is fake, so he lacks knowledge.

Question 5

What does it mean for a reliable process to ‘track truth’ in Henrys case?

Answer 5

If the truth were different, would it change Henry’s mind? If his belief remains the same, it indicates a disconnect between the reliable process and truth, meaning it is not knowledge.

Question 6

What is required for knowledge according to Nozick?

Answer 6

The reliable process in knowledge needs to ‘track truth’ or it isn’t knowledge.

Question 7

Is Nozick’s Truth Tracking Reliabilism stronger or weaker than Goldman’s D?

Answer 7

This question remains open for discussion. (i think yes)