What Is Knowledge? Flashcards
What are the 3 types of knowledge?
Acquaintance, propositional and ability
What is acquaintance knowledge?
Knowledge involving direct contact with something from experience
What is propositional knowledge?
A ‘real’ definition of something, independent of our thoughts about it
What is a necessary condition for knowledge?
Something that must be present and cannot be removed
What is a sufficient condition for knowledge?
Something that fully accounts for the concept such that nothing required is missing
What theory does Plato put forth about knowledge?
The Tripartite Definition (JTB)
What are the 3 conditions of the Tripartite Definition?
- The proposition is true
- You believe the proposition
- Your belief is justified
What does Zagzebski say about knowledge?
It must involve cognitive contact with reality.
What is correspondence?
The relation of knowledge to reality
What is the difference between knowledge and belief?
Certainty
Why do our beliefs need justification to be knowledge?
To avoid arriving at the truth due to a stroke of luck
What is the relativism objection ?
Claims that there is no objective truth and that what we know is relative to society
What is an example of JTB from false premises? (Gettier Case)
- Smith & Jones
Both apply for the same job. Smith is told that Jones will get the job. Jones has counted 10 coins in his pocket. So, Smith deduces that the man who will get the job has 10 coins in his pocket. However, Smith gets the job and - unknown to him- has 10 coins in his pocket. - Jones & Brown
Smith knows that Jones owns a Ford. Smith guesses that Brown is in Barcelona. Smith creates the disjunction;
•Jones owns a Ford, or
•Brown is in Barcelona, or
•Both are true
However, Jones has sold his Ford. But, Brown happens to be in Barcelona.
What response is given to Gettier Cases?
‘No False Lemmas’, fourth condition:
4. You did not infer the proposition from a falsehood
What does infalliblism say about knowledge?
Knowledge is certain. Justification must be so strong that it is impossible to be wrong.
What is the problem with infalliblism?
Fallacy of equivocation (whether I am mistaken or whether I could mistaken)
What does reliablism say about knowledge ?
Your belief must come from a reliable cognitive process.
What problem is presented in response to reliablism?
Fake Barn County (Goldman)
Henry is driving through fake barn county and doesn’t know it. He often thinks ”there’s a barn”, but these are fake barns. However, one time he is looking at a real barn by coincidence.
What does Zagzebski say about Gettier Cases?
As long as the 3rd condition for knowledge is independent of truth, we will be able to construct Gettier Cases.
What are the two objections to reliablism?
- The lottery problem (statistics aren’t fully reliable)
- The generality problem (language can alter our beliefs)
What theory does Nozick present for knowledge?
The Tracking Theory
What are the 2 conditions of the Tracking Theory?
- if P weren’t true, S wouldn’t believe that P variation condition
- if P were true, S would believe that P adherence condition
What objection is there to infalliblism?
It invariably leads to skepticism
What does virtue epistemology say about knowledge?
Your belief must be formed as a result of you exercising your ‘epistemic’ or ‘intellectual’ virtues.
What are Zagzebski’s conditions for knowledge that align with virtue epistemology?
- That P is true
- That the belief that P arises out of acts of intellectual virtue
What are the problems with Zagzebski’s virtue epistemic approach to knowledge?
• Too vague
• Doesn’t consider animals/ children
which philosophy desc ribes the view that: all t uth is relative, there are no objective grand
na rratives to explain our existence, all knowledge is a commercial product and nothing more?
post-mode rnism
What’s a false lemma?
a falsehood, false belief or a source of misinfo rmation
What is the p rima y focus of vi rtue epistemology?
The role of intellectual vi rtues in acqui ring knowledge
According to Zagzebski, what is an intellectual vi rtue?
A trait that leads to successful belief fo rmation
E rnest Sosa distinguishes between two types of knowledge. What are they?
Animal knowledge and reflective knowledge
What does Sosa mean by “animal knowledge”?
Knowledge that is instinctual and non-reflective
In Zagzebski’s view, what is necessa y for a belief to count as knowledge?
It must be fo med through the exercise of intellectual vi rtues
Which of the following best desc ibes Sosa’s concept of “reflective knowledge”?
Knowledge that involves a higher level of self-awareness and justification
What is a key c riticism of vi rtue epistemology?
It does not provide a clear definition of knowledge
According to Zagzebski, how do intellectual vi tues relate to the pursuit of t ruth?
They are essential for the successful pursuit of t ruth
What is the va riance condition in Nozick’s t ruth tracking?
S knows that p only if, were p false, S would not believe that p.
What does Sosa argue about the relationship between knowledge and competence?
Knowledge requires a ce tain level of competence
In vi rtue epistemology, what role does the community play in knowledge acquisition?
The community provides a framework for evaluating intellectual vi rtues
Who came up with vi rtue responsibilism and what is it?
Zagzebski-> focuses on dete mining the specific character traits required to successful acquire knowledge.
What key condition in vi rtue epistemology ensures that Gettier cases cannot be included in the
bracket of knowledge?
The anti-luck condition
