How Claims of Knowledge Are Justified

1. How Claims of Knowledge Are Justified • Foundationalism: knowledge claims are based on indubitable foundations • I can doubt whether there is a world, whether my reasoning can be trusted, and even if I have a body, but I cannot doubt that I am doubting (thinking). Knowledge of God and the world is based on intuitive knowledge of my own existence • Only sense experience can provide real knowledge of the world Descartes Locke

2. How Claims of Knowledge Are Justified • Coherent: knowledge claims are justified only if they are consistent with other beliefs (including empirical beliefs) that support and complete the whole set of beliefs • Objections: • Against foundationalism: why think that any belief (intuitive or empirical) is justified? • Against coherentism: why think that a belief is true just because it coheres with others?

3. Knowledge and Justified True Belief • Traditionally, “x knows p” means: • x believes that p; p is true; x is justified in believing that p • Gettier problem: all three conditions could hold and still not have knowledge • Externalism (Plantinga): I might be warranted in my belief (if my procedure for getting the information is reliable) without being justified (i.e., I might not know how my belief is based on that procedure) Edmund Gettier