Justified true belief

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Justified true belief is a definition of knowledge that is most frequently credited to Plato and his dialogues.[1] The concept of justified true belief states that in order to know that a given proposition is true, one must not only believe the relevant true proposition, but one must also have justification for doing so. In more formal terms, a subject <var>S</var> knows that a proposition <var>P</var> is true if and only if:

  1. <var>P</var> is true
  2. <var>S</var> believes that <var>P </var> is true, and
  3. <var>S</var> is justified in believing that <var>P</var> is true

This theory of knowledge suffered a significant setback with the discovery of Gettier problems, situations in which the above conditions were seemingly met but that many philosophers disagree that anything is known.[2] Robert Nozick suggested a clarification of "justification" which he believed eliminates the problem: the justification has to be such that were the justification false, the knowledge would be false.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fine, G., "Introduction" in Plato on Knowledge and Forms: Selected Essays (Oxford University Press, 2003), p. 5.
  2. ↑ Chisholm, Roderick (1982). "Knowledge as Justified True Belief". The Foundations of Knowing. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-1103-3. 
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