conceptc. 5th century BCE–present

The Problem of Knowledge

Disciplines:

Summary

A perennial epistemic dilemma that asks how belief can be both true and justified, shaping centuries of philosophical inquiry into the foundations of certainty.

Core Contribution

It isolates the conditions under which true belief counts as knowledge, prompting the classic tripartite analysis (justified true belief) and subsequent refinements that structure modern epistemology.

Key Spikes & Highlights

Epistemic Conservatism (he maintains that knowledge claims should be retained unless defeated by stronger counterevidence, a principle he applied rigorously in his critique of radical skepticism, famously refusing to accept Descartes' methodological doubt as a basis for knowledge).
Justification Minimalism (he argues that justification need not be a separate, robust condition beyond truth, exemplified in his early seminars where he dismissed the need for a "no false lemmas" clause, diverging from the dominant tripartite model).

Historical Influences

Plato Aristotle René Descartes David Hume Immanuel Kant

Intellectual Lineage

Ancient Skepticism Rationalism Empiricism Critical Philosophy

Allied Works

The Problem of Induction The Gettier Problem

Contemporaries & Peers

The Problem of Induction The Problem of Other Minds The Gettier Problem The Problem of Free Will The Problem of Evil The Mind-Body Problem

Minds Influenced

Edmund Gettier Alvin Plantinga Hilary Putnam Analytic philosophy Logical positivism Contemporary epistemology

Intellectual Posterity

Justified true belief Foundationalism Coherentism Reliabilism Gettier problem

Discussing

The Problem of Knowledge

Ask anything about The Problem of Knowledge — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.

conceptc. 5th century BCE–present

The Problem of Knowledge

Disciplines:

philosophy

epistemology

Summary

A perennial epistemic dilemma that asks how belief can be both true and justified, shaping centuries of philosophical inquiry into the foundations of certainty.

Core Contribution

Key Spikes & Highlights

Epistemic Conservatism (he maintains that knowledge claims should be retained unless defeated by stronger counterevidence, a principle he applied rigorously in his critique of radical skepticism, famously refusing to accept Descartes' methodological doubt as a basis for knowledge).
Justification Minimalism (he argues that justification need not be a separate, robust condition beyond truth, exemplified in his early seminars where he dismissed the need for a "no false lemmas" clause, diverging from the dominant tripartite model).

Historical Influences

Plato Aristotle René Descartes David Hume Immanuel Kant

Intellectual Lineage

Ancient Skepticism Rationalism Empiricism Critical Philosophy

Allied Works

The Problem of Induction The Gettier Problem

Contemporaries & Peers

The Problem of Induction The Problem of Other Minds The Gettier Problem The Problem of Free Will The Problem of Evil The Mind-Body Problem

Minds Influenced

Edmund Gettier Alvin Plantinga Hilary Putnam Analytic philosophy Logical positivism Contemporary epistemology

Intellectual Posterity

Justified true belief Foundationalism Coherentism Reliabilism Gettier problem

Discussing

The Problem of Knowledge

Ask anything about The Problem of Knowledge — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.