We value knowledge more than mere / accidentally true beliefs, and bestow authority on those who we think have this higher epistemic status. So we must give an account to distinguish (non)knowledge.
What are the Necessary & Sufficient Conditions?
Necessary Condition
A necessary condition (NC) for some state of affairs S is a condition that must be satisfied in order for S to obtain (i.e. it is impossible to have S without having NC)
INFERENCE If NC is not present, then S does not occur. (~NC 🠢 ~S)
EXAMPLE Being 35 or older is a necessary condition for being U.S. President.
Sufficient Condition
A sufficient condition (SC) for some state of affairs S is a condition that, if satisfied, guarantees that S obtains.
INFERENCE If SC is present, then S occurs. (SC 🠢 S)
EXAMPLE Stepping on Sophie’s tail is a sufficient condition for making her yelp.
Examples
● Being a tiger is a sufficient condition for being an animal.
● Being an animal is a necessary condition for being a tiger.
● Drinking water is a sufficient condition for quenching thirst.
● Having a racket is a necessary condition for playing tennis.
● Burning leaves is a sufficient condition for producing smoke.
● Breathing oxygen is a necessary condition for living.
● Having the flu is a sufficient condition for feeling miserable.
Necessary & Sufficient
Some conditions can be both. NECESSARY & SUFFICIENT (e.g., all IFF statements).
Examples:
● "Being enrolled in a course is a necessary and sufficient condition for receiving a grade."
● "South Seattle College will raise tuition if and only if Green River College does."
The JTBAccount: To know that something is the case ...
✓ One must believeit
Belief = propositional attitude (i.e., taking the position that a proposition is true / false)
A proposition one does not even believe (i.e., something one is agnostic about) cannot be a proposition that one knows. Knowledge at least requires belief.
Often people will speak as if the opposite is true; that we can know things even if we don't believe them. This speaks more to an attempt to reconcile seemingly incompatible belief systems (e.g., I know I shouldn't smoke, but don't believe I need to quit.)
✓ It must be true
Truth = independent of what one believes [objective]
False propositions cannot be known since the conception of knowledge involves a connection to reality.
Though knowledge requires belief, many beliefs (as we are well aware) can be false, so knowledge also requires truth.
✓ One must be justified
Justification = has been defined in a variety of ways. Successful definitions seek to avoid the infamous Gettier Problem (i.e., ensuring that one's true belief is not merely a matter of luck).
E.g., there seems to be a difference between believing it is going to rain based on (i) a reliable weather report v. (ii) a dream; even if it's true.
Thus, one needs good reasons / evidence to hold that true belief.
Sources of Knowledge
Rationalism
The view that at least some knowledge is INNATE (born with) and that the mind can discover these truths through reason alone, without experience.
Thus, Rationalists search for & model a priori truths [“from the earlier”] = propositions that can be known before we experience things in the world.
EXAMPLES
Mathematical truths, language, universal laws of nature. (e.g., “I think, therefore, I am.” & “All bachelors are unmarried men.”)
Empiricism
The view that the source of all knowledge is experience, not reason alone. This involves the position that we are born without any “innate” knowledge.
Thus, Empiricists search for & model a posteriori truths [“from the later”] = propositions that can be known only after we experience things in the world.
EXAMPLES
Descriptive statements about specific things in the external world (e.g., “Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States.”)
OR...
BOTH!
Some philosophers argue that, in important respects, knowledge comes from both sources (the canonical exemplar being Immanuel Kant).
Relativism
The view that the truth about something depends upon what ...
TYPES OF RELATIVISM
Subjective … a person believes
Cultural … a culture believes
Challenging Knowledge
Skepticism
The view that we lack knowledge in some fundamental way
TYPES OF SKEPTICISM
Pyrrhonian (universal) Total suspension of belief (no knowledge is possible)
Academic (particular) There are important realms of which we are ignorant (reliability of the senses)
Moderate (particular) There are important realms which cannot be known (beliefs not founded on experience)
Deals specifically with questions about the nature of knowledge drawing attention to fact that, historically, women and POC have been excluded / discouraged from important areas / disciplines of knowledge [particularly in academic institutions]; and examining whether & how this exclusion has had an impact on the subject as a whole.
