IS THERE A SUCCESSFUL WAY IN WHICH PROPOSITIONAL KNOWLEDGE CAN BE
DEFINED? (25 marks)
(pink = out of spec content)
LOA: Virtue Epistemology is the Best definition
CR: Distinguishes Lucky Cases from Knowledge
INTRO: Propositional knowledge is the knowledge that a certain proposition is true or false.
Unlike ability and acquaintance knowledge, it is based on facts and can be passed down.
Philosopher Linda Zagzebski claimed that a philosophical definition must include the
necessary conditions for something to be the case, which together are sufficient. Theories
such as the tripartite view, no false lemmas, infallibilism, reliabilism, and virtue epistemology
have tried to put forward such definitions of propositional knowledge, however they face
objections like the Gettier cases, which are counter-examples of cases where lucky guesses
are incorrectly defined as knowledge. Therefore, I would argue that virtue epistemology is
the best theory we have so far. The crucial reason for this is that it distinguishes lucky cases
from knowledge, as shown by Sosa’s archery analogy, successfully responding to Gettier
cases.
PARA 1 - TRIPARTITE VIEW (JTB):
P) Explain JTB and Necessary Conditions
A) Smith and Jones 10 Coins
E) JTB Fails
PARA 2 - NO FALSE LEMMAS:
P) Explain NFL and how it deals with Gettier Case
A) Fake Barn County and Lying Witness
E) NFL Fails
PARA 3 - INFALLIBILISM:
P) Explain Infallibilism and how it deals with Gettier Case
A) Too Strict
E) Infallibilism Fails
PARA 4 - VIRTUE EPISTEMOLOGY:
P) Explain VE (Zagzebski and Sosa Archery Analogy) and how it deals with gettier Case
A) Children and Animals Knowledge
C) They Have Ability Knowledge (+ Sosa on animal/reflective knowledge)
E) Virtue Epistemology is a Successful Definition of Propositional Knowledge
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, I think that virtue epistemology is the best definition of
knowledge. The crucial reason is that it successfully eliminates lucky cases by making a
connection between the intellectual virtues (reason for making a belief) and the truth of the
belief. This makes it better than the other theories of knowledge, which face Gettier
counterexamples, as well as infallibilism, which is too strict. Despite the challenge of
children’s and animal’s knowledge, virtue epistemology remains a strong theory, since if this
DEFINED? (25 marks)
(pink = out of spec content)
LOA: Virtue Epistemology is the Best definition
CR: Distinguishes Lucky Cases from Knowledge
INTRO: Propositional knowledge is the knowledge that a certain proposition is true or false.
Unlike ability and acquaintance knowledge, it is based on facts and can be passed down.
Philosopher Linda Zagzebski claimed that a philosophical definition must include the
necessary conditions for something to be the case, which together are sufficient. Theories
such as the tripartite view, no false lemmas, infallibilism, reliabilism, and virtue epistemology
have tried to put forward such definitions of propositional knowledge, however they face
objections like the Gettier cases, which are counter-examples of cases where lucky guesses
are incorrectly defined as knowledge. Therefore, I would argue that virtue epistemology is
the best theory we have so far. The crucial reason for this is that it distinguishes lucky cases
from knowledge, as shown by Sosa’s archery analogy, successfully responding to Gettier
cases.
PARA 1 - TRIPARTITE VIEW (JTB):
P) Explain JTB and Necessary Conditions
A) Smith and Jones 10 Coins
E) JTB Fails
PARA 2 - NO FALSE LEMMAS:
P) Explain NFL and how it deals with Gettier Case
A) Fake Barn County and Lying Witness
E) NFL Fails
PARA 3 - INFALLIBILISM:
P) Explain Infallibilism and how it deals with Gettier Case
A) Too Strict
E) Infallibilism Fails
PARA 4 - VIRTUE EPISTEMOLOGY:
P) Explain VE (Zagzebski and Sosa Archery Analogy) and how it deals with gettier Case
A) Children and Animals Knowledge
C) They Have Ability Knowledge (+ Sosa on animal/reflective knowledge)
E) Virtue Epistemology is a Successful Definition of Propositional Knowledge
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, I think that virtue epistemology is the best definition of
knowledge. The crucial reason is that it successfully eliminates lucky cases by making a
connection between the intellectual virtues (reason for making a belief) and the truth of the
belief. This makes it better than the other theories of knowledge, which face Gettier
counterexamples, as well as infallibilism, which is too strict. Despite the challenge of
children’s and animal’s knowledge, virtue epistemology remains a strong theory, since if this
