1. The Nature of Knowledge
Justified True Belief?

2. Introduction Knowledge a difficult concept
Understood through experience and reflection
Accepted as justified true belief
Three elements

3. Truth Distinguishes between knowledge and belief
Cannot know that the Earth is flat, but can believe it if you really want to
Used to believe the planets orbiting around the earth; truth was wrong
But knowledge requires something less than certainty
Truth is “beyond a reasonable doubt”

4. Belief Know something, must also believe it Subjective
Knowledge most effectively defined in belief-knowledge continuum
Three examples of belief
Vague
Well-supported
Beyond reasonable doubt

6. Belief-Knowledge Continuum
Work with your table partner to assign values to the following propositions on the -10 to +10 scale.
Columbus discovered America in 1492
If A is bigger than B and B is bigger than C, then A is bigger than C
Human beings are descended from apes
Murder is wrong
Aliens have visited the earth at some time during its history
All metals expand when heated
Human beings have an immortal soul
It is possible to construct a square with the same area as a given circle

7. Justification Belief must also be justified in some sensible way
Give examples with the eight ways of knowing
i.e. I saw it (sense perception)
Some kinds of justification acceptable (perception), some not (telepathy)
Reliability
Justification may also depend on context
How serious must your answer be taken in court/life or death versus the lunchroom
Taking responsibility matters

8. Levels of Knowledge First-hand, second-hand
Much of what we claim to know we do not understand in great detail
Depends on depth of study
May be revisited over time
Information arguably more limited than knowledge
Passing exam just be cramming, did you really learn?

9. Second-hand Knowledge
Main source of knowledge is other people, shared experiences through knowledge
Culture one of the main ways
Building upon previous discoveries in science
Must be careful to avoid authority worship
Second-hand sources
Cultural tradition, school, Internet, expert opinion, news media
Positive and negative aspects of each?

10. Discussion Questions
What about you has been determined by your culture? What other influences are there?
What opinions, if any, are teachers expected to keep silent about, and to what extent can this be justified?
What qualities would you look for if you were looking to appoint a new teacher?
If you were asked to design a curriculum for students aged 14 to 18, what would you include/focus on?
Is there expert opinion in all areas of knowledge or only some of them? Why?

11. Limitations of Second-hand Knowledge
Never an original source
Claims only justified by perception, reason, intuition
When would you trust the authority of other people rather than your own sense?

12. Presentations of Knowledge
Research a quote that contains the word knowledge and construct a 5-slide presentation on its meaning.
Show how this quote relates to course material to this point.
Discuss any implications this quote may have on knowing and provide real-life examples that reflect its nature.