What Philosophy Is

The Conditional Theory of Knowledge

As you read the material for the next class, keep the questions below in mind. To answer these questions you will have to reflect critically on what you have read and possibly re-read important passages. Keep in mind that there are two basic kinds of information that you need to look for in the readings.

  1. What are the main points or conclusions that an author accepts with respect to a particular issue?
  2. What are the reasons or important considerations that lead the author to accept that conclusion?

For our purposes, it is information of the latter sort (2) that will be our primary concern since our most basic task is to evaluate the reasons that are offered to support accepting one possible conclusion about an issue, rather than another.

Although I strongly suggest that you write out brief answers to these questions, you do not have to turn in written responses. You do, however, need to be prepared to speak intelligently to these issues in the next class meeting. Also, it is reasonable to assume that the final exam’s questions will be drawn from these questions—particularly those in bold.

Readings:

  • Robert Nozick, “Knowledge and Scepticism” from Stephen M. Cahn (ed.), Philosophy for the 21st Century, pp. 175-188.

Questions:

This is a more difficult reading. To make things easier, primarily focus on the examples Goldman gives, understanding what these examples are supposed to show.

  1. What are Robert Nozick’s four conditions for knowledge? How do these handle Gettier’s case? the case of Henry and the barn? the person in the tank? the case of the murdered dictator?
  2. According to Nozick, why does the possibility of SK (the possibility that I am dreaming, deceived by an evil demon, or floating in a tank) fail to show that Nozick’s third condition is false?
  3. Why are Nozick’s four conditions for knowledge not all satisfied with the proposition “SK doesn’t hold” (i.e., why can’t I know that SK doesn’t hold)?
  4. Since I can’t know SK doesn’t hold, how can I still know that I am currently writing this (or you are currently reading it)?
  5. In the final analysis, is this a strong and convincing response to skepticism?

 

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