Single Idea 6370

[catalogued under 13. Knowledge Criteria / C. External Justification / 1. External Justification]

Full Idea

There are two major kinds of externalist theory in the literature - probabilism (which expresses justification in terms of probability of the belief being true), and reliabilism (which refers to the probability of the cognitive processes being right).

Gist of Idea

Externalism comes as 'probabilism' (probability of truth) and 'reliabilism' (probability of good cognitive process)

Source

J Pollock / J Cruz (Contemporary theories of Knowledge (2nd) [1999], §4.1)

Book Reference

Pollock,J.L./Cruz,J: 'Contemporary Theories of Knowledge (2nd)' [Rowman and Littlefield 1999], p.91


A Reaction

A useful clarification. Reliabilism has an obvious problem, that a process can be reliable, but only luckily correct on this occasion (a clock which has, unusually, stopped). A ghost is more probably there if I believe in ghosts.