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Single Idea 6444

[filed under theme 13. Knowledge Criteria / A. Justification Problems / 2. Justification Challenges / b. Gettier problem ]

Full Idea

Not all true beliefs are knowledge; the stock example to the contrary is that of a clock which has stopped by which I believe to be going and which I happen to look at when, by chance, it shows the right time.

Gist of Idea

True belief about the time is not knowledge if I luckily observe a stopped clock at the right moment

Source

Bertrand Russell (My Philosophical Development [1959], Ch.15)

Book Ref

Russell,Bertrand: 'My Philosophical Development' [Routledge 1993], p.140


A Reaction

[in his 1948:112] Russell had spotted Gettier-type problems long before Gettier. The problem of lucky true beliefs dates back to Plato (Idea 2140). This example is also a problem for reliabilism, if the clock is usually working fine.

Related Idea

Idea 2140 True belief without knowledge is like blind people on the right road [Plato]


The 13 ideas with the same theme [mere true justified belief doesn't ensure knowledge]:

True belief about the time is not knowledge if I luckily observe a stopped clock at the right moment [Russell]
A true belief is not knowledge if it is reached by bad reasoning [Russell]
True belief is not knowledge when it is deduced from false belief [Russell]
Being a true justified belief is not a sufficient condition for knowledge [Gettier]
For internalists Gettier situations are where internally it is fine, but there is an external mishap [Zagzebski]
Gettier problems are always possible if justification and truth are not closely linked [Zagzebski]
We avoid the Gettier problem if the support for the belief entails its truth [Zagzebski]
Gettier cases arise when good luck cancels out bad luck [Zagzebski]
Gettier says you don't know if you are confused about how it is true [Yablo]
A Gettier case is a belief which is true, and its fallible justification involves some luck [Hetherington]
Gettier and lottery cases seem to involve luck, meaning bad connection of beliefs to facts [Black,T]
In a disjunctive case, the justification comes from one side, and the truth from the other [Vaidya]
Gettier deductive justifications split the justification from the truthmaker [Vaidya]