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Full Idea
If one shares my view that justified belief is, at least roughly, well-formed belief, surely animals and young children can have justified beliefs.
Gist of Idea
If justified beliefs are well-formed beliefs, then animals and young children have them
Source
Alvin I. Goldman (What is Justified Belief? [1976], III)
Book Ref
'Epistemology - An Anthology', ed/tr. Sosa,E. /Kim,J. [Blackwell 2000], p.350
A Reaction
I take this to be a key hallmark of the externalist view of knowledge. Personally I think we should tell the animals that they have got true beliefs, but that they aren't bright enough to aspire to 'knowledge'. Be grateful for what you've got.
| 8830 | A belief can be justified when the person has forgotten the evidence for it [Goldman] |
| 8829 | Justification depends on the reliability of its cause, where reliable processes tend to produce truth [Goldman] |
| 8831 | Introspection is really retrospection; my pain is justified by a brief causal history [Goldman] |
| 8832 | If justified beliefs are well-formed beliefs, then animals and young children have them [Goldman] |