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Full Idea
Having a belief demands in addition appreciating the contrast between true belief and false, between appearance and reality, mere seeming and being.
Gist of Idea
A belief requires understanding the distinctions of true-and-false, and appearance-and-reality
Source
Donald Davidson (Three Varieties of Knowledge [1991], p.209)
Book Ref
Davidson,Donald: 'Subjective, Intersubjective, Objective' [OUP 2001], p.209
A Reaction
This sets the bar very high for belief (never mind knowledge), and seems to imply that animals don't have beliefs. How should we describe their cognitive states then? I would say these criteria only apply to actual knowledge.
| 10347 | Objectivity is intersubjectivity [Davidson] |
| 10346 | Knowing other minds rests on knowing both one's own mind and the external world [Davidson, by Dummett] |
| 8866 | If we know other minds through behaviour, but not our own, we should assume they aren't like me [Davidson] |
| 8868 | Objective truth arises from interpersonal communication [Davidson] |
| 8867 | A belief requires understanding the distinctions of true-and-false, and appearance-and-reality [Davidson] |
| 8869 | The principle of charity attributes largely consistent logic and largely true beliefs to speakers [Davidson] |
| 8870 | Content of thought is established through communication, so knowledge needs other minds [Davidson] |