Single Idea 8867

[catalogued under 11. Knowledge Aims / A. Knowledge / 4. Belief / e. Belief holism]

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 Reference

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.