Knowledge

Dr. Herdito Sandi Pratama, M.Hum. (Universitas Indonesia)

Three common
approaches
• Metaphysical epistemology
• Skeptical epistemology
• Critical epistemology
Basic questions
• Can we know anything?
• If so, what sort of things can we know?
• And how can we come to know them?

• Of course we know lots of things, but…

• Knowledge is power, and it is human knowledge which has made human beings
the most powerful creatures of all
 Components of knowledge
• Belief is a necessary condition for knowledge but not a
sufficient condition
• Before the belief is entitled to be called ‘knowledge’, what is
believed must be true
• To know something it is not enough that I believe it and that
it happens to be true. I must also be able to give reasons for
my belief, or justify it, or show that it is true, or prove it.
Definition
1. A believes that P
2. P is true
3. A can justify his belief that P

Genuine knowledge→ JUSTIFIED TRUE BELIEF

 1. Knowledge of things or objects (knowing-
Three types of of or knowledge by acquaintance)

knowledge 2. Knowledge of how to do things (knowing-

how)
3. Knowledge of statements or propositions
(knowing-that or propositional
knowledge)
Two types of
truth Necessary

Empirical (Contingent)
Two types of
statements

Analytic Synthetic
True by definition True of the World (not by definition)
Necessary Contingent
A Priori Aposteriori
All possible world Not all possible world
 JTB account really applies only to one kind of
knowledge; propositional knowledge. There
are variety of knowledge claims to consider.
• Practical knowledge
Variety of kinds • Scientific knowledge
of knowledge • Mathematical knowledge
• Moral knowledge
• Aesthetic knowledge
• Religious knowledge
Objection to JTB account

• If a belief is justified, then it follows naturally that it is true; so, true condition
is redundant once justification is stated.
• Justify could be interpreted strongly “give conclusive reasons for” or “prove”.
This means the statement is true.
• Justify could be interpreted weakly as well “give reason for”. This implies for
true statements, not false statements.
Another objection to JTB account

• All knowledge requires a knower; all knowledge possessed by some person.

• The same proposition may be known by one person and only believed by
another person. First person can justify her belief while the second cannot.
• Knowledge is not impersonal
 • Alan Musgrave – Common Sense,
Science, and Skepticism: A
Historical Introduction to the
Theory of Knowledge
Referensi • Noah Lemos – An Introduction to
the Theory of Knowledge
• Keith Lehrer – Theory of
Knowledge
Latihan: tuliskan contoh pernyataan analitik
dan sintetik dalam tabel
No Pernyataan Analitik Pernyataan Sintetik
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