Unsafe knowledge

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

118 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ernest Sosa has argued that if someone knows that p, then his belief that p is "safe". and Timothy Williamson has agreed. In this paper I argue that safety, as defined by Sosa, is not a necessary condition on knowledge - that we can have unsafe knowledge. I present Sosa's definition of safety and a counterexample to it as a necessary condition on knowledge. I also argue that Sosa's most recent refinements to the notion of safety don't help him to avoid the counterexample. I consider three replies on behalf of the defender of safety, and find them all wanting. Finally, I offer a tentative diagnosis of my counterexample.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)395-404
Number of pages10
JournalSynthese
Volume146
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2005
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Philosophy
  • General Social Sciences

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